Football Wins Fourth Straight
Worcester, Mass. - Senior wide out Anthony Kewley (Rutland, Mass.) caught a four-yard touchdown pass from junior Patrick Franey (Waltham, Mass.) with 14 minutes remaining in the game and the Framingham State defense shut out the Lancers through the last three quarters of play as the Rams posted a 15-13 win this afternoon over Worcester State in NEFC Bogan Division action at Coughlin Stadium.
The Rams improve their record to 2-0 in the division and 4-1 overall which is their best start since the 1986 season when they also started 4-1. With the loss, the Lancers slip to 0-5 and 0-2 in divisional play.
At the end of the first half, Worcester State held onto a slim 13-9 lead as they had 185 yards of total offense at the end of the second quarter, but after that Framingham State's defense shut the Lancers. The Rams only allowed 60 yards of offense (45 rushing-15 passing) for the rest of the game.
The Lancers grabbed a quick 13-0 lead on an 18-yard touchdown reception by senior Dave Salvi (Bedford, Mass.) from sophomore quarterback Tony Tokarz (Holden, Mass.) at 11:07 before second-year Marcus Price (Worcester, Mass.) rumbled into the end-zone six minutes later on a 10-yard scoring run (kicked missed).
Following a Ram three and out and a 35-yard punt return by senior Jason Patterson (Attleboro, Mass.), Worcester State started with good field position on FSC's 29 yard line. The Lancers got as far as the Framingham State seven, but could not punch the ball in. On the ensuing field goal attempt, the ball was too high to be kicked, so holder Gil Ynostroza (Bellingham, Mass.) tried for the end-zone, but his pass was batted away.
Framingham State then started the next drive on their own 20-yard line and received some help from a defensive holding call, but Worcester State neutralized the attack as they forced the visitors to punt. Starting on the WSC 42 yard-line, the Lancers received 37 rushing yards from Price and freshman David Bougan (Webster, Mass.) and found themselves inside the red-zone on the 19.
But the Blue and Gold did not take advantage of the opportunity as senior Pat Skelton (Dedham, Mass.) missed a 35 yard field goal.
The Rams embarked on a methodical 10 play scoring drive that ended in a Leach touchdown with 3:04 left in the half (kick blocked). Leach rushed for 64 of the 80 yards in the effort - including a 22 yard burst.
Framingham State held the Lancers to a three and out on the Lancer's next drive and started on their own 33. In the three plays FSC only gained one yard of production on what would have been a fourth and nine, but were aided greatly by a key personal foul call on a late hit. The Rams then marched down the field to the Worcester State 19 and sophomore Phil Cosmos (Natick, Mass.) kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired on the clock.
Coming out of the locker room the two teams traded possessions with two punts for each team until the Lancers got something going with the first of Andrew Tokarz's (Holden, Mass.) two interceptions. Worcester State then drove down the field to the Framingham State 14, but Skelton missed a 30-yard field goal to cap off the possession for the Blue and Gold at 4:52 in the third quarter.
Neither team moved the chains as the ball traded sides of the field before the Rams got something going with a 72-yard reception by freshman Brandon Holbrook (Carver, Mass.). With 14:14 left in the fourth, Framingham State scored Kewley's four-yard touchdown reception to give FSC the 15-13 lead.
After the kickoff, the Lancers next drive stalled and they were forced to punt. On the Rams next possession they received a nice 13-yard run by Leach, but soon faced third and nine before Tokarz grabbed the ball at midfield and returned it to the Framingham State 33 before a penalty brought it back to the 44.
Worcester State got the ball as far as the Ram's 22 yard line, but that's when Skelton missed a 39 yard field goal try that would have put the Lancers up by a single point.
With 6:16 left on the clock the Lancer defense held Framingham a three and out, but WSC couldn't do anything on their next drive. Following a 42-yard boot by Skelton, Worcester State's defense once again held the Rams to a third and nine, but Leach - out of the wildcat formation - ripped off a nine-yard run to seal the hard fought victory.
Price and Bugan combined for 153 yards rushing yards on the day while junior Jamaal Atkins (Webster, Mass.) and senior Jake MacLeay (Greenfield, Mass.) collectively had four receptions for 67 yards for WSC.
Franey completed 10 of 24 for 115 yards and a score, but he was also picked off three times. Kewley racked up 107 all-purpose yards (33 receiving-69 on returns).
The Lancers were paced defensively by junior Tyler Rusell's (Princeton, Mass.) game-high 11 tackles (five solo) while senior Steve Melville (Merrimac, Mass.) added 10 stops (two for a loss) with a sack. Fourth-year Matt McLean (Methuen, Mass.) distinguished himself with five tackles, 1.5 for a loss and a fumble recovery. Tokarz was a force in the secondary with two interceptions and a pair of pass breakups.
Junior classmates Brent Loveless (Billerica, Mass.) and Adam Emery (Dorchester, Mass.), sophomore teammates Mark Nunes (Taunton, Mass.) and David Akasa (Framingham, Mass.) along with freshman Carlito Weaver (Brockton, Mass.) led a balanced defensive effort for the Rams as they each notched seven tackles apiece while they combined for three tackles for a loss. Loveless tallied four breakups while Emery added a sack as he also batted away two passes.
After the two teams combined for 316 yards in the first half, the two defenses played well as they only allowed 219 yards (149 FSC-70 WSC) in the final two periods. Framingham State had just 93 yards rushing and 38 yards passing in the opening two quarters and improved with 72 yards on the ground and 77 yards in the air in the last two stanzas.
Defensively the Lancers and the Rams combined for 18 tackles for a loss as FSC held a slim 10-8 margin.
Worcester State is in search of their first win when they head to Maine Maritime for a 1 p.m. game in Castine, Maine next Saturday while Framingham State heads to Bridgewater State for a noontime kickoff.
Release courtesy of Worcester State Sports Information.