Football Squeaks by Western Connecticut 14-12 – Van Alstyne Surpasses 5,000 Career Yards Rushing
Danbury, Conn. – Junior Jared Gauthier (Dracut, Mass.) caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Matt Silva (Dracut, Mass.) with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter and senior running back Melikke Van Alstyne eclipsed the 5,000 yard mark for his career as the visiting Framingham State University football team held on for a 14-12 victory over Western Connecticut State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at The Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Van Alstyne entered the game needing just six yards to reach 5,000 yards rushing for his outstanding career. After being held to no net yards on the Rams first two possessions, Van Alstyne opened the Rams third drive with a 14-yard gain to surpass the milestone. Van Alstyne, who now has 5,099 yards on the ground, is just one of five New England football players to surpass the 5,000 yard plateau and is just eight yards away from moving into the fourth spot of the New England Division III Career rushing leaders.
Midway through the what ultimately turned out to be the game-winning drive, Silva, who completed 14 of 27 passes for 150 yards, was on the Rams' sideline while freshman Mike Luks (Manchester, NH) came on to move FSU from its own 45 yard line down to the Colonials' 16. A 14-yard run, a 12-yard completion to sophomore Travis Hayes (Framingham, Mass.) and another two-yard gain by the 6-3, 215-pound signal caller set up Silva's pass to Gauthier.
Gauthier led all receivers with seven catches for 71 yards in the game.
Western, 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the MASCAC, took an early lead when Mike Killoran (West Hartford, Conn.) booted a 33-yard field goal to cap off a seven-play, 65-yard drive with 9:31 remaining in the first quarter.
The Rams took a 7-6 lead with 11 seconds remaining in the first stanza when Van Alstyne scampered in from five yards out and sophomore Sean Wlasuk (Peabody, Mass.) converted the extra point. Van Alstyne led all rushers with 105 yards on 28 carries.
With 1:47 elapsed in the second quarter, Killoran brought the Colonials within one point, 7-6, with his second 33-yard field goal of the afternoon.
Western, a newly affiliated member in the MASCAC this fall, closed the game to 14-12 when junior quarterback Will Arndt (Sandy Hook, Conn.) hooked up with Alex Altermatt (Branford, Conn.) from four yards out.
With 3:30 remaining in the game, the Colonials were forced to attempt a two-point conversion, but Arndt's pass was just out of Altermatt's reach in the far right corner of the endzone.
Framingham State was able to run the clock out following crucial 11-yard and two-yard gains from Van Alstyne in his team's last offensive series.
Arndt completed 10 of 21 passes for 125 yards, was intercepted once and dropped for four sacks as the Rams' defense virtually closed all passing lanes in the second half.
Octavias McKoy (Stratford, Conn.) led the Western ground attack with 19 carries for 91 yards. Arndt followed with 66 net yards on 11 carries.
Defensively, Devin Myers (Waterbury, Conn.) and Mike Lacaria (Watertown, Conn.) had 12 and 11 tackles, respectively for the Colonials. Tom Lacey (Wood-Ridge, NJ) finished with eight tackles and had a 33-yard interception return.
Senior Pat McGrath (Everett, Mass.) led the winners with eight tackles while sophomore Matt Mangano (Winchester, Mass.) had five tackles, an interception and two pass break ups.
Junior punter Ryan Falaguerra (Milford, Conn.) averaged 43.7 yards on six punts with three of those kicks settling inside the 20 yard line including one at the two and another on the Rams' five yard line.
Western hits the road next Saturday, October 5, to take on Bridgewater State University. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Framingham State plays host to UMass Dartmouth next Saturday at Bowditch Field at 1 p.m.
Release courtesy of WCSU Sports Information.