Worcester State 42, Massachusetts Maritime Academy 7
Lancer Defense Holds the Buccaneers to 155 Total Yards
Worcester, MA --- Senior Pat Good (Hull, MA) passed for two touchdowns and junior Will Earley (Fitchburg, MA) rushed for a pair of scores to help lead Worcester State, 42-7, on Saturday afternoon at Coughlin Field. Both teams battled heavy rain throughout the contest while the Lancers earned their first victory to improve their record to 1-3 (1-0 NEFC Bogan) while the Buccaneers remain winless at 0-4 (0-1 NEFC Bogan).
Mass. Maritime struck first with an eight yard run by freshman quarterback Nick Montalto (South Yarmouth, MA) with 11:35 left in the first quarter. Worcester answered back and tied the score 39 seconds later on their first play of their first drive when Good threw a 62-yard strike to sophomore Jason Patterson (Attleboro, MA).
After a Buccaneers punt on their next possession, the visitors forced WSC to start their next drive on their own seven yard line. The Lancers then drove down the field and scored on a two-yard rumble by Early with 1:02 left in the first for the go-ahead touchdown.
Both defenses held the game at 14-7 for much of the second quarter until Worcester State took advantage of good field position and added to their lead on two-yard scamper by Earley just before the end of the second quarter (4:11).
Coming out of the locker room, the Lancers scored on their first possession on a 67-yard flick from Good to junior Dave Salvi (Bedford, MA).
After both teams traded two possessions, the Buccaneers, on their third attempt of the stanza, found their offense on Worcester State's three yard line. On first and goal, Montalto looked to run the ball into the end zone, but he fumbled and junior defensive end Steve Melville (Merrimac, MA) came up with the ball to keep the game at 27-7, just as time expired in the third quarter.
The Blue and Gold put the game out of reach with two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter from freshman Charles Powell (Boston, MA) and sophomore Aaron McCraine (W. Newbury, MA). Both scores were the first on the season for the underclassmen.
The Lancer's gained a season-high 509 total yards of offense while the defense held the Buccaneers to just 57 yards passing. WSC was also 8-for-15 on third down attempts and Patterson had three punt returns for 74 yards.
Offensively Worcester State was led by Good, who was 10-for-16 with 324 passing yards and two scores through the air. Salvi hauled in five receptions for 169 yards with one touchdown. Earley and Powell combined to rush 26 times for 149 yards for three touchdowns. Junior Patrick Skelton (Dedham, MA) was also a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT attempts.
Montalto, junior Alex Butler (Bourne, MA) and freshman Matt White (Westwood, MA) paced Mass Maritime's rushing attack with 39 attempts for 100 yards on the ground.
Melville and sophomore linebacker Tyler Russell (Princeton, MA) each finished with nine tackles (seven solo) while senior nose tackle Chris Gratuski (Lunenburg, MA) made six stops. Melville added 3.5 tackles for a loss with 1.5 sacks to go along with a forced fumble and a recovery. Sophomore defensive back Andrew Tokartz (Holden, MA) tallied four stops and a pair of pass breakups.
On defense the Buccaneers were led by senior lineman Derek Parent (W. Springfield, MA) who notched seven tackles (three for a loss) while junior defensive back Nick Stralka (N. Kingston, RI) added eight stops (six solo). Parent, junior lineman Jim Erlwien (Livingston Manor, NY) and sophomore Peter Avitbile (Bourne, MA) each finished with one sack.
Both teams will continue NEFC Bogan Division play with 1:30 games on Saturday. Worcester State will travel to Framingham State while Mass. Maritime travels to New Haven, CT to face Coast Guard.