PSU Football pulls away from MIT
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Plymouth State University registered touchdowns in the final three quarters Saturday afternoon en route to a 21-7 victory over MIT in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division game.
PSU got rushing touchdowns from seniors J.J. Brooks (Seabrook, N.H.) and Steve Campbell (Northborough, Mass.) and a fumble recovery returned for a TD by sophomore Peter LaBreck (Thornton, N.H./Plymouth Regional). MIT scored its only touchdown after blocking a punt in the first quarter and recovering on the Panther six-yard line.
The Panthers picked up their fourth consecutive win and improved to 5-1 on the year and 3-0 in league play. The Engineers dipped to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the NEFC.
With the game scoreless in the opening quarter, Rhys Borchert blocked a PSU punt, which was recovered at the six. Three plays later, Nate Forbes scampered into the end zone and Matthew Peterson's extra-point gave the Engineers a 7-0 advantage with six seconds remaining in the quarter.
Plymouth State responded with a touchdown on its next drive. Brooks completed passes to Ty Long (Dover, N.H.), Aaron Getz (Palmerton, Pa.) and Brendan Fontaine (Canterbury, Conn.) to put the ball deep in MIT territory, and Brooks scored on a two-yard keeper to tie the game at 7-7.
Early in the third quarter, John Wenzel gained three yards and the play appeared to have been stopped, but LaBreck forced a fumble, collected the loose ball, and ran 48 yards for the touchdown and a 14-7 Panther lead. LaBreck had moved from the offensive line to defense just this week due to injuries on the Panther defensive line, and ended up as the team's leading tackler with nine stops.
PSU finished off the scoring early in the fourth quarter when Campbell capped a 10-play, 70 yard drive with a two-yard TD burst.
Long compiled 90 rushing yards on 15 attempts to go along with a 12-yard catch. Brooks added 46 yards on the ground while completing 5-of-9 for 89 yards.
Both squads continue divisional play next Saturday, as MIT travels to Western New England College while Plymouth State hosts Endicott College in a pivotal match-up as both squads are undefeated in league action.
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