Maine Maritime 41, Worcester State 20
Castine, ME – Senior fullback back Jim Bower (South Paris, ME) scored three touchdowns and ran for 252 yards carrying Maine Maritime to a 41-20 victory Saturday afternoon over Worcester State College in a Bogan Division, New England Football Conference (NEFC) contest.
With the win MMA improves to 4-1 and 2-1 in the Bogan Division while Worcester State drops to 0-6 and 0-3 in the conference.
Maine Maritime took a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game when Jim Bower (9 yards per carry) ran the ball in from 31 yards out. The scoring drive took only five plays and covered 85 yards after the MMA defense forced the Lancers over on downs at the MMA 15 yard line.
After both teams exchanged turnovers, Worcester State put their first points of the day on the board when Anthony Monahan (Wrentham, MA) caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tony Tokarz (Holden, MA) with 2:40 left in the first quarter. The Lancers missed the extra point attempt and trailed 7-6.
The Mariners quickly answered on their next possession, covering 68 yards on 11-plays, while taking 5 minutes off the clock. The scoring drive was capped off by a Matthew Rende (Augusta, ME) (16 carries for 97 yards) one yard touchdown run. The extra point was successful and MMA grabbed a 14-6 lead.
The Mariners struck again after an errant snap on a Worcester State punt attempt that left MMA at the Lancers 25 yard line. On the very next play, Bower rumbled through the Lancer defense and scored from 25 yards out. The drive took only eight seconds and gave MMA the 21-6 lead.
A punt and two more turnovers left both teams scoreless for the remainder of the half and MMA went into the locker room with the 21-6 advantage.
Worcester State closed the gap early in the third after a Jason Patterson (Attleboro, MA) interception, marching 56 yards in 10 plays to narrow the deficit to 21-13. The Lancers drive was capped off by a Marcus Price (Worcester, MA) one yard plunge. Price led the Lancers with 85 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Both teams exchanged touchdowns in the next two drives pushing the score to 27-20 heading into the fourth quarter. MMA’s Jim Bower had a 35-yard touchdown run while Worcester State’s David Bugan (Webster, MA) collected a two yard touchdown run.
The Mariners put the Lancers away early in the fourth quarter scoring twice in 19 seconds. The first score came at the 13:37 mark when Matthew Rende scored his second TD of the day from 14-yards out. After MMA’s third interception of the day, which put them at the Lancer 47 yard line, running back Todd Murphy (Middlesex, VT) ran the ball in from 36 yards out down the right sideline for the final score of the day at the 13:18 mark. Murphy finished the day with 3 carries for 109 yards.
Tokarz passed for 186 yards on 28 attempts to go along with his 54 yards rushing in the loss. Jake Macleay (Greenfield, MA) led the team with 7 catches for 75 yards while David Bugan collected 67 yards rushing. The Lancer offense was hampered by three Tokarz interceptions.
Worcester State College compiled 330 yards while the Mariners’ option attack totaled 519 yards on the ground and a 9.97 yards per carry average on the day.
MMA senior Mike Riley (Milton, VT) led the Mariners in tackles with 11 and he collected his 3rd and 4th interceptions of the year. Brock Lawrence (Lawrence, ME) played well for the second consecutive week, collecting 11 tackles. Wade Mondoux (Berwick, ME) and Travis Fergola (Mexico, ME) each had 10 tackles while Chris Brawn (Winslow, ME) had his best game of the year, collecting 9 tackles and two sacks.
Worcester State linebacker Tyler Russell (Princeton, MA) led all defenders with 15 tackles and he also recovered a fumble. Cliff Oratokhai (Worcester, MA) played well in the loss, collecting seven tackles and forcing a fumble.
Next week both teams will continue NEFC Bogan Division play with noontime games on Saturday. The Lancers host Fitchburg State while Maine Maritime travels to Mass Maritime.
Release Courtesy of Maine Maritime Sports Information