MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Clean Harbors Stadium, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL:              FITCHBURG STATE 40, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 17

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Junior Steph’fon Teague (Fitchburg, Mass.) rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown, while freshman quarterback Garrett Dellechiaie (Leominster, Mass.) amassed 215 yards of total offense and accounted for three scores to lead Fitchburg State to a 40-17 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.

Teague’s nine-yard run just 2:44 into the contest capped an opening eight-play, 66-yard drive that gave the visiting Falcons (2-3, 1-2 MASCAC) an early 7-0 advantage, but the host Buccaneers (2-2, 0-2 MASCAC) answered back on a 35-yard field goal by freshman Ryan Quinn (North Andover, Mass.) on their first possession to close back to within four.  Dellechiaie then directed Fitchburg State on a 14-play drive that started on his own 6-yard line and was capped by sophomore Mike Delaney’s (Marion, Mass.) nine-yard scoring scamper, and the Falcons took advantage of a recovered fumble by sophomore Kevin Duong (Fitchburg, Mass.) on their next defensive play on the Massachusetts Maritime 35 when Dellechiaie scored from 13 yards out for a 20-7 lead with 1:52 to play in the quarter.

The Buccaneers answered back with a three-play, 77-yard drive that consumed just 44 seconds of the clock, as junior Stefan Gustafson (Plymouth, Mass.) hauled in a 19-yard strike from fellow junior John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) that sliced the hosts’ deficit to 20-10, but Delaney’s one-yard plunge with 9:18 remaining in the half capped another long Fitchburg State drive (12 plays, 65 yards) that gave the Falcons a 27-10 advantage at the break.  Junior Austin Pierce’s (Peabody, Mass.) two-yard run on the opening possession after intermission again cut Massachusetts Maritime’s deficit to 10 just 2:58 into the second half, but Dellechiaie directed an ensuing eight-play, 65-yard drive that ended when he found junior Phillip Saint-Juste (New Rochelle, N.Y.) on a 14-yard touchdown pass and a 34-17 lead.  Dellechiaie iced Fitchburg State’s triumph early in the final stanza, as he scampered in from 20 yards out to account for the final score.

Dellechiaie completed 17-of-22 pass attempts for 169 yards in the victory for the Falcons, as Teague and Delaney (89 yards) combined for all but 100 of the visitors’ 364 rushing yards on the afternoon.  Junior Ty Spencer (Foxboro, Mass.) hauled in six receptions for 72 yards for the winners, who amassed 533 yards of total offense in running 91 plays and collecting 29 first downs while holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

Senior quarterback Mike Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) completed 28-of-48 pass attempts for 242 yards in going over the 6,000 yard career mark (6,140) in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as fellow senior Keith Caruso (Hingham, Mass.) tied his career-high with 12 catches for 117 yards.  Gustafson, who entered the game ranked third nationally in Division III in rushing, was held to 69 yards on 18 carries in the setback for the Buccaneers, who amassed 475 yards of total offense in running 95 plays on the day.

Junior Elizear Torres (Bronx, N.Y.) paced Fitchburg State defensively with 17 solo tackles, while senior Alex Alcala (Leominster, Mass.) made 11 total stops (10 solo) for the Falcons, who snapped a four-game Massachusetts Maritime winning streak in the series between the schools that dated back to 2009.  Sophomore Taron Seaforth (Lynn, Mass.) recorded five pass break-ups on the day for the visitors, who also received six tackles and a pair of break-ups from freshman David Dezeme (Fort Myers, Fla.).

Junior Richard Ford (Lynn, Mass.) led Massachusetts Maritime on the defensive side with 13 total tackles (10 solo) and a sack, while senior Sheldon Roper (Sharpsburg, Ga.) added eight solo stops for the Buccaneers, who also received nine tackles (seven solo) from junior Victor Andrade (Yarmouthport, Mass.) and fellow junior Kevin Stanton’s (Abington, Mass.) second interception of the season.

Massachusetts Maritime heads to Danbury, Conn. next Saturday afternoon to take on Western Connecticut in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outing that kicks off at Noon, while Fitchburg State hosts Worcester State in a MASCAC contest next Saturday afternoon in Fitchburg, Mass. that kicks off at 1:30 p.m.