CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Senior quarterback Nico Casares got the nod to start under center for the Catholic Cardinals on Saturday at M.I.T. and delivered in a massive way. Casares completed 31 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns in the Cardinals' 42-7 victory over the Engineers. 

Catholic (2-3) wasted little time finding the end zone, taking a 7-0 lead with 12:37 still on the first quarter clock. It took the Cardinals just four plays to travel 67 yards as Casares found sophomore Malachi Hansen for a 23-yard score. M.I.T. (2-2) answered back late in the first as Sam Gozelski returned a fumble 35 yards for a score, but that was all the scoring the Engineers would do. 

Casares and the Cardinals started the second quarter in a similar fashion, starting a 35-0 scoring run with Hansen's second touchdown catch of the day, this one a 45-yarder from Casares. The Cardinals took back over at their own 31 with 8:17 to play in the first half. On the first play of the drive, Casares hit senior Preston Jeffrey for 47 yards, setting Catholic up just outside the red zone. Senior Kevin Licciardi picked up three yards on second down before Casares tossed his third touchdown of the game, finding senior Owen Shields for the 19-yard score. 

Leading 21-7, the Cardinals took over once again with 4:26 to play in the half. Catholic moved down the field methodically, covering 80 yards across 11 plays with junior Jared Colletti running it in from two yards out to extend the lead to 28-7. 

Shields recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick-off and the Cardinals had another chance to score before the half, taking over on the M.I.T. 36 with less than a minute to play. On second-and-15, Casares found sophomore Maikel Johnson for 24 yards, putting the Cardinals on the 17. Colletti added a 12-yard reception to put Catholic on the five where Casares would toss his fourth touchdown of the game to Shields with 14 seconds left in the half. 

Leading 35-7 to start the second half, the Engineers made a push on the opening drive, setting up first-and-goal from the 10, but the Cardinal defense held strong to force a turnover on downs. Catholic marched 93 yards on eight plays to put the finishing touches on a 42-7 victory with another 47-yarder to Jeffrey getting the Cardinals across midfield. Shields' third touchdown catch of the game and Casares fifth passing TD came with 7:56 remaining in the third period. 

Catholic doubled up the Engineers, racking up 26 first downs to 13. The Cardinals converted on 61 percent of their third downs while also going three-for-four on fourth down attempts. 

The Cardinals totaled 530 yards of offense while holding M.I.T. below 200 total yards. Shields (3) and Hansen (2) caught all five of the touchdowns, but Jeffrey led the way with a career-high 165 yards on seven receptions. 

Defensively, senior Josh Webb picked up a sack for Catholic while sophomore Carson Henry and senior Nick Diehl each added a tackle-for-loss. Henry and fellow sophomore Mason Stillwell each broke up a pair of passes. 

Casares got the nod to start on his birthday and performed admirably, matching junior Madden Lowe with a five touchdown day as Lowe did it against McDaniel to open up the 2021 season. 

Catholic returns back to Cardinal Stadium on Saturday as they host W.P.I at 1 p.m.