Curry College Nabs MIT Football Team in Strong Fourth Quarter
The football team lost its game against Curry College on Saturday 20-10.
The game began as a defensive duel, as both MIT and Curry were only able convert a field goal apiece after two drives. MIT got on the scoreboard first, as tight end Justin A. Kresz ’12 took a pass from Kyle T. Johnson ’11 down to the Curry eleven yard line. A defensive stop by the Colonels left Corey Garvey ’10 to convert a 36-yard field goal with 1:26 left in the first.
The game was evened up at 3 by a career-long 41-yard field goal by Curry’s Matt Alksninis, who cleared the uprights with 13:40 left to go in the 2nd quarter after a 32-yard drive that put Curry to the MIT 23 yard line.
The ensuing possession found the Cardinal and Grey recovering the lead after a 30-yard kickoff return by Brian P. Doyle ’11 off of a fake reverse ignited the Engineers. A key reception by Nathaniel C. Forbes ’12 on third-and-eight allowed the Engineers to continue driving. Michael P. Fitzgerald ’10 then had his second catch of the day, diving into the endzone to put MIT up by 6. The lead was increased to 7 with a successful point-after attempt by Peter W. Gilliland ’12.
Curry responded vigorously, going with an air attack. With less than 7 minutes left in the quarter, however, Curry quarterback Zach Cavanaugh scrambled up the sidelines from 27 yards out after a foiled pass play to knot the game at 10 going into halftime.
The third quarter was devoid of scoring, but contained plenty of drama. Curry appeared to be taking an edge over MIT, as they drove over 60 yards. The Engineer defense stifled Curry’s mounting momentum as Brian H. Mickle ’10 forced and recovered a fumble.
The fourth quarter, however, was a different story. Curry mounted its game winning drive with successive rushes of short yardages, eating away at the clock and the defense’s stamina. Cavanaugh eventually led the Colonels down to the MIT 16 yard line and Alksinis easily cleared the uprights for the go ahead field goal.
The Engineers’ following possession started out well as Forbes got the kickoff to the Curry 44, but a crucial sack on Johnson on 4th-and-10 turned the game in favor of Curry, who marched down the field to score on a 12 yard rush right up the middle.
Captain DeRon M. Brown ’10 ended the game with a total of 203 yards, the second consecutive week he has passed the 200 yard mark, while Johnson ended 9-for-17 with 105 yards, 58 of which went to Fitzgerald. The Engineer defense was led by Gilliland with 14 tackles, Kristopher C. Weaver ’12 and Patrick T. Jupe ’12 both had 10, and captain Alexander F. Rubino 10 finished with 8 tackles including 1.5 for losses.
After the game, the team was disappointed at the outcome, but they recognize both the quality of their opponent and the use of this game as a foundation to work on.
“Curry is still a good team,” said captain Garth S. Grove ’10, “and we were able to go toe to toe with them. Although the outcome was not what we hoped, it proves that we can hold our own against any team in the league. The loss is just going to motivate the players and coaching staff to work that much harder. The rest of the season will show this team’s character.”
MIT is now 1-1 in Divisional play in the New England Football Conference Boyd Division and will continue their campaign next week against Western New England College at 1 p.m.