Football Celebrates Homecoming with Last Second Win Over Fitchburg State
Framingham, Mass. - Junior Phil Cosmos (Natick, Mass.) drilled a 21-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Framingham State College football team to a 40-37 New England Football Conference Bogan Division win today over Fitchburg State at Maple Street Field on Framingham's Homecoming and Family Weekend. The Rams improve to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in the division with the win, while the loss drops the Falcons to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in divisional play.
Senior running back Dave Leach (Chelmsford, Mass.), who was the co-winner of the Calder Award which is presented to the MVP of the Homecoming game for the Rams, had a career day as he rushed for a career-high 270 yards on a school record 43 carries. His four touchdowns also tie a Framingham State single game record. Junior quarterback Patrick Franey (Waltham, Mass.) was the co-winner of the Calder Award as he completed 31 of 47 with a touchdown and two interceptions for 326 yards. Sophomore James McCarthy (Newtown, Mass.) once again was over the 100 yard receiving mark as he made 12 catches for 140 yards.
The Rams accumulated 586 yards of total offense in the game to the Falcons 336 and held the advantage in passing yards over the Falcons as well (326-125).
Fitchburg State defensive back Chris Rose (Gloversville, N.Y.) intercepted Franey on the Rams first drive and returned the interception 22 yards to set up the Falcons first score. Rose's interception gave Fitchburg State the ball on the Framingham 12 yard line and it took just two plays for the Falcons to capitalize. Junior Jordan Cannava (Woburn, Mass.) rolled out of the pocket and scampered in from three yards out to give Fitchburg State the 7-0 lead with 12:58 remaining in the opening quarter after Evan Georgopoulos (Melrose, Mass.) converted the extra point.
The Rams tied the score with 7:07 remaining in the quarter as Leach capped an eight play 51 yard drive with a four yard touchdown run. The Falcons took the lead on their next possession as Cannava completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Devon Jennings (Boston, Mass.) and after a botched extra point the Falcons led 13-7 with 2:20 remaining in the opening quarter.
Fitchburg State extended their lead to 20-7 on a 76-yard touchdown run by senior Steve Austin (Tequesta, Fla.) and an extra point by Georgopoulos. The Rams were able to cut the lead to ten on a Cosmos 30 yard field goal with 10:23 remaining in the quarter.
The Rams took the lead back 24-20 in the third quarter as Leach scored on a one yard touchdown run with 11:02 remaining and a one yard touchdown run with 7:14 remaining. A Georgopoulos 20 yard field goal with 3:26 remaining in the quarter pulled the Falcons back within one heading to the fourth.
Heading into the fourth quarter the Rams held a 24-23 lead and the two teams combined for three touchdowns in the first seven minutes to give the Falcons a 37-30 lead with 8:09 remaining in the game. Fitchburg State struck first in the fourth as De La Rosa caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Cannava with 12:16 remaining giving the Falcons a 29-24 lead. After the Falcons missed the two point conversion, the Rams drove 66 yards in six plays to take the lead back 30-29 on a 17-yard touchdown reception by freshman Kevin Garron (Framingham, Mass.). The Falcons took the lead back just 1:22 later as De La Rosa caught a five-yard touchdown pass and the two point conversion from Cannava giving Fitchburg State a 37-30 lead with 8:09 remaining.
The Rams responded on their next possession as they moved 65 yards down the field on seven plays to tie the game. Franey completed a short pass to McCarthy and Leach scampered nine yards giving the Rams a first down on their own 41-yard line. Franey completed passes to Garron and freshman Alex Avery (Milford, Mass.) and after a personal foul penalty on Fitchburg State the Rams had the ball on the Fitchburg fourteen. Leach finished the drive with a four yard rush on first down and 10-yard touchdown run on second down. After the extra point by Cosmos the game was tied at 37-37 with five minutes remaining.
On the Falcons ensuing possession, Cannava completions of 14 yards to De La Rosa and 15 yards to sophomore Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass.) sandwiched a four yard run by Austin. After a penalty on the Rams, Fitchburg State had the ball first and goal on the Framingham eight yard line. On the next play Jennings rushed for eight yards and what would have been the go ahead touchdown, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. The Rams defense responded and kept the Falcons out of the end zone. Shawn Miller (Tewksbury, Mass.) broke up a Cannava pass attempt on first down and Cannava rushed for 16 yards on second down but was forced out of bounds on the two yard line. Austin's rush on third down was stopped at the one by junior linebacker Joe Treacy (Wakefield, MA) and Cannava was stopped for no gain on fourth down by David Akasa (Framingham, Mass.) and Ken Glover (Waltham, Mass.)
The Rams took over on downs on their own one yard line with 1:38 remaining in the game. After incompletions on first and second down, Franey completed a 14-yard pass on third down to Kewley giving the Rams a first down on their own 15 yard line. Franey moved the Rams down the field completing passes of 11 yards and 14 yards to McCarthy and Leach that brought the Rams out to their own 40 yard line. The Rams moved into Fitchburg State territory on an 18 yard reception by McCarthy with 48 second remaining. Leach rushed for 39 yards on the next two plays giving the Rams a first and goal from the Fitchburg State six. After two rushes by Leach, the Rams had the ball on the Fitchburg State one yard line with two seconds remaining. The Rams called timeout to set up the field goal and Cosmos responded by hitting from 21 yards out.
Cannava finished the day 13 of 32 for 125 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, while Austin rushed for 185 yards and a score on 18 carries. Junior linebacker Anthony Bizzotto (Leominster, Mass.) led the Falcons with a game-high 14 tackles, while Christian Guzman (Lawrence, Mass.) added 13 tackles.
The Rams return to action next Saturday as they travel to Worcester State at 1:30 p.m., while the Falcons host Bridgewater State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.