DUDLEY, Mass. (9/4/2026) – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) built a 21-point halftime advantage and added two second-half scores to defeat the Nichols College football team, 35-7, in their 2026 home opener Friday evening at Michael J. Vendetti Field.
The Engineers struck first on their opening possession, marching 75 yards on eight plays before Ryan Treptow connected with Jimmy Conners for a two-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 advantage. However, Nichols' defense came up with a key stop later in the opening frame, forcing a missed 27-yard field goal after the Engineers had driven deep into Bison territory.
MIT extended its lead midway through the second quarter when Treptow found Ezekiel Dube-Garrett for a 21-yard touchdown. The Engineers added to their advantage in the closing seconds of the half, as Treptow connected with Michael Dennison on a 43-yard scoring strike with 25 seconds remaining to send MIT into the locker room with a 21-0 lead.
The Bison defense continued to battle throughout the second half and held MIT without points on a long third-quarter possession, forcing another missed field goal after the Engineers had moved inside the Nichols 25-yard line. MIT eventually found its way through again, and padded its lead to 28-0 early on in the third thanks to a 22-yard touchdown pass from Treptow to Keegan Doody.
Nichols answered with its biggest offensive play of the night on the ensuing drive, when junior quarterback
Will Migliaccio launched a long-ball pass to find senior receiver
Ethan LaGuardia down the right side for a 65-yard touchdown, putting the Bison on the board and cutting the deficit to 28-7. The Engineers would add their final score midway through the fourth quarter, as Colter Mahabir capped a six-play drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to make the final score 35-7.
LaGuardia led the Nichols offense with five receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown, while Migliaccio completed 14-of-25 passes for 188 yards and the Bison's lone score. On defense, senior
Charles DeMartino paced the Bison with a game-high 11 tackles, while
Anthony Shorter added eight of his own.
Noah Roberts finished the evening with seven tackles and a pass breakup, and
Marcus Abney contributed five tackles and a tackle for loss.MIT finished the evening with 509 yards of total offense, while Nichols totaled 196 yards.
Nichols will look to regroup at its next matchup, where they will head to the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday, September 12
th for a Noon kickoff at Brooks Stadium & Captain James Harvey Tomb Field.
