Football Falls to Owls on the Road

WESTFIELD, Mass -- The Buccaneers football team took on Westfield State in conference play on Saturday afternoon and despite leading 7-0 early, the Owls outscored the Bucs 17-3 from the second quarter on to earn the 17-10 win over the Buccaneers.

The Basics

Final: Owls 17, Buccaneers 10

Records: Westfield State (1-4, 1-2)

               Maritime (1-3, 1-1)

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Quarterback Marc Murphy completed 12 of 23 passes for 206 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the loss.
• On the ground, Daniel Molloy ran the ball seven times for 22 yards.
• Wide receiver Andrew Brightman had a stellas day hauling in eight passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Molloy had three catches for 54 yards totaling 76 yards on the day.
• Defensively, Liam Hines led the bucs with seven total tackles including a tackle for loss.
• Owen Shea was credited with the only sack in the game to go along with five tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. 
• On special teams, Logan Tsika converted his only field goal attempt from 24 yards and made his only PAT.
• Jack Mulligan punted five times with a long of 42 yards averaging 36.8 yards per punt and one inside the Owls 20 yard line.

Westfield

• Quarterback Gabriel Fernandez completed 14 of 25 passes for 138 yards.
• Running back Jordan Smith ran the ball 25 times for 77 yards and a touchdown with a long run of 24 yards.
• Danny Farrell led the receivers with 65 yards on six catches.
• Defensively, Tyler Cooley led all players with 13 total tackles and a tackle for loss. 
• Alec Rodriguez recorded an interception to go with his five tackles and tackle for loss.
• Cade Nelson and Dylan Zuerblis each had a sack in the win. 
• On special teams, kicker Cooper Harvey made his only field goal attempt from 39 yards and converted both of his extra points.
• Punter Owen Thompson kicked six times with an average of 32.8 yards per punt and pinned the Buccaneers inside their own 20 yard line three times.

How It Happened

Maritime received the opening kickoff from the Owls and on their first drive of the game went 73 yards on seven plays finishing it off with a Murphy to Brightman connection for a 29-yard touchdown. Tsika converted the PAT and the Bucs led 7-0 with 11:13 left in the first. On the Owls first drive, Fernandez led his team down a short field after a long kickoff return. The drive started at the Buccaneers 36 yard line and the Owls ended the drive on a Smith four-yard run for the touchdown and tied the score at 7-7 less than halfway through the first quarter of play. The teams went to the second tied at 7-7.

Unlike the first quarter where all of the scoring happened in the first seven minutes, neither team put points on the board in the second until there was less than three minutes left before halftime. Getting the ball with 2:23 left in the second, the Bucs drove 59 yards in nine plays and were stalled at the Westfield six yard line. Tsika came on for the 24 yard field goal which he converted to put the Bucs back up, 10-7, just before halftime. On the Owls ensuing drive, it took them just two plays to go 40 yards after a 25-yard pass from Fernandez to Farrell for 25 yards and a penalty on the Bucs which put Westfield on the edge of field goal range. With three second left in the half the Owls sent out the kick team and Harvey converted from 39 yards to tie the game at 10-10 as the teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime. 

Westfield opened the second half with the ball and went four and out giving the Bucs the ball at their own seven yardline. After converting a first down on their first play of the drive, Murphy threw a pass to a receiver who had it knocked out of the hands and was intercepted by Rodriguez. Rodriguez lateraled the ball to Max Margeson who returned the ball 25 yards into the endzone for a touchdown. Harvey made the PAT and the Owls had their first lead of the day, 17-10. The score remained 17-10 heading to the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, Westfield was unable to extend their lead and Maritime was unable to score to tie the game or take the lead despite having their chances. On the final drive of the game for the Buccaneers, they attempted a deep pass on fourth down and three that was knocked away by the Owls defense. Westfield kneeled out the clock and earned the 17-10 win over the Bucs.

What's Next

Maritime is back on the road for their next game on Saturday, October 7th at 4pm against UMass Dartmouth.