WORCESTER, Mass. – The Salve Regina Seahawks defeated the Worcester State Lancers 39-3 in Friday night's football action at Coughlin Memorial Stadium as the Seahawks held the advantage in total yards 294-158.
The Seahawks took a large 29-3 leap over the Lancers in the first half as Salve Regina scored three touchdowns and gained two points from a team safety.
It wasn't until the fifth drive of the game when the scoring began. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Seahawks quarterback Brandan Basil (Northford, Conn.) connected with James Dawson (Oradell, N.J.) for the first touchdown of the game. The Seahawks added to their six with a team safety to adjust the margin 8-0.
Moments later, Salve Regina's Brendan Nunes (Attleboro, Mass.) registered a 76-yard kickoff return to force six more points to the score. After a good kick from Andrew Verre (Wethersfield, Conn.), the Seahawks marked a 15-0 advantage.
Worcester's sole scoring moment of the night happened when sophomore kicker, Noah Hwang (Brooklyn, NY) completed a 38-yard field goal to cut the Seahawks' lead to 12.
In the second quarter, Salve Regina's Basil rushed for 30 yards and upped the score to 22-3 on a good kick from Verre. Sam Pascale (Cheshire, Conn.) added to this as he rushed for a touchdown with 0:17 remaining in the half, on a 14 play, 62-yard drive.
Worcester State held off Salve Regina's offense in the third quarter, though, the score was altered to 31-3 on a team safety.
Salve Regina's Pascale rounded up the score for the Seahawks as he marked a 7-yard run for a touchdown with six minutes remaining in the game. Salve Regina was at the advantage once again, as two more points on a safety concluded the score at 39-3.
The Seahawks dominated on the defensive end as they registered six sacks for a total of 38 yards. Brandon O'Neil (Madison, Conn.) had a total of four (two assisted) while Kevin Johnston (Raynham, Mass.) ended up with two assisted. David Mavilia (Scituate, Mass.), John Salute (Mahwah, N.J.), Ethan Gambale (Mays Landing, N.J.) and John Burke (N. Branford, Conn.) each claimed one unassisted sack. Leading the team in tackles was Joey Farrar (Watertown, Mass.) for a total of nine, while Haiden Pereira (Hopkinton, Mass.) notched eight.
For the passing game, Salve Regina's Basil completed 11-of-32 attempts for a total of 108 yards and one touchdown. In the running game, Pascale rushed 77 yards in 22 attempts, while Dawson and Basil followed with 53 and 35 yards, respectively.
For the Lancers, Cameron Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) ran the offense for the majority of the game as he completed 14-of-25 for 142 yards. Mike Kadlick (Dedham, Mass.) and Ismael Jenkins (Lawrence, Mass.) saw time at the quarterback position as Kadlick completed four of seven, and Jenkins sneaked in the game for one of three attempts.
Leading the Blue and Gold on the offensive end was Dexter Andrews (Dorchester, Mass.) in rushing, and Dan Orlando (Westborough, Mass.) and Arron Witkus (Chelmsford, Mass.) in passing. Holding the defensive end down was Michael Quinn (Northbridge, Mass.) who marked a game-high 14 tackles (11 assisted).
The Lancers will travel across town to visit WPI on their turf next Friday (Sep. 9) night for a 7 p.m. game. On Saturday (Sep. 10) Salve Regina will host Dean in their home opener for a noontime matchup.