Cambridge, Mass. - Another furious comeback attempt falls just short as MIT outduels the Cadets 29-26. Norwich scored three times in the second half, but MIT pulled out the win with a fourth quarter touchdown.
Most football experts point to a handful of key statistics to determine how successful a team is during a game, namely turnover margin, time of possession, explosive plays, red zone production, and sacks. Norwich won the turnover margin (1 - 0), time of possession (34:32 - 25:28), red zone production (Norwich was 2/2 while holding MIT to 2/5), and sacks (3 - 0). The explosive play category was tilted towards MIT (4 - 3) and that proved enough to be the difference in the game.
The traditionally ground oriented MIT offense took advantage of four big plays - a 70-yard screen play for a touchdown, a 44-yard catch and run to set-up a score, a 56-yard touchdown scamper, and a 25-yard run to set-up the go ahead touchdown. Chase Harmon, the Sophomore QB for MIT, was 11/13 passing (84.6% completion rate) for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the Cadets also sacked Harmon three times on the day.
Early on, the Cadet offense was almost exclusively focused on the ground game and ran the ball all but the second to last play of the first quarter. As the Norwich passing game heated up, so did the offense. From the second quarter on, the Cadets scored four touchdowns, had a drive that resulted in a missed field goal, and turned the ball over on downs twice. The first touchdown of the game was the result of good field position following the only MIT turnover of the day. Norwich did not commit a turnover or allow a sack during the game.
Defensively,
Jeremy Henault (Goffstown, NH) continued his excellent play this season and led the team with 8 total tackles including the forced fumble that eventually led to the first Norwich touchdown of the game.
AJ Aldrich (White River Junction, Vt.),
Eli Leblanc (Hollis Center, Maine), and
Maddox Reed (Spring Hill, Tenn.) each recorded sacks on the day. Already one of the top red zone defenses in the country, Norwich only surrendered points twice, out of the five red zone trips the faced in the game.
Offensively,
Justin Bryant (Eliot, Maine) led the ground game with 105 yards on 23 carries and added a touchdown.
Ryan O'Keefe (Scarborough, Maine) had a well rounded game while completing 14/26 (53.8%) with a touchdown and gained 18 yards on 5 carries with a rushing touchdown.
Will Thornton (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) finished with 104 yards receiving on 4 catches and including a huge 63-yard explosive play in the second half.
Trevor Chase (Eliot, Maine) led the team with 6 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. The Cadets used a double reverse pass from
Riley Geyer (Augusta, Maine) to Thornton for a 25-yard touchdown to give Norwich a lead in the fourth quarter.
After playing six of their first eight games on the road, the Cadets will finally have the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd for the final two contests of the season. Next week Norwich welcomes New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) leading Springfield College to Sabine Field.
