CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT scored on its first drive and proceeded to churn out a school record 563 total yards of offense as the Engineers rolled to a 48-0 victory over Nichols College in a New England Football Conference game. It was the first NEFC win of the year for MIT, which recorded its second shutout of the season to set another school mark. Junior Justin Wallace (Palatine, Ill.) ran for 167 yards and three scores to lead the Engineers' attack.
MIT (3-2, 1-2 NEFC) wasted little time after taking the opening kickoff, driving 66 yards in eight plays in just 2:41. Wallace carried five times for 32 yards on the drive, taking it in from the three for the first score of the game. After holding Nichols (1-5, 0-4 NEFC) to a three and out on the Bison's first possession, MIT went back to work with a quick scoring drive after junior Brad Goldsberry (Elizabeth, Colo.) returned the Nichols punt 15 yards to the MIT 41. On the second play of the drive Wallace carried for eight yards, with an unsportsmanlike call on the Bison putting the ball at the Nichols 33. Wallace then finished it from there, going through the left side for the score. MIT added another score in the first quarter when junior quarterback Peter Williams (Portland, Ore.) hit sophomore Chris McPherson (Gaithersburg, Md.) for an 18-yard scoring play with 3:55 left in the quarter.
Nichols did not pick up a first down until late in the first quarter when freshman Grant Klimek (Toms River, N.J.) ran four straight times for 21 yards to put the Bison at midfiled. A nine-yard scamper by sophomore quarterback Tyrell Todd (Central Islip, N.Y.) brought the ball down to the MIT 31, but the drive stalled there and the Bison were forced to punt.
It proved to be the deepest penetration into MIT territory that Nichols would have all night as the Engineers' defense held the Bison to just 99 yards of total offense and set another school record by holding their opponent to just 12 yards passing. MIT also recovered a pair of fumbles that led to a touchdown in the second quarter and a field goal in the third for the Engineers.
MIT went on to add 17 more points in the second quarter as sophomore Seve Esparrago (St. Louis, Mo.) hauled in a four-yard scoring pass, Wallace scored from two yards out and freshman Tucker Cheyne (Avon, Conn.) added a 23-yard field goal as the Engineers built a 38-0 halftime advantage.
Nichols drove into MIT territory again in the third quarter as sophomore Andre Rickerson (Boston, Mass.) ran four times for 28 yards down to the Engineers 41, but the Bison fumbled on the next play and sophomore Matt Hole (Santa Maria, Calif.) recovered for MIT to halt the threat.
With its offense clicking on all cylinders MIT was never forced to punt as the Engineers went on to score on all of its possessions except for its final two in the fourth quarter. Williams capped a 77-yard drive in the third quarter with a five-yard run and Cheyne finished the scoring for the Engineers with a 32-yard field goal in the fourth that gave him school record for points in a game by a kicker with 12.
Williams completed 18 of his 23 attempts for 207 yards and two scores for MIT, with sophomore Samuel Inman (Stilwell, Okla.) leading MIT with eight catches for 86 yards. Klimek and Rickerson accounted for most of the offense for Nichols, with 48 and 32 yards on the ground.
Freshman Devon Nelson (Huntington Station, N.Y.) led Nichols with 12 tackles on defense, with senior Jake Laux (Dousman, Wis.) led MIT with nine stops.
MIT will be back on the road next week as it plays an NEFC game at Western New England University on Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. Nichols will also be on the road next week, traveling to Maine Maritime for Noon game.