THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 21, U.S. Coast Guard Academy 7
- Records: MIT (4-3, 2-2 NEWMAC); Coast Guard (2-6, 0-4 NEWMAC)
- Location: New London, Conn. (Cadet Memorial Field)
- The Lead: Led by a pair of touchdowns from sophomore Brady Klein (Washington, Ill.) and a pair of blocked field goals and a fumble recovery by senior Sam Gozelski (East Northport, N.Y.), the MIT football team moved to 4-3 overall on the season with a 21-7 road win at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- On the first drive of the game, MIT's Christian Viteri (Huntington, N.Y.) recovered a fumble at the MIT 31-yard line to set the tone for a first half that went back and forth. At the 3:29 mark of the quarter, Gozelski blocked a 27-yard field goal attempt by Coast Guard's Finnegan Hall, which was recovered by first-year Ryan Hourican (Staten Island, N.Y.) and returned 42 yards to the Coast Guard 37-yard line.
- After a turnover on downs by the Bears to open the second quarter, the two teams traded punts until late in the period when the Engineers finally got on the scoreboard. On a third-and-15 play with just 20 seconds left before halftime, junior Oakley Dehning (Longmont, Colo.) scrambled and found senior Dennis Gastel (Lincoln, R.I.) for a 40-yard scoring strike and the 7-0 advantage at the break.
- The Engineers received the opening kickoff in the second half and marched 80 yards in just under five minutes to push the lead to 14-0. The drive featured nine straight running plays, including the 10-yard touchdown by Klein. On the ensuing drive, Coast Guard cut the score in half with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Joseph Armentrout to Tafari Wall in the corner of the end zone. The drive was set up by a 29-yard punt return and a 34-yard catch by Jacob Wagner.
- With 4:38 left in the third, Gozelski blocked his second field goal of the game as this block came on a 32-yard attempt from Hall.
- The Bears were pushing to tie the game late in the third and into the fourth, driving down to the MIT 10-yard line. However, a bad snap pushed Coast Guard back to the 28-yard line and the Bears turned the ball over on downs on a fourth-and-23 play.
- MIT's Adam Zimmermann (Houston, Texas) and Grant Bordelon (Sugar Land, Texas) intercepted Armentrout on the next two possessions, followed by a Gozelski fumble recovery at the Coast Guard five-yard line with three minutes remaining. Klein took care of things from there as he scored from two yards out for the touchdown that sealed the 21-7 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- In the first quarter, Coast Guard had 112 yards of offense while MIT had just eight plays for seven total yards. For the game, the Bears held a 364-231 advantage in total offense as MIT converted on 2-of-3 red zone opportunities.
- Dehning completed seven passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, while senior George Stultz (Frederick, Md.) led the rushing attack with 64 yards on 14 attempts. Gastel was the top receiver as he had a team-high three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown.
- Armentrout finished 19-for-37 passing for 291 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. His favorite target was Damaso Jaime, who had three catches for a game-high 107 yards.
- Defensively, senior Will Exson (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied a team-high six tackles while Gozelski added two solo tackles to along with his fumble recovery, two blocked kicks and one quarterback hurry. Logan Morris had a game-high nine tackles for the Bears, including one tackle for loss.
UP NEXT:
- The Engineers are back in action on Saturday, November 6th as the team hosts Springfield College for a 1 p.m. start at Steinbrenner Stadium. Please note that game time may be adjusted due to potential NEWMAC postseason tournament play that day at MIT.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.