MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Clean Harbors Stadium, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL:              WORCESTER STATE 48, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 14

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Junior Kemani Jones (Milton, Mass.) rushed for 169 yards and four touchdowns to lead Worcester State to a 48-14 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.

Jones scored three times in the opening 15-plus minutes to help stake the visiting Lancers (3-1, 1-1 MASCAC) to a 38-0 halftime advantage, as he capped a game-opening 13-play, 63-yard drive with an eight-yard run before going in from 15 yards out after senior Zack Skerry (Milford, Mass.) blocked a punt.  Following a second turnover by the host Buccaneers (1-2, 0-1 MASCAC) late in the opening stanza, Jones scampered in from 21 yards out to extend the Lancer lead to 21-0, and after a 17-yard touchdown run by junior Stephen Payen (Clermont, Fla.) just 1:34 later, Jones capped his day with a four-yard run that came with 6:48 remaining in the half. 

Senior quarterback Kevin Bumpus (Bridgewater, Mass.) hooked up with freshman Isaiah King (Richmond, Va.) on a 20-yard scoring strike on Worcester State’s opening possession of the second half, as that touchdown sandwiched field goals of 38 and 39 yards by freshman Sebastian Paz (Orlando, Fla.) in the second and fourth frames that capped the Lancer scoring.  Massachusetts Maritime got on the board late in the third quarter when senior quarterback John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) found fellow senior Jonathon Wright (Newburyport, Mass.) for a seven-yard touchdown pass, and freshman Kenny Pierce’s (Beverly, Mass.) 62-yard touchdown run early in the final quarter accounted for the other Buccaneer score.

Jones and Payen (97 yards) accounted for 266 of Worcester State’s 310 rushing yards on the day, as Bumpus completed 16-of-22 pass attempts for 188 yards to go with his score, including six connections with King for 70 yards.  Pierce rushed for 96 yards on six attempts to pace Massachusetts Maritime’s ground attack, as Trudel was 16-of-37 through the air for 184 yards, including five hook-ups with Wright for 41 yards and four more to senior E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) for 81 yards, as Bennett closed to within 60 yards of the Buccaneer career receiving yards mark of 2,041 held by Keith Caruso.  The Lancers outgained Massachusetts Maritime by a 527-342 margin and were 5-of-7 on red zone touchdown conversions for the contest.

Senior Sean Hanley (Wilmington, Mass.) and freshman Nic Wojnar (South Grafton, Mass.) paced the Lancers defensively with nine solo tackles and a forced fumble each, while senior Bryan Narcisse (Medway, Mass.) added eight total stops (seven solo) and a sack to go along with 3 ½ tackles for losses of six yards.   Skerry added three solo tackles and four quarterback hurries to his blocked punt for the visitors, who also received six stops from freshman Aurian Dawkins (Mansfield, Mass.).  Senior Kevin Stanton (Abington, Mass.) recorded six solo tackles and a forced fumble to pace Massachusetts Maritime on the defensive side, while seniors Avery Tavares (Dartmouth, Mass.) and Zach Ryan (Danvers, Mass.) also registered six tackles each and combined for 2 ½ sacks on the day.

Both teams face Fitchburg State in their next respective Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference contests, as Massachusetts Maritime heads to Fitchburg, Mass. next Saturday afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff before Worcester State hosts the Falcons on Saturday, October 11^th in Worcester, Mass. beginning at Noon.