Football Closes Season with Loss to Wesley in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament
Dover, Delaware – The Framingham State University football team football closed the 2015 season this afternoon with a 42-22 loss to Wesley College in an opening round game of the 2015 NCAA Division III Football Championship Tournament.
With the win, the Wolverines improve to 10-1 on the year and advance in the tournament to face Johns Hopkins next Saturday. The Rams see their season come to a close at 9-2
Senior quarterback Matt Silva (Dracut, Mass.) led the Rams completing 26-of-52 for 312 yards with an interception and two touchdowns. Silva, who was sacked five times on the day, was also the Rams leading rusher netting 68 yards on 16 carries.
Senior Marcus Grant (Carver, Mass.) led the receivers with a game-high 12 receptions for 109 yards, while classmate Tevin Jones (Springfield, Mass.) hauled in seven catches for 108 yards. Junior Jalen Green (Brockton, Mass.) rushed for 55 yards on 14 carries with one catch for a touchdown.
Wesley jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a one-yard scoring run from Jamar Baynard on their opening possession of the game, but the Rams answered with a scoring drive of their own. Silva connected with Grant for 12 yards on a third and two from the Wesley 38 yard line giving the Rams the ball on the 26 yard line. After a penalty, Silva scampered for 17 yards for a first down at the 14 yard line. Silva was sacked, but on the next play connected with senior Jared Gauthier (Dracut, Mass.) for a 17 yard touchdown on the sideline. Senior Sean Wlasuk (Peabody, Mass.) converted the extra point and the game was tied 7-7 with 14 seconds left in the first.
The Wolverines took the lead back with 7:53 left in the first half on a 14 yard touchdown pass from Joe Callahan to Alex Kemp. Callahan and Kemp would connect for three touchdowns for Wesley in the game.
The Rams tied the score with 4:23 left to go in the half on a two yard touchdown pass from Silva to Green. Silva kept the drive alive on a third and two with a 22 yard completion to Jones and a 10 yard catch by junior Colby Frodel (Eastham, Mass.) gave the Rams a first and goal at the six. A pass interference call on the Wolverines in the end zone set up the Silva TD toss to Green.
Wesley closed the first half with a scoring drive and opened the second half with one to take a 28-14 lead. Callahan hit Bryce Shade for a six yard touchdown with 23 seconds left in the first half and then connected with Kemp from 69 yards out just 45 seconds into the second half.
On the ensuing possession, Frodel caught a pass from Silva and raced 35 yards for a first down at the Wesley 15 yard line. The Wesley defense came through with a stop and forced the Rams to turn the ball over on downs.
After a Wesley punt, the Rams used a fake punt and first down conversion from senior Matt Mangano (Winchester, Mass.) to keep their next drive alive. After the fake punt, the Wesley defense came up with a sack on third down, but Wlasuk pinned the Wildcats deep with a punt that was downed at the three yard line. Baynard picked up six yards on first down, but sophomores Campbell Marchant (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Svenn Jacobson (Cumberland, ME) sacked Callahan in the end zone for a safety cutting the deficit to 28-16.
Kemp and Callahan hooked up for their third touchdown of the day in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Mangano capped an 11 play, 79 yard drive with a three yard score out of the wildcat formation. After the two point conversion failed, the Rams trailed 35-22 with 6:55 left in the game. Baynard scored from four yards out for Wesley with 1:31 left in the game to reach the final margin.
The Rams defense was led by a game-high 14 tackles, including 11 solo, from senior Tyllor McDonald (Lynn, Mass.), while Mangano and senior Quentin Jones (Springfield, Mass.) recorded eight tackles apiece.
Callahan finished the game 32-of-42 for 411 yards and four touchdowns for Wesley, while Kemp made six receptions for 143 yards and three scores.