MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Coughlin Field, Worcester, Mass.

FINAL:              MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 35, WORCESTER STATE 31

WORCESTER, Mass. --  Sophomore Kenny Pierce’s (Beverly, Mass.) school record-tying fourth rushing touchdown of the game, a 30-yard scamper with 7:10 remaining, proved to be the winning score as Massachusetts Maritime rallied from a 21-point second quarter deficit to post a 35-31 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over Worcester State Saturday afternoon at Coughlin Field.

Pierce cracked the 200-yard mark for the second straight week for the visiting Buccaneers (2-1, 1-0 MASCAC), as he rushed for 202 yards on 33 carries and sparked Massachusetts Maritime’s comeback with a 51-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining in the opening half.  Senior quarterback Brad Skeffington (Salem, Mass.) then capped a 14-play, 76-yard drive with a one-yard scoring plunge on the first possession after intermission that enabled the Buccaneers to close back to within seven, and after a punt by the host Lancers (0-4, 0-2 MASCAC), the visitors evened matters at 21-21 on Pierce’s seven-yard run that capped another long scoring drive (10 plays, 82 yards) with 6:27 remaining in the third stanza.  Worcester State regained the lead less than three minutes later when senior quarterback Trevor Vasey (Cumberland, R.I.) threw his third scoring strike of the afternoon, an 11-yard hook-up with sophomore Connor Amann (Stamford, Conn.), but Pierce’s third visit to the end zone of the day from 14 yards out less than two minutes later knotted the score once again at 28-28.  The Lancers took their final lead of the day with 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter on freshman Adrian Lingo’s (Sharon, Mass.) 26-yard field goal that set up Pierce’s heroics midway through the final frame, though the hosts had two possessions in the final seven-plus minutes of action that ended with an interception by Buccaneer sophomore Liam Corkery (Merrimac, Mass.) and a turnover on downs.

Worcester State overcame an early missed field goal and took a 7-0 edge with just over six minutes remaining in the opening quarter, as the Lancers took advantage of Massachusetts Maritime’s second turnover in less than two minutes when Vasey connected with freshman Dexter Andrews (Dorchester, Mass.) on a seven-yard touchdown pass.  Following the Buccaneers’ third turnover of the half on an interception, Vasey called his own number to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive with a four-yard scoring plunge to extend the hosts’ lead to 14-0, and following a visitors’ punt, the hosts took advantage of great field position to extend that margin to 21-0 on a Vasey touchdown pass of 15 yards to junior Derek Moore (Mendon, Mass.).  Worcester State had a chance to add on to its 21-7 lead after Pierce’s first touchdown of the day late in the half, but the Lancers missed their second field goal of the afternoon, setting up Massachusetts Martime’s second half comeback effort.

Pierce, who tied the school single-game mark with four rushing touchdowns last set by Stefan Gustafson against Western Connecticut in 2013, accounted for nearly half of the Buccaneers’ 424 rushing yards on the day, as Skeffington added 109 rushing yards of his own while completing 15-of-29 pass attempts for 186 yards.  Sophomore Richie Phillips (Onset, Mass.) nearly crossed the century mark in rushing as well with 93 yards on 19 carries in the win for Massachusetts Maritime, which received a career-high eight receptions for 118 yards from junior Shane Haggerty (Cohasset, Mass.).  The visitors, who entered the game ranked sixth nationally in Division III in total offense at 593.5 yards per contest, amassed 610 total yards in the triumph on 106 plays, which ranks second in school history only to the NCAA record-setting 121 plays ran in the 2013 meeting with Worcester State that also produced a national record 44 first downs.    

Vasey completed 32-of-48 pass attempts for 363 yards to go with his three touchdowns in the setback for Worcester State, including nine connections for 69 yards with sophomore Isaiah King (Richmond, Va.).  Senior Kemani Jones (Milton, Mass.) rushed for 84 yards on 27 carries for the Lancers, who amassed 500 yards of total offense (137 on the ground). 

Senior Ash Ergle (Modoc, S.C.) paced Massachusetts Maritime defensively with a career-high 14 total tackles (seven solo), while senior Jack Schmitt (Bourne, Mass.) and junior Marshall McCarthy (Duxbury, Mass.) each added 11 stops for the Buccaneers, who also received freshman Paul Sances’s (Middleboro, Mass.) second interception of the season.  Junior Shane Gleim (North Grosvenordale, Conn.) registered a game-high 20 total tackles (13 solo) and an interception in the setback for Worcester State, which also received 10 total stops from sophomore Gaston Pastorino (Fitchburg, Mass.) and a pick from senior Brian Gencarelli (Niantic, Conn.).  The win snaps a three-game Lancer series win streak, as the last Buccaneer triumph in the 30-game series between the schools came in 2011.

Both squads will take on Fitchburg State in their next respective Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outings, as Massachusetts Maritime hosts the Falcons next Saturday afternoon as part of Homecoming festivities at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at Noon.  Worcester State heads to Fitchburg, Mass. on Saturday, October 10^th for the Sterling Cup clash with Fitchburg State that kicks off at 2:00 p.m.