MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Coughlin Field, Worcester, Mass.

FINAL:              WORCESTER STATE 28, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 20

                                                                    1          2          3          4                      Total

Massachusetts Maritime (2-3, 1-2 NEFC)     0          7          0          13         -             20

Worcester State (5-1, 3-0 NEFC)                 0          14         7          7          -             28

SCORING SUMMARY

MAM:   Drew Girouard 19 yd pass from Mike Stanton (Brandon Rodrigues kick)                  12:16 2^nd

WOR:   A.J. Scerra 80 yd pass from Cory Spencer (Derek Muccini kick)                            7:27 2^nd

WOR:   Scerra 11 yd pass from Spencer (Muccini kick)                                                    1:36 2^nd

WOR:   Casey Hippert 37 yd pass from Spencer (Muccini kick)                                         13:06 3^rd

WOR:   Scerra 51 yd pass from Spencer (Muccini kick)                                                    8:24 4^th

MAM:   Girouard 4 yd pass from Stanton (kick blocked)                                                    5:33 4^th

MAM:   Barry Reopell 3 yd run (Rodrigues kick)                                                               1:58 4^th

Attendance:       500

WORCESTER, Mass. --  Senior quarterback Corey Spencer (Malden, Mass.) threw for 414 yards and four touchdowns, including three scoring hook-ups with junior A.J. Scerra (Marlboro, Mass.), as Worcester State held off a furious rally in the closing minutes to notch a 28-20 New England Football Conference Bogan Division victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Coughlin Field.

The host Lancers (5-1, 3-0 NEFC Bogan) overcame an early 7-0 deficit thanks to the tandem of Spencer and Scerra, as the two first connected on an 80-yard strike midway through the second stanza to even matters before hooking up again on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 1:36 remaining in the half to give Worcester State a 14-7 advantage at the break.  Spencer’s third TD toss of the afternoon, a 37-yard connection to sophomore Casey Hippert (Douglas, Mass.) on the opening drive after intermission, extended the hosts’ lead to 21-7, and Scerra hauled in his third scoring strike of the day, a 51-yard toss from Spencer with 8:24 remaining, to give the Lancers a 28-7 advantage.

The visiting Buccaneers (2-3, 1-2 NEFC Bogan), who had posted fourth quarter comeback wins over Worcester State in the previous two match-ups between the schools, nearly engineered a third, as junior quarterback Mike Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) drove his squad 71 yards on nine plays and hooked up with freshman Drew Girouard (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) for their second score of the day, a four-yard pass with 5:33 remaining, and after Massachusetts Maritime forced a Lancer punt on the ensuing possession, the visitors marched 75 yards in just 2:33 of clock time to make it a one-score game on senior Barry Reopell’s (South Dennis, Mass.) three-yard scamper with 1:58 remaining.  The Buccaneers then recovered an on-side kick, but even after an interception gave Worcester State the ball back with 1:47 to play, the hosts were unable to run out the clock and punted again, giving the visitors one last shot from their own 24-yard line with 31 seconds remaining.  Stanton drove Massachusetts Maritime into the red zone for a ninth time on the day, but his final pass of 57 attempts was intercepted on the Lancer 14 yard line as time expired.

Spencer completed 29-of-39 attempts in the victory for Worcester State, as Scerra hauled in 12 of those receptions for 199 yards to go with his three scores.  Hippert added eight catches for 118 yards to go with his touchdown for the Lancers, who amassed 503 yards of total offense on the day.  Stanton broke his own school record with 33 completions of 57 attempts for 381 yards and two scores, including a 19-yard hookup with Girouard in the opening minutes of the second quarter, in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which received a career-high 166 rushing yards on 29 carries from Reopell.  Junior Keith Caruso (Hingham, Mass.) and sophomore Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) each had eight catches for a combined 171 yards for the Buccaneers, who broke the 600-yard mark in total offense for the second time in three weeks with 615 yards on a school-record 110 offensive plays in the contest.

Junior Matt Begley (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led the way defensively for Worcester State with 18 total tackles, including 16 solo stops, while fellow junior Nick Doria (Watertown, Mass.) added 11 tackles for the Lancers.  Junior Adam Straughn (Rockland, Mass.) recorded two of the hosts’ four interceptions on the day, as Worcester State forced five turnovers to thwart Massachusetts Maritime’s nine trips inside its red zone.  Sophomore Kevin Stanton (Abington, Mass.) paced the Buccaneers defensively with nine total tackles, while sophomore Reynard Ortiz (Lowell, Mass.) had a career-best seven tackles to go with a pass break-up and a forced fumble for the visitors.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Fitchburg State in a New England Football Conference Bogan Division match-up next Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at Noon, while Worcester State heads to Bridgewater, Mass. next Saturday afternoon to take on Bridgewater State in an NEFC Bogan Division contest that kicks off at 1:00 p.m.

BUC BLOG:  Worcester State’s victory snapped a three-game Massachusetts Maritime win streak in the series the dated back to 2009...The Buccaneers broke the previous school record of 94 offensive plays set on October 1, 2005 against Framingham State...Mike Stanton is averaging 301.2 yards passing per game through five contests this season and has already tied Jim O’Neill’s school record for passing yards in a season (1,506) that was set in 1982...Today’s game marked the fourth road contests in the opening five weeks of the season for Massachusetts Maritime, which will play three of its final four regular season games at Clean Harbors Stadium.