Football Falls 26-15 in Season Opener at Endicott
Beverly, Mass. - The Endicott College defense forced nine Framingham State turnovers, including seven by way of interception, as the Gulls edged a 26-15 victory in each team's season-opener on Saturday evening in Beverly, Mass. Endicott's Neil Powers (Westford, Mass.) made a spectacular leaping catch in the far corner of the end zone with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
The Rams had the ball on offense to begin the game and junior quarterback Patrick Franey (Waltham, Mass.) was intercepted on just the second play from scrimmage by Alex Alcala (Leominster, Mass.). The interception led to the Gulls first touchdown as running back Mike Lane (Medfield, Mass.) took a handoff off the right side and scampered in from 22 yards out. Carlos O'Donnell (Salem, Mass.) tacked-on the PAT for the 7-0 Gulls advantage.
Franey was intercepted again on the Rams ensuing possession. Kyle Capsalis (Townsend, Mass.) picked off junior Franey (Waltham, Mass.) inside Endicott territory with 9:58 remaining in the opening frame.
After a 32 yard run by senior Colby Hawkins (Scituate, Mass.), the Gulls took to the air with a nine-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Phil Konopka (Shelton, Conn.) to senior Tyler Felix (Foxboro, Mass.). After the successful PAT, the Gulls' lead was extended to 14-0.
Framingham State responded in a big way on the game's very next play as Franey played pitch-and-catch right down the middle of the field to senior wideout Anthony Kewley (Rutland, Mass.) for a 67-yard touchdown. A botched point after attempt actually worked out in the Rams' favor when holder Dale Parsons (Melrose, Mass.) was able to turn the corner and break the plane to make it a 14-8 ballgame.
After a scoreless second quarter, Framingham State came back to take its first lead of the night on a nine play, 91 yard drive, capped off with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Franey to freshman wide out Brandon Holbrook (Carver, Mass.). The Rams elected to kick the point after, taking a 15-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
Endicott found a way get into the end zone twice in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Just 41 seconds into the game's final frame, Hawkins broke free from the pack off the left side for a 15-yard touchdown run on a drive that was once again setup by an Endicott interception.
The Endicott defense then forced three consecutive 4-and-outs, with the final of the group ending with yet another interception, this time by linebacker Nick Scozzaro (Wellington, Fla.). With the ball back in the hands of the offense, quarterback Phil Konopka tossed up a jump ball to the far corner of the end zone where Neil Powers made a great leaping catch for a 25-yard insurance touchdown.
Konopka ended the evening 14-of-26 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Colby Hawkins ran the ball 15 times for 95 yards with a score, while Mike Lane finished the game with 12 carries for 48 yards and TD. Mike Fimiani (Melrose, Mass.) led the receiving effort with four catches for 44 yards.
Framingham quarterback Patrick Franey was 20-of-39 for 273 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions. Backup Richard Gallant (Gloucester, Mass.) also tossed a pick in his only series at the helm. Senior running back Dave Leach (Chelmsford, Mass.) eclipsed the 100 yards mark with 138 yards on 26 carries. Leach, the Rams leading rusher in 2008, has rushed for over 100 yards in all but one game for the Rams. Receiver Anthony Kewley had seven catches for 149 yards (21.2 YPC) and a touchdown.
The Endicott defense forced two fumbles (recovered one) and had seven interceptions in the victory. The special teams also recovered a fumble on a botched punt return effort by the Rams. Gulls' linebacker Kevin Eagan (West Hartford, Conn.) led the way with a game-high 13 total tackles (eight solo and five assists). Alex Alcala also turned in a double-digit tackle performance with three solo and eight assisted takedowns. Sophomore Andrew Pochebit (Portland, Maine) had 1.5 sacks for a loss of 11 yards.
Endicott looks to improve to 2-0 next Saturday when the Blue and Green travel to Troy, N.Y. to square-off with 22nd-ranked RPI in the Engineers' season-opener. Framingham State returns to action on the same day when the Rams play in their home debut against Nichols College at 1:00 p.m.
Portions of this release are courtesy of Endicott Sports Information.