BUZZARDS BAY, Mass – There's something about playing at Massachusetts Maritime Academy that must appeal to Aaron-Moses Williams (Springfield, MA). For the second time in his career, Williams had a massive performance against the Bucs, and this time, it was part of a furious 21 point comeback as the Lancers earned a 28-24 Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win on Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.
Williams found Ke'Vaughn Davis (Utica, NY) for three touchdowns, all in the fourth quarter, and finished the game 30-45 for 380 yards and four passing TD's. Davis had a career-best 13 catches, gaining 190 yards through the air.
Deion Osei-Sarpong (Holden, MA) had his best game as a Lancer, catching nine passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Amir Mells (Boston, MA) led all Lancers in the running game with 49 yards on 16 carries, with Williams adding 12 rushes for 41 yards to go over the 400 all-purpose yard mark.
Defensively, Mason Broyles (Millbury, MA) tallied a team-high 10 tackles and had one tackle for loss. Matt O'Connor (Selkirk, NY) totaled six tackles an a TFL. Jonah Familia (Worcester, MA), and Jayden Caron (Bellingham, MA) had five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss apiece.
Layne Benton (Middleborough, MA) recorded the only sack of the day for Worcester and had a tackle to go along with it.
On Special Teams, Kyle Wall (Sterling, MA) made all four of his PATs and punted four times for 161 yards with an average of 35.3 yards per punt and a long of 61 yards with two inside the 20 yard line.
Worcester got on the board on their second drive of the game, going 80 yards in 13 plays taking up nearly seven minutes of the first quarter. Williams connected with Sarpong from 16 yards for the touchdown and Wall converted the PAT to give Worcester a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bucs responded with a 26-yard field goal by George Lampros, kicking off a 17-point second quarter that included an 8 yard touchdown run by Conner Reynolds and a 44-yard fumble recovery return for a TD by Nicolas Ford.
Reynolds ended the game with 39 yards rushing, while sophomore Jonah Mitchell ran for 121 yards on 15 carries, including a 17-yard run in the third quarter that gave MMA a 24-7 lead.
Worcester State began the comeback on their first drive of the final quarter. Williams hit Davis for his first of three fourth quarter touchdowns on a 36-yard hookup over the middle, and Wall's PAT made the score 24-14. Worcester's defense stopped the Bucs outside of field goal range on the next drive, forcing a punt. With the ball at their own 13 yard line, the Lancers drove down the field in seven plays, 87 yards in a minute and 53 seconds. They capped it off with Davis's second touchdown in as many drives on a 34-yard completion. The Bucs next drive ended in a three-and-out and a punt.
Worcester got the ball back again, now down three, 24-21, with nearly six minutes to play. Worcester drove down field, 64 yards in nine plays, and Williams hit Davis again for a touchdown, this one from five yards out, to take the lead, their second of the game and first since the opening quarter.
The last time these two teams met, Williams also completed 30 passes, going 30-41 for 405 yards, a career best for passing yards and completion percentage (73.2). However, Williams only threw for two touchdowns that day and the Lancers lost 28-13.
The Lancers are on the road again next Saturday with a 1 pm game at Plymouth State. The Buccaneers travel to Danbury, CT on Saturday, October 23rd to take on West Conn at 12pm.