SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior quarterback Stephen Toth (Walden, NY) came off the bench to toss two short touchdown passes and sophomore running back DeRon Brown (Galax, VA) rushed for a game high 138 yards and another score as visiting MIT won its first game of the season with a 26-21 victory over Western New England College Saturday afternoon (Oct. 13).
The Engineers are now 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division. The Golden Bears fall to 2-5 and 0-4 in the division after suffering their fourth consecutive loss.
WNEC took a 7-0 lead on its first possession when freshman quarterback Justin Paroby (Taylor, PA), making only his second appearance of the season and first collegiate start, fired a 32-yard scoring pass to sophomore receiver Cliff Carpluk (Long Valley, NJ) on the opening play of the drive (1:41 into the contest) following a short punt.
Toth, who entered the game in the second quarter when freshman Brian Doyle (Hopkinton, MA) left with an injury, fired a three-yard pass to junior back Robert Utz (Cockeysville, MD) on fourth-and-goal to tie the contest with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter. Sophomore back Marcus Patten (Middleton, WI) intercepted a pass that gave the Engineers the lead for good along with a 13-7 lead at half-time when Brown rumbled 25 yards at the 2:25 mark of the period.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter with MIT senior back Thomas Scotton (Upland, CA) going two yards with 6:39 left, followed by a nine-yard run by WNEC junior back Jordan Capitanio (Torrington, CT) on the next possession with 3:38 remaining.
Toth again came through with another big play hitting junior tight end Thomas Franklin (Independence, MO) with a one-yard pass on fourth-and-goal only 72 seconds into the final stanza for a 26-14 lead.
Western New England College came back pulling within 26-21 when Capitanio (20 carries, season high 126 yards) tallied his second touchdown on a one-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 2:43 left in the game. MIT punted on the next possession and the Golden Bears took over on their own 12 with 1:11 remaining in the contest.
Sophomore quarterback Tim Hegarty (Bridgewater, MA), who shared time with Paroby, had a key 13-yard completion to sophomore receiver Cliff Vaillant (Holliston, MA) on a third down play that moved the ball to the MIT 48. A late hit on the out-of-bounds play gave the Golden Bears a first down on the Engineers' 33. Hegarty, however, threw three incompletions, the last one in the back of the end zone on the final play.
WNEC totaled 386 yards as Hegarty (10-for-22, 96 yards) and Paroby (6-for-12, 95 yards) combined for 191 yards. Each quarterback, however, threw a pair of interceptions. Sophomore receiver Rob Chiaccio (Groton, CT) finished with seven receptions for 76 yards. Freshman linebacker Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) had a game high 19 tackles while freshman strong safety Joe Begnal (Waterbury, CT) had 17 stops and freshman linebacker Dave McCarten (Little Compton, RI) 16.
MIT gained 336 yards (265 on the ground) with Toth completing 4-of-5 passes for 52 yards, including a 47-yarder to senior receiver Ulzie Rea (Fort Washington, MD) on a third-down play that set up the Engineers' final score.
