Westfield State 33, Worcester State 16
Worcester, MA --- Westfield State sophomore Kyle Anderson (Westminster, MA) passed for 172 yards and three scores to help lead the Owls defeat Worcester State 33-16 this afternoon on the last weekend of New England Football Conference Bogan Division play.
Winners of five straight, Westfield State improves to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play while the Lancers slip to 1-9 and 1-6 in the NEFC Bogan Division.
Sophomore Steve Skribiski (Whately, MA) powered the running attack for the Owls as he had 18 rushes for 112 yards while senior Jason Proule (Bridgewater, MA) also added 67 yards on the ground. Junior Evan Berneche (Chicopee, MA) hauled in five passes for 84 yards with a pair of scores while senior David Benoit (Ludlow, MA) finished with four receptions for 88 yards with one touchdown.
Offensively Worcester State was paced by a balanced rushing attack by sophomore Marcus Price (Worcester, MA/Doherty) and freshman David Bougan (Webster, MA) who combined for 23 rushes and 113 yards. Sophomore quarterback Tony Tokarz (Holden, MA) went 15-for-32 as he threw the ball for 151 yards while he also ran for 45 yards on the ground. Tokarz and Bougan each registered a touchdown on the ground.
Freshman Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA) led all WSC receivers as he caught six passes for 67 yards.
Worcester State grabbed the early 3-0 lead on a 32-yard field goal at 11:40 in the first quarter by senior Pat Skelton (Dedham, MA) which was set up by an interception by junior Yoseif Wolday (Boston, MA).
The two squads then traded a pair of possessions as neither team left their own side of the field for seven minutes of game play. With 3:11 remaining in the first it looked as though Westfield State was going to be held to another three and out, but they picked up a key personal foul penalty as WSC roughed the punter on fourth down.
Four plays later Anderson hooked up with Benoit for a 34-yard reception on third and 15 before he tossed it again to Berneche for a 10-yard scoring strike to put the Owls up 7-3 with 14:09 left in the first half.
The Lancers were then forced to punt on their next possession. Once Westfield State had the ball back, Anderson promptly extended the lead to 14-3 on a 44-yard flick to Berneche with 11:08 on the clock in the second quarter.
Tokarz then tried to air it out as he started off the drive with 14 passing yards, but he was intercepted by sophomore Ryan O'Connell (Athol, MA) at the Westfield State 37. Highlighted by five rushes for 34 yards by Skribiski, the Owls made the score 20-3 on a one-yard burst by senior Steve Ohlson (Quincy, MA) (kick failed).
Both teams traded possessions before the Lancers found themselves on their own 20 with 53 seconds remaining in the half. Tokarz once again tried to get something going and he was successful at the beginning of the drive with a 14-yard run to start things off, but then a backwards pass to Price was deflected and picked up by freshman Chris Walker (W. Springfield, MA) who brought it into the end-zone for a 30-yard fumble recovery to put the Owls up 26-3 at the half (Proule rush failed).
At the end of the first half, Westfield State had amassed 240 total yards and held the Lancers to just three first downs and 76 yards (-1 rushing-77 rushing).
The third quarter saw the possession of the ball change hands four times as Worcester State failed on two occasions to score inside the red zone. The first missed opportunity happened when the Lancers took their opening drive of the half as far as the 21-yardline, but Atkins fumbled a completed pass to end the threat. Two drives later junior Tyler Russell (Princeton, MA) recovered a loose ball to put the WSC on the 33, but the Blue and Gold turned the ball over on downs on Westfield's State's three.
On their next possession, the Owls were aided by another roughing the punter penalty and scored on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Benoit to put them up 33-3 with 25 seconds left.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Worcester State answered as they scored on a 32-yard scamper by Tokarz to make the score 33-10.
The rest of the game saw five combined turnovers as the Owls forced the Lancers to turn the ball over twice on downs inside Westfield's 10-yard line each time before O'Connell grabbed his second interception with 1:33 left in the game on the two yard-line.
Westfield State tried to run down the clock, but were unsuccessful as they fumbled on their own 24 to set up a one-yard plunge by Bougan. A failed WSC two-point conversion brought the score to 33-16.
The Owls recovered an on-side kick with 51 seconds left, but then turned the ball over again on the 27. The Westfield defense then held the Lancers inside their own territory to finish off the contest.
Defensively the Owls were paced by O'Connell who recorded eight tackles with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pair of interceptions for 22 yards while senior Chris James (Athol, MA) chipped in with a team-high nine stops. Fourth-year Jon Palmer (Charlton, MA) and classmate Nick Gniadek (Northbridge, MA) combined for 15 tackles while they each added two TFL.
Russell led the Lancers as he collected a season-best 20 tackles (9 solo, 3.5 for a loss) while he added a forced fumble and a pair of quarterback hurries. Russell ends the season with 122 total tackles which is the second-most in program history, just 10 stops off the school record of 132 set by Scott Holland in 1995.
Freshman Graham Asum (Marlboro, MA) and junior Andrew Tokarz (Holden, MA) each notched nine tackles apiece while Asum forced a fumble.
Nine seniors were also honored for playing in their last home game on "Senior Day." They were Skelton, Jake McLeay (Greenville, MA), Joe DiCalogero (Walpole, MA), Sean Doolin (Reading, MA), Tom Szalno (Hyde Park, MA), Matt McLean (Methuen, MA), Doug Gallant (Bellingham, MA) and senior captain Steve Melville (Merrimac, MA).