Preview: Football Looks For Revenge In Matchup Against Fitchburg State

ON THE WEB:

You can follow this weekends 12 PM football game against Fitchburg State on Video and Live Stats.

THE SERIES

Since the two squads started playing as regular-season opponents in 1985, Worcester State has dominated the series with a 23-6 edge. However, the Falcons have won four contests in the series since 2004 - including last years 37-7 victory at Elliot Field.

This marks the first Sterling Cup contest for any sport between Fitchburg State and Worcester State. Last season WSU won the bragging rights to keep the cup symbolizing dominant success over the other institution and named for the town in the midway point between both schoools.

LAST YEAR

Sophomore Garrett Dellechiaie (Leominster, MA) went 28-for-38 with 374 yards and four touchdowns to help lead Fitchburg State to a 37-7 triumph over Worcester State. Ty Spencer hauled in 10 receptions for 149 yards and two first-quarter scores to spark the Falcons.

Leading the way for the Lancers was senior Casey Hippert (Douglas, MA) who made five connections for 73 yards and he crossed the plain the only touchdown for the Blue and Gold with 8:51 remaining in the second quarter.

Current student assistant coach Nick Doria had a fine game defensively with seven tackles (three solo), a trio of tackles for a loss and he combined with senior Bryan Narcisse (Medway, MA) for one sack.

THE LANCERS

Worcester State (3-1, 1-1 MASCAC) debuted at sixth in the first Division III New England Football poll of the season on September 15 and received votes after a 48-14 victory over Mass Maritime in the third poll on September 29.

Key in the victory was junior Kemani Jones (Milton, MA) who scampered for four touchdowns to tie a school record and 169 yards on 22 rushes (7.7 yards per carry). Jones is second in the MASCAC in rushing yardage (118.5 YPG) and scoring (38 points - 8 rushing TDs).

Senior Kevin Bumpus (Bridgewater, MA) enters the contest with 1,184 yards and six touchdowns for the Lancers. He is 17th in the NCAA Division III with 296.0 yards per game and he established a new school record for passing yardage (455 yards) in a 51-27 setback against Bridgewater State on September 20.

Narcisse ties for the MASCAC lead in sacks (5) and his 11 tackles for a loss are second in the conference standings. Senior teammates Zack Skerry (Milford, MA) and Sean Hanley (Wilmington, MA) are tied for fourth with four sacks apiece. Hanley tops the squad with 29 tackles (22 solo), 6.5 TFL, one fumble, one recovery and a blocked kick.

Freshman Sebastian Paz (Orlando, FL) is second in the league in kick scoring with 27 points to his credit which include three field goals and he is 18-for-18 on PATs. Paz was named MASCAC Special Teams Player of the Week for booting 12 points in their trumph over the Buccanneers.

THE FALCONS

Fitchburg State (4-1, 2-1 MASCAC) enters the contest ranked the eighth ranked team in the Division III New England Football Coaches/SID poll and peaked as high as fifth in the opening rankings of the season when they started 2-0. The Falcons defeated Mass Maritime last week 26-21.

Dellechiaie tops the MASCAC in passing yardage with an impressive 1,498 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and a remarkable .667 completion percentage.

The contest figures to be a battle of quarterbacks as Bumpus himself sports a .630 clip on the season. Both squads are ranked among the top 25 nationally in passing offense (WSU - 331.0 YPG (T12th) (FSU - 307.0 YPG (21st)

Sophomore David Summiel (Tewksbury, MA) is fifth in the NCAA Division III in passing yardage (605) with 31 catches, 119.8 yards per game and three TDs.

Senior Talib Barksdale (Hudson, NY) propels the club defensively as he has collected 40 stops to go with four TFL and two interceptions. Watch for sophomore Ousamane Samb (Pawtucket, RI) in the secondary with one pick and seven pass deflections.

Sophomore Kyle Ludwig (Fort Myers, FL) averages 38.2 yards per punt with a league-best 1,071 yards. 10 of his 28 kicks have been downed inside the 20 yardline. 

CLASSIC LANCER LOGO APPAREL CLEARANCE SALE

A table will be set up at next week's homecoming football game for those who would like to purchase old lancer uniforms, sweatshirts, warm-ups and t-shirts for inexpensive prices. More details will be posted on the athletics website next week.

HALFTIME

This weekends game features a t-shirt toss and a halftime contest sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (@WSU_SAAC). Two male students and two female students will be teamed together to see how many tosses they can get into barrels set up along the end-zone.

NEXT WEEK

Worcester State hosts UMass Dartmouth on homecoming in a 2:30 PM affair while Fitchburg State takes on Western Connecticut at home in a noon-time matchup.