MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Clean Harbors Stadium, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL:              WESTERN CONNECTICUT 37, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 35

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Freshman Jordan D’Onofrio (Orange, Conn.) kicked a 24-yard field goal as time expired to give Western Connecticut a 37-35 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over Massachusetts Maritime Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.

The visiting Colonials (2-4, 1-3 MASCAC) took a 12-point lead (34-22) with 3:52 remaining in the contest when junior quarterback Quinn Fleeting (Windsor, Conn.) connected on a 39-yard touchdown pass to freshman Lucas DeSouza (Bridgeport, Conn.), but the host Buccaneers (3-2, 2-1 MASCAC) struck back on the next play when junior quarterback Chris Haggerty (Cohasset, Mass.) hooked up with sophomore Paul Sances (Middleboro, Mass.) on a 70-yard scoring strike to slice their deficit to five.  Following a three-and-out on the ensuing Western Connecticut possession, Massachusetts Maritime converted a pair of fourth downs and took a 35-34 lead with 47 seconds left when Chris Haggerty found his senior brother Shane (Cohasset, Mass.) from 25 yards out to cap a 12-play, 81-yard drive, but Fleeting took advantage of a short field and directed the Colonials to the Buccaneer 7-yard line in six plays to set up D’Onofrio’s game-winning kick from the right hash mark.

Senior Michael Nicol (Wolcott, Conn.) staked Western Connecticut to a 7-0 first quarter lead with a four-yard run that followed an interception by fellow senior Brennen Diaz (Oxford, Conn.) near midfield, and Massachusetts Maritime took advantage of a fumble on the Colonial 27 to get on the board on freshman Sean Kahler’s (Greenville, R.I.) 23-yard field goal.  The visitors answered with a five-play, 67-yard drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Fleeting to senior Dimitrios Tsesmetzis (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) with 4:58 remaining in the half, and following a Buccaneer punt, the Colonials extended that margin to 20-3 with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that saw Fleeting hit DeSouza from 36 yards out on 3^rd-and-18 with 88 seconds to play before intermission.  Chris Haggerty connected with Shane Haggerty on a key 21-yard pass on fourth down to keep the hosts’ ensuing drive alive, and the brother combination found the end zone two plays later when Shane hauled in the first of his two 25-yard touchdowns from Chris with 15 seconds remaining in the half for a 20-10 Western Connecticut lead at the break.

Massachusetts Maritime turned a pair of short field situations into touchdowns in the first 8:26 of the third quarter, as Chris Haggerty hooked up with senior Aidan Desrosiers (North Attleboro, Mass.) on a three-yard score to slice the Buccaneer deficit to four before junior Richie Phillips (Onset, Mass.) found the end zone from four yards out for his ninth rushing touchdown of the season to give the Buccaneers their first lead of the day at 22-20.  Nicol capped a nine-play, 62-yard run with his second touchdown of the afternoon from a yard out that enabled the Colonials to regain a 27-22 edge with just over two minutes remaining in the third stanza and set up the frantic finish in the final 3:52 that led to D’Onofrio’s heroics.

Fleeting completed 16-of-27 pass attempts for 277 yards and three scores in the triumph for Western Connecticut, which amassed 581 yards of total offense on the day.  Junior Kyle McKinnon (New London, Conn.) rushed for 246 (on 32 carries) of the Colonials’ 304 yards on the ground, while DeSouza (87) and sophomore Austin Calamita (North Branford, Conn.) combined for nine catches and 177 receiving yards for the visitors.  Chris Haggerty completed 26-of-51 pass attempts for a career-high 366 yards and four scores in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as Shane Haggerty hauled in 13 receptions for a career-best 204 yards and two of those touchdowns.  Sances added five catches for 102 yards and a score for the Buccaneers, who received a combined 104 rushing yards from Phillips and senior Kenny Pierce (Beverly, Mass.) in amassing 464 yards and running 94 plays.

Senior Kareem Patterson (Milton, Mass.) registered eight total tackles and an interception to lead the way defensively for Western Connecticut, which also received five stops and a pick from Diaz.  Senior Marshall McCarthy (Duxbury, Mass.) collected a game-high 13 total tackles (nine solo) and recovered a fumble for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received eight tackles and sack from freshman Jacob Tavares (New Bedford, Mass.) and junior Liam Corkery’s (Merrimac, Mass.) second interception of the season.  The outcome was determined in the closing seconds for the third time in four seasons, as the Colonials won last year’s meeting by a 46-39 margin on Nicol’s touchdown with nine seconds to play.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Westfield State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outing next Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium that kicks off at Noon, while Western Connecticut heads to Fitchburg, Mass. for a MASCAC clash with Fitchburg State that kicks off at 1:30 p.m.