Football Falls at Maine Maritime
Castine, ME - Senior fullback back Jim Bower (South Paris, ME) ran for 154 yards on 21 carries helping Maine Maritime to a 49-21 victory this afternoon over Framingham State College in a Bogan Division, New England Football Conference (NEFC) contest.
With the win Maine Maritime improves to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the Bogan Division while Framingham State drops to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Bogan Division.
Maine Maritime took a 6-0 lead on their second possession of the game when Tyler Angell (Leeds, ME) hit Alex Coulombe (Kennebunk, ME) on a 30-yard strike to give the Mariners the lead. The touchdown was set up by a 46-yard rush by Bower which brought the Mariners to the Framingham 43-yard line. Four plays later MMA found the end zone. With his 46-yard run, Jim Bower surpassed the 3,000-yard rushing plateau, only the fourth player in Maine Maritime's storied football history to reach that mark.
The Mariners jumped out to a 12-0 lead when Jim Bower powered the ball in from 4-yards out. The drive took 10 plays and covered 71 yards. Bower rushed for 46 yards on the drive setting up the score. The Mariners missed their second extra point of the afternoon.
Maine Maritime ended the first half scoring when Todd Murphy (Middlesex, VT) ran the ball in from 2-yards out off right tackle with 5:55 left in the second quarter.
Angell and Coulombe once again hooked up for another 30-yard strike bringing the Mariners down to the Framingham 6-yard line. After an Angell rush that brought the Mariners down to the Framingham 2-yard line, Murphy punched it in for the score. Tyler Angell converted the two-point conversion to increase the lead to 20-0.
The Mariners defense continued to dominate stopping the Rams on their first possession of the third quarter. After a Framingham punt, Mariner running back Nick Bourassa (Jay, ME) (9 carries for 119 yards), went down the left sideline for 60-yards for the score to increase the lead to 26-0. The two-point conversion was successful and Maine Maritime led 28-0 with 11:37 left in the third. They increased their lead to 35-0 when Mike Vangelist (Sanford, ME) sacked Ram quarterback, Dale Parsons (Melrose, MA) causing a fumble at the Framingham 30-yard line. Linebacker Wade Mondoux (Berwick, ME) picked up the loose ball at the 29-yard line and ran it to pay dirt for the score.
After another Bourassa touchdown run, the Rams finally got on the board at the 2:13 mark of the third quarter. The drive took only two plays and was set up by a Josh Harris (Winchester, Mass) kick return that brought the Rams to the MMA 29-yard line. After a short Harris rush, David Leach (Chelmsford, Mass.) went off right tackle, and punched the ball in from 28-yards out to close the gap to 44-7.
MMA scored once again on their next possession when backup quarterback Nate Cathcart (New Boston, NH) broke through the Rams defensive line and took the ball in from 31-yards out. The extra point by Fabian Gaynor (Bar Harbor, ME) was good and MMA led 49-7.
The Rams scored the next two touchdowns ending the scoring at 49-21.
The first score came at the 7:50 mark of the fourth quarter when Chris Sutton (Newington, Conn.) found Anthony Kewley (Rutland, Mass.) for a five-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. The drive covered 51-yards in 8-plays and was set up by a Sutton to James McCarthy (Newton, Mass.) 35- yard pass. The Rams scored again just two minutes later when Harris broke free for an 87-yard run and the score on the first play of the drive.
The Mariners rushed for 461 yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground while Tyler Angell threw the ball four times with three completions for 64 yards. MMA averaged 6.7 yards per rush on the day.
Harris ended the day with seven carries for 104 yards while Leach rushed for 92 yards on 13 carries for the Rams. Leach, who became the first FSC player to rush for 1,000 yard in 2008, once again eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season and is closing in on the FSC All-Time rushing record. Quarterback Patrick Feeney (Waltham, Mass.) completed only 7 of 13 passes for 25 yards. Chris Sutton was 2 for 2 for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Framingham State College mustered only 234 yards of total offense on the day.
MMA junior linebacker Wade Mondoux led the Mariners in tackles with eight. Mondoux also had a pass breakup and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. Mike Vangelist had a sack and a forced fumble while Mike Riley (Milton, VT) intercepted his 5th pass of the year.
Framingham State defensive back Luis Nova (Lawrence, Mass.) led all defenders with 12 tackles while Anthony Pappagallo (Malden, Mass.) added eight.
The Rams return to action next Saturday when they host Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 1 p.m.
Release courtesy of Maine Maritime Sports Information.