Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Lancers (0-1)(0-0) kicked off their home opener this afternoon against the Union Garnet Chargers (1-0)(0-1).
Union is fresh from a 66-0 victory in their last contest while Worcester was handed a 44-13 loss at WPI last Friday.
FINAL: Lancers 0, Union 63
First Half:
The Lancers held their own to start off the game allowing two touchdowns to powerhouse Union. Junior Jamison Metcalf (Leicester, Mass.) led Lancer tacklers in the first half with five. Senior Jaydon Caron (Woonsocket, RI) finished behind Metcalf with four. John McMasters III (Raynham, Mass.), first-year Romeo Holland (Webster, Mass.), and junior Ebenezer Ankomah Gyau (Worcester, MA) each had tackles for losses.
Starting QB senior Mike Loveless (Nashua, N.H.) suffered an injury and exited the game early in the first forcing sophomore Parke Hardesky (East Greenwich, R.I.) to take the reins of the offense. Hardesky went 5-16 with 19 yards in the first half and two interceptions, one that was returned for a TD.
Worcester had five rushers in the first half that totaled 14 total rushes for -16 yards displaying the dominance of their defensive unit. Junior Nico Holmes (Salem, Mass.) led all rushers in attempts with seven in the opening half.
Five receivers each had one reception for Worcester totaling 38 yards. First-year Lance Williams (Westerly, R.I.) led Lancer receivers with 14 yards. Graduate senior Melke Shabo (Paxton, Mass.) was right behind him with a 12-yard reception.
Second Half:
The Lancers received the kickoff to begin the second half. Hardesky was inserted back into the lineup to try to put some points on the board to break the scoreless game for Worcester. Union's defense was still on point not allowing Hardesky to get anything going.
Junior Adam Hill (Lunenburg, Mass.) got a crack at QB as head coach Peloquin tried to do something to get his offense going. His opening series was unsuccessful with the Lancers having a short series and punting the ball away.
The Lancer defense had a good defensive series to stop the Garnett Chargers and force a punt. Senior Curt Marshall (Taunton, Mass.) ended the game as the Lancer leader in tackles with seven. Graduate senior Mason Broyles (Millbury, Mass.) ended up tied for second on the team in tackles with five.
Sophomore Cam Ayotte (Millbury, Mass.) was the fourth QB to get a shot at the position and to gain some experience in a game that got away from the Lancers. Unfortunately, he was also not able to do much with the ball with Union's defense not allowing anything to Worcester all game.
Holmes redeemed his first half gaining positive yards on the game totaling five yards on the game. Jermaine Norfleet Jr. (Agawam, Mass.) had two attempts in the second half.
The Lancers dropped to (0-2) with the loss at Coughlin Field as Union improved to (2-0). The next game for Worcester State will be at home versus the Fitchburg State Falcons with a 12 p.m. start. The Lancers sole win last season was against these Falcons as Worcester looks to bounce back and get one in the win column.