Buzzards Bay, MA --- Junior Kemani Jones (Milton, MA) rushed for 169 yards and tied a school-record with four touchdowns to lead Worcester State to a 48-14 MASCAC football victory over Mass Maritime this afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.
Jones scored three times in the opening 15-plus minutes to help stake the visiting Lancers (3-1, 1-1 MASCAC) to a 38-0 halftime advantage as he capped a game-opening 13-play, 63-yard drive with an eight-yard run before going in from 15 yards out after senior Zack Skerry (Milford, MA) blocked a punt.
Following a second turnover by the hosting Buccaneers (1-2, 0-1 MASCAC) late in the opening stanza, Jones scampered in from 21 yards out to extend the Lancer lead to 21-0, and after a 17-yard touchdown run by junior Stephen Payen (Clermont, FL) just 1:34 later, Jones capped his day with a four-yard run that came with 6:48 remaining in the half.
Senior Kevin Bumpus (Bridgewater, MA) hooked up with freshman Isaiah King (Richmond, VA) on a 20-yard touchdown flick on Worcester State's opening possession of the second half, the touchdown sandwiched field goals of 38 and 39 yards by freshman Sebastian Paz (Orlando, FL) in the second and fourth frames that capped the Lancer scoring.
Massachusetts Maritime got on the board late in the third quarter when senior quarterback John Trudel (Niantic, CT) found fellow classmate Jonathon Wright (Newburyport, MA) for a seven-yard scoring strike and freshman Kenny Pierce's (Beverly, MA) 62-yard touchdown run early in the final quarter accounted for the other Buccaneer score.
Jones and Payen (97 yards) accounted for 266 of Worcester State's 310 rushing yards on the day while Bumpus completed 16-of-22 pass attempts for 188 yards to go with his score – including six connections with King for 70 yards.
Pierce rushed for 96 yards on six attempts to pace Massachusetts Maritime's ground attack, as Trudel was 16-of-37 through the air for 184 yards, including five connections with Wright for 41 yards and four more to senior E.J. Bennett (E. Wareham, MA) for 81 yards.
The Lancers outgained Massachusetts Maritime by a 527-342 margin and were 5-of-7 on red zone touchdown conversions for the contest.
Senior Sean Hanley (Wilmington, MA) and freshman Nic Wojnar (S. Grafton, MA) paced the Lancers defensively with nine solo tackles and a forced fumble each while senior Bryan Narcisse (Medway, MA) added eight total stops (seven solo) and a sack to go along with 3.5 tackles for losses of six yards.
Skerry added three solo tackles and four quarterback hurries who also received six stops from freshman Aurian Dawkins (Mansfield, MA).
Senior Kevin Stanton (Abington, MA) recorded six solo tackles and a forced fumble to pace Massachusetts Maritime on the defensive side, while seniors Avery Tavares (Dartmouth, MA) and Zach Ryan (Danvers, MA) also registered six tackles each and combined for 2.5 sacks on the day.
Jones tied a single-game mark held by five other players as the last to accomplish the feat was Izzy Ayala who did it against twice during the 2004 campaign against MIT and Mass Maritime.
Both teams face Fitchburg State in their next respective MASCAC contests, as Massachusetts Maritime heads to Fitchburg, MA next Saturday afternoon for a 1:30 PM kickoff before Worcester State hosts the Falcons on Saturday, October 11 at home beginning at high noon.
Full Release Courtesy of Mass Maritime Sports Information
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