When they were heading down to Milton, Mass. on a beautiful, sun-splashed day last Saturday, local broadcasters Rich MacDonough and Jason Robie had no idea they were about to become part of history.

And see a performance they will never forget.

Some of you may have heard about it, others not. Division III Curry College running back Montie Quinn, in a 71-27 win over Nichols College, rushed for an NCAA record – are you sitting down – 522 yards and seven touchdowns on 20 carries. Incredible. It wiped out the record set in 2014 by Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine, 427 yards in a game vs. Kansas, although that remains the Football Bowl Subdivision top mark. MacDonough, a former lacrosse player and coach and the father of former Bishop Guertin standout quarterback Mike MacDonough, and Robie, best known as the former and original Nashua High School North head football coach, have made their marks in the local and regional broadcast world. You may know them best for their exceptional work on Nashua ETV. For whom, full disclosure, yours truly also works.

Their great work and gift of gab – no reason for the radio on the ride down and back, trust us – has allowed them to branch out, be in demand, and last weekend they were working for the Northeast Sports Network.

The pair had done their homework. They knew all about Quinn, had watched film, prepped with the coaches, etc. They knew he’d likely dominate.

“You had this amazing back going up against a team that was giving up a lot of points defensively,” Robie said. “We kind of had a thought that something special could happen, we kind of talked a little bit about it. But you never stop to think you’re going to see an NCAA all-division record.”

When did they realize they were about to see something special?

“The first three handoffs,” MacDonough said, noting the first thing South Carolina native Quinn did in a post-game press conference was credit his offensive line. “We felt like we would have a good day in front of us just because of homecoming … Sunny, mid 60s, 3,000 people in the stands, carnival atmosphere. … First few handoffs we knew we were watching a special athlete.

“We’re a couple of Nashua area guys and we’re working our first college game together. Jason and I kept commenting, ‘We might be on to something special here.'”

What an experience.

“As soon as Curry got the ball, you said, ‘Ooo, this is going to be an explosive day for this young man,'” Robie said, noting from his coach experience that the linemen plus the receivers were blocking like crazy.

“This young man,” MacDonough said, “has Division I speed and moves in a Divsion III setting.”

Of course, the wheels are turning as Quinn’s numbers kept increasing and the records would tumble. School marks, Division III marks, TD marks, etc. And Robie had looked up and found Perine’s record, Curry sports information staff was furiously making notes with numbers and handing them off and the on-air countdown was on.

Local broadcasters Rich MacDonough, left, and Jason Robie flank Curry College running back Monte Quinn after their broadcast of Quinn’s NCAA rushing record-setting performance last weekend. (Courtesy photo)

“It was pretty cool, a behind the scenes look, them grabbing the statistics and feeding them to us, and kind of getting ourselves ready for that moment,” Robie said. “It was really, really cool.”

“We’re starting to look at each other going ‘Holy cow, this might happen.’ I think my hair was standing on its head and what’s left of Jason’s was standing on it’s head (chuckling). I had to get that in there. Jason and I are buddies and we were hugging each other and going ‘Thank gosh we got this chance to be here.'”

“The cool thing was, from a broadcaster standpoint, you were part of the game,” Robie said.

Their broadcast in the digital age will stand forever, and be part of history.

That’s the fun of sports, right? The message here is whenever you go to a game as a fan, media, coach or player, you may see something special you’ve never seen before and will leave people talking for days, months, or even years. As Robie said, “Every game is so special.”

But some end up being more special than others. You never know you may witness or, like Robie and MacDonough, be part of history. Lucky guys for sure.

Must’ve been some ride home.

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on X (@Telegraph_TomK).