Worcester, MA --- Framingham State senior Melikke Van Alstyne (Salem, MA) rushed for 146 yards and a trio of touchdowns to eclipse the 6,000 yard mark in his career as he helped lead the Rams to a 36-0 victory over Worcester State on the final weekend of MASCAC football action.
With the victory Framingham State improves to 9-1 and completed the conference circuit with a perfect 8-0 mark. They await word on a possible Pool B or C spot when the seedings are announced for the NCAA Division III Football Championships on Sunday.
The Lancers, who were blanked for the first time since their home opener on September 11, 2009 against WPI, wrap up their season at 3-7 and 1-7 on the campaign.
Framingham State rolled out 453 yards of total offense and maintained possession of the ball for almost 40 minutes (39:17).
The Rams also limited the hosts to just 72 yards of total offense and the fifth best passing attack in the NCAA Division III entering the game (341.6 YPG) to just 67 yards through the air.
Sophomore Matt Silva (Dracut, MA) also paced the FSU offense going 20-for-33 with 257 passing yards and two scores as classmate Travis Hayes (Framingham, MA) hauled in seven receptions for 120 and both touchdowns.
Worcester State was paced offensively by senior AJ Scerra (Marlboro, MA) who had three catches for 27 yards to finish as the sixth-most receptions in Division III New England football history (207). Scerra's 66 catches on the campaign is the third highest sum in the program annuls.
Van Alstyne is now just 68 yards away from the top Division III New England rushing record and 205 off 7,000 all-purpose yards.
Framingham State used their first possession of the opening frame to take the early 7-0 lead when Van Alstyne scored on a four-yard plunge with 9:47 on the clock.
After punting the ball away on their next series, the Lancers got the ball back on a junior Mike Goulden's (Rehoboth, MA) team-leading fourth interception of the campaign. However, the Rams defense buckled down and forced another three-and-out.
Both teams then failed to score on their next two drives until the Rams made the score 13-0 on a two-yard rumble by Van Alstyne with 6:46 left in the second quarter (PAT failed).
Framingham State led at the intermission 20-0 after Hayes beat his man on single coverage on a 39-yard flick from Silva with 2:24 left in the first half.
The Rams did nothing on their first series of the third quarter, but got the ball back on a junior Ony Ramos (Lawrence, MA) pickoff at the Lancers 28 yard-line. FSU promptly pounced on the opportunity on a 28 yard scoring strike from Silva to Hayes with 10:19 on the clock.
Framingham State put the game away on a 23-yard field goal by senior Will Menter (Haverhill, MA) near the end of the third and a one-yard scamper by Van Alstyne with 10:58 in the fourth.
For the Rams defensively, senior Jeff Touron (Brockton, MA) collected three sacks for a loss of 14 yards for the Rams while junior Kevin Donahue (Norfolk, MA) added a fumble recovery.
Senior Adam Straughn (Rockland, MA) distinguished himself with a game-best 13 solo tackles including five for a loss of 17 yards and one sack.
Junior Teddy Ferreira (Mansfield, MA) also had eight tackles (seven solo) as junior Sean Hanley (Wilmington, MA) finished with seven solo tackles, one TFL and a pass deflection.
Junior Dana Valentine (Roxbury, MA) also had 70 kickoff return yards on a trio of runbacks.
Goulden, Straughn, Scerra, Alex Blakeslee (Shrewsbury, MA), Nick Doria (Watertown, MA), Matt Bowes (Old Saybrook, CT), Tim Laramee (Shrewsbury, MA), Kyle Morris (Foxboro, MA) and Mac Hanlon (Littleton, MA) were recognized in a brief pre-game ceremony for participating in their final home game on "Senior Day."
