MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Clean Harbors Stadium, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL:              WESTFIELD STATE 32, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 16

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Senior Michael Mercadante (Wilbraham, Mass.) rushed for 228 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead Westfield State to a 32-16 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.

The visiting Owls (4-2, 3-1 MASCAC) struck first when senior quarterback Steve Guercio (Gardner, Mass.) connected with fellow senior Scott Nye (Uxbridge, Mass.) on a 42-yard touchdown pass just 2:53 into the contest, and Mercadante capped an 18-play, 74-yard drive with a two-yard plunge late in the opening stanza to give Westfield State a 13-0 advantage.  Sophomore Ryan Quinn (North Andover, Mass.) sliced the host Buccaneers’ (1-5, 0-4 MASCAC) deficit to 10 with a 27-yard field goal that came with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half, but Westfield State extended its lead to 19-3 just 4:42 after intermission when Guercio found junior Colby Bostek (West Boylston, Mass.) from 45 yards out.  Junior David Yerxa’s (Milford, Conn.) one yard plunge enabled Massachusetts Maritime to close to within 10 just 1:10 later, but Mercadante’s second touchdown of the day, a nine yard run with 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter, extended the Owl advantage to 26-9.  Senior Mike Bortolussi (East Longmeadow, Mass.) added a pair of fourth quarter field goals from 25 and 22 yards out for Westfield State, and Buccaneer senior E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) hauled in a one-yard scoring strike from fellow senior John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) with 2:09 remaining to account for the final score.

Guercio completed 8-of-16 pass attempts to finish with 127 yards and two touchdowns in the win for the Owls, including three connections with Nye for 62 yards, as Mercadante accounted for over half of Westfield State’s 408 yards of total offense alone.  Trudel completed 24-of-42 pass attempts for 252 yards, including a season-high 12 connections for 103 yards with Bennett, in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which amassed 294 yards of total offense on the afternoon.

Senior Troy Cutter (Lunenburg, Mass.) led Westfield State defensively with eight total tackles (six solo), while fellow senior Julon McCoy (Gardner, Mass.) added seven tackles and a forced fumble for the Owls, who also received seven stops and a pair of interceptions from junior Greg Sheridan (Burlington, Mass.).  Senior Victor Andrade (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) registered a game-high 11 total tackles, including nine solo stops and five for losses of 17 yards, in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, while fellow senior Kevin Stanton (Abington, Mass.) also amassed 11 total stops (eight solo) for the Buccaneers, who also received an interception from senior Kyle Hardy (Salem, Mass.).

Massachusetts Maritime heads to North Dartmouth, Mass. next Saturday afternoon to take on UMass Dartmouth in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outing that kicks off at Noon, while Westfield State hosts Bridgewater State in a MASCAC clash next Saturday afternoon in Westfield, Mass. that kicks off at 2:00 p.m.