Endicott awaits postseason destination after 36-24 victory over MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Endicott football team finishes their regular season 9-1 after a 36-24 win over MIT in NEFC Boyd Division action and will now wait to find out their next opponent in possible NCAA Tournament play or an ECAC Bowl game.
 
MIT drops to 2-7 (1-6 NEFC Boyd) in their final game of the 2011 season.
 
Two fourth quarter touchdown passes by senior quarterback Phil Konopka (Shelton, Conn.) were essential in maintaining Endicott’s late-game lead as well as field goals of 27, 34, and 39 yards by sophomore Dylan Rushe (Palos Verdes, Calif.) throughout the game. 
 
Konopka finished the game 16-of-27 with 191 yards and touchdown passes of 40 and 23 yards to senior tight end Taylor Allen (Westboro, Mass.) and junior wide out Mike Murphy (Chelmsford, Mass.), respectively.  He also had a one-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.  Rushe was a perfect 3-of-3 on field goal attempts with three extra points. 
 
On the ground, the Gulls saw senior tailback Mike Lane (Medfield, Mass.) lead off the game with a four-yard touchdown run to put Endicott ahead 7-0.  For Lane, the score increased his career-best touchdown total for a single season to 12.  He finished with 125 yards on 26 carries for a 4.8 yards per attempt average. 
 
Defensively, senior defensive end Kevin Eagan (West Hartford, Conn.) once again led the team in tackles with 15, including nine solo takedowns with two tackles for a loss.  One of those tackles behind the line of scrimmage was a sack for a loss of four yards.  Junior linebackers Peter Kallas (Beverly, Mass.) and Oscar Moore (Cambridge, Mass.) added 10 and nine tackles, respectively.  Junior linebacker PJ Bandin i(Dorchester, Mass.) and freshman defensive back Mike Lago (Newtown, Conn.) each had seven tackles with Bandini recording three tackles for a loss. 
 
Gulls senior defensive back Mike Kearns (Newtown, Conn.) picked off MIT quarterback John Wenzel (Mandeville, La.) with the Engineers driving down to the Endicott 15 yard line and returned the ball 36 yards.
 
After Endicott’s first drive touchdown on the Lane four-yard rush, MIT got on the board with a 26-yard field goal by senior Peter Galliland (Grand Ledge, Mich.) but the Gulls regained their seven-point advantage after Rushe’s 27-yard boot with 7:57 left in the second quarter.
 
Wenzel scored MIT’s first touchdown on their next possession with a 43-yard score to freshman Brad Goldsberry (Elizabeth, Colo.) down the middle of the field. 
 
Endicott took advantage of a 26-yard kick return by Mike Wheeler (Hanover, Mass.) and a personal foul penalty as they started their next drive on the MIT 33-yard line.  The drive resulted in Konopka’s quarterback sneak to put the Gulls back on top 17-10 with 3:19 remaining in the half. 
 
The Engineers tied the game at 17-17 with a drive of 15 plays and 54 yards that ended in another touchdown for Goldsberry.  Goldsberry finished with game-highs in catches (11) and yards (104) with two touchdowns. 
 
In the third quarter, the Blue and Green won the battle of field position as the Endicott defensive pinned MIT deep into their own territory and getting good field position on the offensive end.  The Gulls turned the advantage into a pair of Rushe field goals to put Endicott on top 23-17. 
 
Early the fourth quarter, Konopka found Allen on a 40-yard connection to make it 30-17 in favor of the visitors.  Kearns’ interception gave the Gulls the ball back and Konopka gave Endicott their largest lead of the game at 36-17 after his 23-yard hook up with Murphy.
 
MIT would add to their point total one final time on a two-yard punch in by freshman Justin Wallace (Palatine, Ill.) to make it 36-24.  Wallace finished with 89 yards on the ground.