MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Bowditch Field, Framingham, Mass.

FINAL:              FRAMINGHAM STATE 54, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 25

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. --  Senior quarterback Matt Silva (Dracut, Mass.) threw for 383 yards and a school-record six touchdowns, including three hook-ups with fellow senior Tevin Jones (Springfield, Mass.), to lead Framingham State to a 54-25 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Bowditch Field.

Silva connected with Jones on scoring strikes of 30 and 27 yards while also tossing touchdown passes to senior Marcus Grant (Carver, Mass.) and junior Aaron Owens (Springfield, Mass.) in the opening 25-plus minutes of play to stake the host Rams (7-1, 6-0 MASCAC) to a 27-0 advantage at the break, and he found Jones from six yards out on the opening possession after intermission to extend that margin to 34-0.  The visiting Buccaneers (3-5, 2-4 MASCAC) used a pair of scores in a 14 second span to close that gap, as following sophomore Kenny Pierce’s (Beverly, Mass.) school record-tying 13^th rushing touchdown of the season from 11 yards out, junior Jonathan Furtado (Swansea, Mass.) recovered an onside kick and followed that up by hauling in a 46-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Brad Skeffington (Salem, Mass.) that enabled Massachusetts Maritime to creep back to within three possessions at 34-13.

Framingham State responded with a pair of touchdowns of their own in a 1:24 span late in the third stanza, as Silva connected with junior Colby Frodel (Eastham, Mass.) from 12 yards out with 5:23 remaining in the quarter and senior Lewis Bailey (Chelmsford, Mass.) returned one of four Ram fumble recoveries on the afternoon from 48 yards out to build the hosts’ lead to 47-13.  The Buccaneers closed the quarter on Skeffington’s seventh touchdown run of the season from three yards out, and the visitors’ final points of the day came with 5:58 remaining when sophomore quarterback Chris Haggerty (Cohasset, Mass.) threw his first collegiate scoring strike from 14 yards out to junior Cody Stahmer (Wareham, Mass.).  Framingham State capped the game’s scoring when freshman Isaiah White (Beverly, Mass.) scampered in from five yards out with just over two minutes remaining to account for the final margin.

Silva completed 29-of-43 passing attempts during his record-setting performance for the Rams, who amassed 555 yards of total offense on the day.  Jones hauled in eight receptions for 108 yards for the winners, who also received 103 receiving yards from senior Jared Gauthier (Dracut, Mass.) as one of nine different receivers to catch at least one pass in the contest.  Skeffington completed 19-of-34 passing attempts for 228 yards to go with his two scores for Massachusetts Maritime, as the hosts held Pierce to 44 rushing yards on the afternoon.  Furtado and Stahmer combined for 12 receptions and had 79 receiving yards each for the Buccaneers, who amassed 420 yards of total offense but were hurt by the four turnovers.

Senior Greg Peschel (Taunton, Mass.) paced Framingham State defensively with eight total tackles and a forced fumble, while sophomore Svenn Jacobson (Cumberland, Maine) forced three fumbles on the day for the Rams.  Sophomore Alexander Ruddy (Mansfield, Mass.) led Massachusetts Maritime with eight total tackles (six solo) in the setback, while seniors Jack Schmitt (Bourne, Mass.) and David Yerxa (Milford, Mass.) each added seven total stops for the Buccaneers.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Plymouth State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outing next Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium that kicks off at 1:00 p.m., while Framingham State heads to Bridgewater, Mass. next Saturday afternoon to take on Bridgewater State in a MASCAC clash that kicks off at Noon.