WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers dropped a 42-26 decision on their homecoming game to the visiting UMass Dartmouth Corsairs Saturday afternoon at John F. Coughlin Memorial Field as the Corsairs held the advantage in offensive yards 539-389.
Worcester State took the first lead of the game on their fourth drive when freshman quarterback Ismael Jenkins (Lawrence, Mass.) dished the ball to Matt Lezama (Milton, Mass.) who then rushed the ball three yards into the end zone for the 6-0 lift.
UMass Dartmouth came back and knotted the game at six in halfway through the second quarter when Kevin Wadsworth (Bridgewater, Mass.) received the ball on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Cory Burnham (Essex, Mass.).
The Corsairs took their first lead of the game on their next drive when they muscled down the field 80 yards in 11 plays. Johnny Mims (Dorchester, Mass.) rushed the ball one yard for the 12-6 lead. After a good two-point conversion from Burnham, the Corsairs routed the score to 14-6 going into the half.
UMass Dartmouth came out of the locker rooms looking for a boost and did just that. They scored two back-to-back touchdowns and registered a two-point conversion to slide the score to 28-6. The first of the third quarter came from Eddie Sheridan (Chelmsford, Mass.) on a 4-yard rush, while the second came from Abbi Bamgbose (Worcester, Mass.) who received a 22-yard pass down the field from Burnham.
Worcester State responded with seven minutes remaining in the third on a 65-yard pass to Dexter Andrews (Dorchester, Mass.) who scored his first touchdown of the season. After a good kick from Noah Hwang (Brooklyn, NY) the Lancers shortened the Corsairs lead to 15.
The Corsairs marched back with another touchdown and a two-point conversion early in the fourth, when Mims notched a two yard run and Wadsworth's conversion was good.
However, Worcester State put up a fight and knocked out two touchdowns in 14 minutes to cut the Corsairs' lead to 10. Worcester's Aaron Witkus (Chelmsford, Mass.) received a 20-yard pass in the end zone for six points, Andrews had a one rushing touchdown, and Hwang had another good kick to place the score at 36-26.
Despite the crowd roaring for the Blue and Gold, UMass Dartmouth put the Lancers out of a chance when they scored their final touchdown in the last three minutes of play to chalk the score at 42-26.
The Corsairs' Burnham piloted the team with 17 completions of 34 attempts for a total of 227 yards. Leading the team in rushing yards was Sheridan with 130 for one touchdown. Michael Slaugher, Jr. (Springfield, Mass.) amassed 95 yards, while Mims came in with 56 for a game-best three touchdowns. On the receiving end, Bamgbose collected six passes for a total of 92 yards with a touchdown.
On the defensive end for UMass Dartmouth, Marvey Mathurin (Woburn, Mass.) led the team with nine total, one tackle for loss, and an interceptions. Tony Slaugther (Springfield, Mass.) followed with eight tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, and one breakup. Scott Tupper (Holden, Mass.) led the team with two breakups while tallying six solo tackles.
Guiding Worcester State's offense was Jenkins who threw 22 passes for a total of 286 yards. The Lancers' Andrews led the team in the other two offensive categories as he held 62 yards rushing and 114 yards in receiving for two total touchdowns. Holding down the Corsairs' offense was Worcester's Stephen Smialek (Dartmouth, Mass.) who tallied a game-high 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Mike Holder (Lowell, Mass.) came in second on the team with 14 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and one tackle for loss. Samuel Weeks (Methuen, Mass.) and Bemnet Morgan (Springfield, Mass.) swung in with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.
The Lancers (1-5, 1-3 MASCAC) return to action next week when they travel to Western Connecticut for a 5 p.m. game on Oct. 22. The Corsairs (4-3, 3-2 MASCAC) resume play then when they host Mass. Maritime in a 12 noon game.