BUZZARDS BAY, Mass – The Buccaneers welcomes in the MASCAC leading Framingham State Rams to Clean Harbors Stadium on Saturday afternoon for a conference showdown. Two of the higher scoring offenses in the league scored a combined 22 points with the Rams coming out on top 16-6.

The Basics

Final: Rams 16, Buccaneers 6

Records: Mass Maritime 5-3 (3-3 MASCAC)

                Framingham State 6-2 (6-0 MASCAC)

For The Bucs

• Senior quarterback Matt Long (Weymouth, Mass) led the Bucs in passing and rushing with 69 yards through the air and 31 yards on the ground. He also punted the ball nine times on special teams for 351 yards. An average of 39 yards per punt.
• Senior wide receiver Ryan McNally (Sandwich, Mass) caught two passes for 47 yards including a 39-yard grab.
• Freshman running back Ja'iel Johnson (Dodge City, Kan) caught a team-high four passes for 14 yards.
• Johnson was also responsible for the only Buc touchdown of the day which came on an 87-yard kick return in the second quarter.
• Defensively, Peter Banks (Webster, Mass) led all defensive players with 14 total tackles, nine solo. He also had a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.
• Jack Fontana (Grafton, Mass) and Colin McCabe (Dartmouth, Mass) each had 10 tackles in the game. They each also had a forced fumble and McCabe had three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
• Kyle Johnston (Raynham, Mass) and Erik Marchant (East Bridgewater, Mass) each had a sack in the game.
• Cornerback Austin Stahmer (Wareham, Mass) made four tackles in the game and had three pass breakups.

For The Rams

• Senior quarterback Adam Wojenski (Stratford, Conn) completed 18 of 31 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown. Wojenski ran the ball 14 times for 52 yards and a score. On special teams he punted the ball five times for 158 yards, an average of 31.6 yards per kick and pinned the Bucs inside their own 20 yard line four times.
• On the ground, running back Devaun Ford (Mashpee, Mass) ran the ball 27 times for 143 yards.
• Wide receiver Elijah Nichols (Burlington, N.J.) caught a five passes for a game-high 111 yards. Jacob Maher (Marshfield, Mass) caught a game-high seven passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
• On defense, Jack Sullivan (Dartmouth, Mass) led the Rams with nine total tackles and a sack to go along with four tackles for loss.
• Joshua Smiley (Springfield, Mass) also had a sack and four tackles while Cully Curran (Arlington, Mass) and Joshua Onujiogu (Wareham, Mass) each had a half sack and four tackles each.
• Kicker Daniels Lathum (Riga, Latvia) converted both of his extra point attempts.

How It Happened

Neither team had much luck on offensive at any point in the game as defense and special teams ruled on both sides. In the first quarter Framingham scored just under three minutes in to the game on a Wojenski pass to Maher for an eight-yard score. Every other possession in the first quarter ended in a turnover, punt or turnover on downs with the teams combining for just over 100 yards of total offense. At the end of 15 minutes the Rams held a 7-0 advantage.

The second quarter was the highest scoring period of the game with 15 points scores. After nearly 10 minutes of back and forth with nothing to show for their efforts, both teams scored on ensuing possessions. First, the Rams opened their lead to 14-0 on a Wojenski touchdown run from one yard out. Then on the ensuing kickoff J. Johnson went 87 yards to the house to erase any shot at a Framingham shutout. The extra point following the score was blocked by the Rams and returned 90 yards for a two-point conversion to give the rams a 16-6 lead. That 16-6 lead would be the score at the break.

No points were scored in the second half of play as each of the drives ended on punts, turnovers, downs and the final drive of the game for the Bucs which ended in a missed field goal attempt. The teams went a combined 9-for-31 on third down and 2-for-6 on fourth down. The defenses kept the offensive drives at bay for a full 60 minutes and the Rams headed home with a 16-6 victory of the Bucs to remain undefeated in the MASCAC.

Up Next

The Buccaneers are on the road on Saturday, November 9^th at UMass-Dartmouth. Kickoff for the Battle of Pirate Supremacy between the Buccaneers and Corsairs is at 12pm.