MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Steinbrenner Stadium, Cambridge, Mass.
FINAL: MIT 42, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 14
1 2 3 4 Total
Massachusetts Maritime (0-2) 0 7 7 0 - 14
MIT (2-0) 15 7 7 13 - 42
SCORING SUMMARY
MIT: Mike Fitzgerald 30 yard pass from Rick Mancuso (Peter Gilliland kick) 6:51 1st
MIT: Ben Grannan 6 yd run (Stephen Yablonski pass from Sean Kelly) 1:01 1st
MMA: James McFarland 10 yd pass from Nick Montalto (Jake Bickley kick) 13:21 2nd
MIT: DeRon Brown 18 yd run (Gilliland kick) 7:48 2nd
MIT: Brown 69 yd run (Gilliland kick) 8:53 3rd
MMA: Brandon Payne 2 yd run (Bickley kick) 0:33 3rd
MIT: Grannan 3 yd run (Gilliland kick) 5:44 4th
MIT: Marcel Sanchez 30 yd run (kick failed) 2:25 4th
Attendance: 700
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Junior DeRon Brown (Galax, Va.) rushed for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead MIT to a 42-14 non-league victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Steinbrenner Stadium.
The host Engineers (2-0), who have amassed 42 points in each of their first two outings of the young season, jumped out to a 15-0 first quarter advantage on a 30-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Rick Mancuso (Dunmore, Pa.) to fellow junior Mike Fitzgerald (Wilmington, Mass.) as well as a six-yard run by senior Ben Grannan (Greenland, N.H.). The visiting Buccaneers (0-2) got on the board in the first 1:39 of the second stanza when freshman quarterback Nick Montalto (South Yarmouth, Mass.), who was making his first collegiate start, hooked up with senior James McFarland (Ocean Bluff, Mass.) on a 10-yard scoring pass to make it 15-7, but Brown's 18-yard scamper 7:48 before halftime gave MIT a 22-7 advantage at the break when Massachusetts Maritime was unable to capitalize on a turnover in the closing seconds of the half.
Brown extended the Engineers' edge to 29-7 midway through the third quarter when he broke free for a 69-yard touchdown run, but the Buccaneers answered back with a 16-play, 60-yard drive that was capped by junior Brandon Payne's (Marion, Mass.) two-yard scoring plunge (his third touchdown of the season) to make it 29-14 in the waning seconds of the stanza. Massachusetts Maritime then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff but was unable again to capitalize from midfield, and MIT engineered a 13-play, 70-yard drive that consumed over seven minutes on the next possession, capped by Grannan's three-yard scoring run, to take a 36-14 lead with 5:44 remaining. Freshman Marcel Sanchez (Oneonta, N.Y.) closed out the scoring for the hosts with a 30-yard run that came with 2:25 remaining.
Brown accounted for nearly two-thirds of MIT's 380 rushing yards on the day, as the Engineers manufactured all but 60 of their total yards of offense on the ground, including 48 from senior Robert Utz (Cockeysville, Md.). Mancuso completed four passes for 60 yards for the hosts, including two catches by senior Kevin Vogelsang (Versailles, Ky.) for 24 yards.
Montalto amassed 198 yards of total offense in his debut for Massachusetts Maritime, rushing for 79 yards and completing 10-of-19 passes for 119 yards and the one score to McFarland. Payne rushed for 45 yards to go with his touchdown for the Buccaneers, who received a combined seven receptions and 82 yards from the sophomore tandem of Darryn Elder-Gotta (East Longmeadow, N.Y.) and Keith Rudolph (New Bedford, Mass.).
Junior Will Gibson (Natick, Mass.) paced MIT defensively with 10 total tackles (eight solo), a sack and a forced fumble, while Payne paced Massachusetts Maritime on the defensive side with nine total tackles, including seven solo stops. Sophomore Steve Alves (Tewksbury, Mass.) chipped in with eight tackles for the Buccaneers, who also received eight stops and an interception from junior Nick Stralka (North Kingstown, R.I.).
Massachusetts Maritime hosts Endicott in its home opener next Saturday afternoon in a non-league affair at Commander Ellis Field beginning at 2:00 p.m., while MIT heads to Framingham, Mass. next Saturday afternoon to take on Framingham State in a non-league match-up that kicks off at 1:00 p.m.
