Cambridge, Mass. - November 16, 2021 - The Springfield College football team used a tremendous defensive effort to fuel a 17-7 win at MIT in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday evening.
Playing in its first road night game since 2014, Springfield improved to 6-3, 5-0 in conference play, while MIT dipped to 4-4, 2-3. Tonight's contest marked Springfield's seventh road game of the season, matching the most road games in a season that last occurred in 1891.
David Wells (Shelton, Conn.) ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns to headline an offense that had 402 yards of offense. The Pride controlled possession for much of the game, having the ball for 39:21 and totaling 24 first downs on 85 offensive plays.
On the defensive side of the ball, Springfield held MIT to 181 yards of offense, including only 17 rushing yards. The Engineers were successful on just 2-of-14 on third downs as they had the ball for just over 20 minutes in the game. Billy Carr (Southington, Conn.) led the Pride with six tackles, including two for loss, Aiden Lewin (Orlando, Fla.) and DJ Brown (Wading River, N.Y.) each had five tackles, and Ronald Beard (Dix Hills, N.Y.) contributed three pass break ups. Patrick Tuohy (Columbia, Conn.) produced five punts that totaled 203 yards and pinned the Engineers inside their 20 yard line four times.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Pride started their first drive on the second quarter from the MIT 41 yard line at the 12:32 mark and would find the end zone 10 plays later on a four-yard rush from Wells. The extra-point attempt was blocked as the Pride held an a 6-0 edge with 8:21 on the clock. The hosts answered right back, crossing the goalline four plays later on a back corner throw by Chris Mauck pass to Dennis Gastel from 10 yards out as the Engineers gained a 7-6 edge. The Pride's ensuing 13-play drive abruptly ended when MIT made a fourth-down stop on their 21 yard line as the teams headed into the half with MIT clinging to a one-point lead.
On their second drive of the third quarter, Wells took the first play 38 yards up the sideline and two plays later sliced through MIT's defense for a 19-yard score with 10:37 to play. Isaiah Cashwell-Doe (Woburn, Mass.) would find daylight for the two-point conversion as the Pride earned the 14-7 advantage. The Pride's defense would allow the Engineers only 52 yards on 16 plays in the third quarter.
In the fourth, a 14-play drive that chewed up over seven minutes off the clock resulted in a 33-yard field goal by Christian Hutra (Holmes, N.Y.) and made it a two-score game at 17-7 with 4:55 left in regulation. Springfield's defense continued to dominate as it held MIT to -1 yard of offense in the frame, with Carr highlighting the effort with a nine-yard sack on MIT's final drive.
Springfield will close out the regular season next Saturday when it hosts Catholic at 12 pm.
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