MIT’s new offensive coordinator Tanner Kingsley didn’t waste any time making a statement in his debut, guiding the Engineers to a dominant 35-7 victory over Nichols College on Friday night. It was Kingsley’s first game leading the offense and quarterbacks for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the team looked absolutely dialed in.
Offense Hits the Ground Running
The Engineers offense clicked from the jump. On their very first drive of the season opener at Michael J. Vendetti Field in Dudley, Mass., they marched 75 yards downfield in just eight plays, chewing up 5:09 off the clock before punching it in on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Talk about setting the tone for the season. MIT didn’t slow down from there, piling up 509 total yards on 70 plays. The ground game was absolutely grinding, with 323 rushing yards on 43 attempts. The passing attack was sharp too, slinging for 186 yards on 19-of-27 passing. An average of 7.27 yards per play and 26 first downs? That’s what you call pure offensive domination.
Bittersweet Victory on the Road
This wasn’t just any win. Tanner Kingsley, who previously starred for Woodland before moving on to Central Connecticut State University and Anna Maria College, started his coaching career at Anna Maria, moving up from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator to eventually head coach. In a truly wild twist, Kingsley’s success came against many of his former players. Sixteen players transferred from Anna Maria to Nichols after their school closed last spring. One of those Anna Maria transfers, Anthony LaGuardia from South Windsor, even caught Nichols’ only touchdown, a 65-yard bomb from Will Migliaccio from Granby Memorial, with 12:35 left in the third quarter. That cut MIT’s lead to 21-7 and could have swung momentum. But Kingsley’s Engineers were having none of it. They answered just two minutes and one second later with a 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown, pushing the score to 28-7. A quick fourth-quarter touchdown sealed the 35-7 final. That’s how you shut down any comeback hopes.
Kingsley’s debut as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Engineers was nothing short of a statement. If this is what the MIT offense looks like right out of the gate, with a former head coach now running the show, the rest of the league needs to take notice. They’re 1-0 to start the season and improved their series record to 17-10 against the Bison, but more importantly, this team looks like it has found a new gear under Kingsley.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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