Maine Maritime 62, Worcester State 31

Castine, ME --- Senior fullback back Jim Bower (South Paris, ME) scored three touchdowns and ran for 239 yards carrying Maine Maritime to a 61-32 victory Saturday afternoon over Worcester State University in a Bogan Division, New England Football Conference (NEFC) contest. 

With the win MMA improves to 3-1 and 1-1 in the Bogan Division while Worcester State drops to 3-2 and 1-1 in conference play.

Worcester State took a 3-0 lead on their first possession of the game when freshman Erich Perfetti (Shrewsbury, MA) kicked a 33-yard field goal. The Lancers struck again after junior Cameron Jones (Stow, MA) recovered an MMA fumble on the 11-yard line. Six plays later third-year quarterback Tony Tokarz (Holden, MA) rushed the ball in from two yards out to give Worcester State the 9-0 lead. The extra point attempt failed and the Lancers headed into the second quarter with the 9-0 advantage.

The second quarter turned into a shootout between both offenses with the teams combining for 62 points. The Mariners scored on all seven possessions of the period and racked up 41 points.

MMA started the stanza with a 10-play drive that covered 61 yards and ended with a junior Nick Bourassa (Jay, ME) touchdown rush from 15-yards out. Worcester State quickly answered on a third-year Marcus Price (Worcester, MA) 54-yard run that gave the visitors a 16-7 lead.  Price led the Lancers with 147 yards rushing on 22 carries.

The Mariners quickly responded on their next possession, when Bower took the ball 67 yards on the first play of the drive for the score. The two-point conversion attempt failed and MMA trailed 16-13. On the Lancers next possession, senior Josh Elwell (Owls Head, ME) intercepted Tokarz and brought the ball to the Lancer 15-yard line. Seven seconds later, Bourassa (9 carries for 70 yards) scored his second TD of the game from 15-yards out giving MMA their first lead of the game at 21-16.

The Mariners struck again after a Worcester State fumble, taking just 1:33 off the clock and ending with Bower's second touchdown of the day. Bower's 13-yard run gave the Mariners the 29-16 lead and three scores in less than three minutes.

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Graham Asum (Marlboro, MA) took the ball 80-yards for the touchdown to inch the Lancers back to within six points at 29-23. The Mariners proved to be too much for the Lancer defense, scoring on their next two drives, one from quarterback third-year Matthew Rende (Augusta, ME) and Bower as he rushed  from 30 yards out. The Lancers finished off the scoring in the first half, with a Tokarz to junior Will Franklin (Brattleboro, VT) 12-yard touchdown pass with just five seconds left closing the gap to 41-30 at the intermission.

After two Worcester State punts to begin the second half, Rende (20 carries for 164 yards) scored from 37-yards out, capping off a 71-yard drive. The score put MMA in front 48-30. The Mariners scored again with 3:01 left in the third on a Rende to Nate Duford (Claremont, NH) touchdown pass from 4-yards out. The extra point attempt was blocked and senior Paul Lewis (Worcester, MA) picked up the ball in the end zone and returned the ball 103 yards for the two-point conversion for Worcester State.

MMA tacked on another score with 2:00 minutes left in the game on a freshman Bill Wetherbee (Veazie, ME) 51-yard run, closing the scoring at 61-32. The Mariners rushed for 635 yards on the day and averaged 9.76 yards per carry. The Mariners had eight touchdowns on the ground in the contest.

Tokarz passed for 131 yards on 28 attempts to go along with his 33 yards rushing in the loss. Will Franklin led the team with 6 catches for 86 yards and a score. Worcester State University did manage to rack up 325 yards of total offense. After a wild first half, the Lancers offense was silent as Lewis's two-point return were the only points for WSU in the final two stanzas of play.

MMA sophomore Joel Chabourne (Westbrook, ME) led the Mariners in tackles with 10 and had two tackles for losses and a forced fumble. Elwell and freshman Alex Hermes (Fallsington, PA) each picked up an interception while first-year Andy Pulk (Lewiston, ME) had a fumble recovery.

Worcester State senior linebacker Tyler Russell (Princeton, MA) led all defenders with 12 tackles while Jones and Lewis each collected nine tackles. Jones also added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as Asum notched a forced fumble.

The Mariners will be back in action next week when they host Westfield State College at 1 PM while the Lancers will host Massachusetts Maritime Academy at noon.