NEWTON, Mass.—Junior running back Al Georgio (West Greenwich, R.I.) scored four touchdowns and totaled 130 yard of rushing offense to lead the Norwich University football team to a 38-19 win against the Mustangs of Mount Ida College on Saturday afternoon in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action.

The win marks the third straight win for the Cadets, who improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in ECFC action. With the loss, the Mustangs fall to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in league play.

Norwich totaled 400 yards of total offense, including 344 yards of rushing offense on the afternoon. Mount Ida saw 358 yards of total offense, 271 of which came in the air.

Georgio scored once in the first quarter, twice in the second quarter and added a final touchdown in the fourth quarter to post a single-game personal best. His four rushing touchdowns recorded Saturday afternoon are one shy of the school record of five, set by Orwin Etkins in the 2009 ECFC Championship game played against Mount Ida.

In addition to Georgio, the Cadets also saw a rushing touchdown by quarterback Keyen Foley (Hemet, Calif.), and a 35-yard field goal by Wesley Medeiros (Gilford, N.H.). Medeiros also connected on all five of his extra-point attempts to improve to a perfect 23 of 23 on the season. Foley rushed for 95 yards on the afternoon and completed four of 12 pass attempts for 56 yards.

Georgio opened scoring for the Cadets at the 11:54 mark of the first quarter on a 10-yard run. On Mount Ida's second drive of the second quarter, Dane Pallotto (Westbrook, Conn.) recorded an interception and returned it four yards to Mount Ida's 32-yard line, however a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by the Mustangs put the Cadets in scoring position at the 17-yard line. A Norwich holding penalty set the Cadets back 10-yards, setting up Medeiros for the 35-yard field goal. The Cadets led 10-0 after the first quarter.

Pallotto had a big day on defense for the Cadets, as he totaled three interceptions to bring his season total to six.

Norwich added a touchdown by Foley and a 60-yard touchdown run by Georgio to take the 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter before Mount Ida was able to get on the board.

Following a 36-yard interception return by Kayln Smithson by the Mustangs and a good point-after kick by Nick Muccia, the Cadets added another Georgio touchdown on a four-yard run to set the halftime score at 31-7.

The Mustangs held the Cadets scoreless in the third quarter and scored six points on a touchdown at the 10:02 mark on an 85-yard pass by Jawad Yatim to Jordan Hyman. The Norwich defense stopped the two-point conversion attempt.  

Georgio scored on a five-yard run at the 9:27 mark of the fourth quarter. The Cadets used three plays to travel 75-yards to set up Georgio for the score, highlighted by a career-long 65-yard run by sophomore running back Sam Chaves (Alfred, Maine). Chaves totaled 83 yards of rushing offense for Norwich on three carries on the afternoon.

Mount Ida added one final touchdown 2:28 later as Yatim connected an 11-yard pass to Matt Greenman. A second failed two-point conversion set the final score at 38-19.  Junior quarterback Yatim threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw the three costly interceptions for Mount Ida, who also lost a fumble on one punt and committed a roughing the kicker penalty on another to twice more give the ball back to the Cadets.

Juniors Nael Pierre-Louis (Cumberland, R.I.) and Matt LeFevre (Milford, N.J.) co-led the Cadets with seven tackles apiece, with LeFevre also adding Norwich's only sack of the game.

Freshman D'Andre Smith led Mount Ida with nine tackles and had three break-ups, while senior Jon Proto had seven tackles, two and half for a loss of 19 yards.

Senior Carlous Julien was also a menace in the Norwich backfield, picking up three tackles for a loss of yardage, while junior Anthony Sanders had eight tackles.

Norwich returns to action next weekend for the final home game of 2013 against Husson. The Cadets will honor 19 seniors for their commitment to the Norwich program prior to the 1:00 p.m. kickoff.