Worcester Opens MASCAC Play With Win Over Falcons

Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Lancers (0-2, 0-0) took on the Fitchburg State Falcons (0-2, 0-0) at John. F. Coughlin Memorial Field for a 12 p.m. start in the first MASCAC showdown of the season.

The Lancers are coming off a defeat at the hands of Union as the Falcons also received a loss to Castelton last Saturday.

FINAL: Lancers 33, Fitchburg State 13

The Lancers were led by backup sophomore QB Parke Hardesky (East Greenwich, R.I.) as senior Mike Loveless (Lake in the Hills, IL) was ruled out today with an ankle injury that he suffered in the earlier minutes of the game last week.

The first quarter started off slow with the Lancer offense being shut out. A couple of false starts held Worcester back as the team racked up 26 yards on five penalties. Fitchburg State on the other hand were able to score a touchdown to put the Lancers down 0-6. Sophomore Peter Kwakye (Methuen, MA) rushed for a 36 yard TD with 11:03 left in the quarter with the extra point attempt failing. Those would be the only points allowed in the first half by the Lancer defense.

With 5:13 remaining in the second quarter, the Lancers found a rhythm with Hardesky tossing a 14 yard TD to first year wide receiver Lance Williams (New London, CT) for the first home score of the season. Junior Santiago Rodriguez-D'Atri (Leominster, Mass.) broke the tie with a successful PAT to give the Lancers the 7-6 that they held until the half.  

The first half saw Worcester rush 18 yards on 17 attempts, junior Nico Holmes (Boston, Mass.) led all rushers with 11 yards on six attempts. Hardesky threw for 73 yards on 16 attempts with a TD and an interception on a hail mary at the end of the half. Williams ended his half with 67 receiving yards on three receptions. The Lancers finished the first half with 86 yards, while the Falcons ended with 50. 

Holmes fumbled on the opening drive of the second half with the Lancers receiving the ball to start the quarter. The team recovered the fumble and capitalized by scoring on the drive. Sophomore wide out Matthew Gibeau (Providence, R.I.) showed off his hands with a great 10 yard reception to finish the drive off strong and put Worcester in front 13-6 with the PAT missing wide.

The Lancer defense was on display with graduate senior Ryan Justin (Lowell, MA) adding his second sack of the afternoon to set the tone. The defensive stop allowed the offense another crack after momentum from their last score. They did not disappoint as the team marched down the field and ended the drive with a perfect pass from Hardesky to a wide open sophomore Calvin Polchlopek (Framingham, Mass.) for a 39 yard TD grab. The score sat at 20-6 heading into the final quarter.  

Fitchburg State showed offensive life for the first time since the first with a 32 yard pass from first year quarterback Rocky Marchitelli (Gunnison, CO) to sophomore Sahir Gomez (Whittier, CA) to cut Worcester's lead to 20-13.

The following kick-off showed a shifty first-year James Azzinaro (Ashway, R.I.) ripping off a 46 yard return. With great field position, Coach Peloquin dialed up a deep pass on the first play of the drive to get Williams on a 35 yard TD reception, his second of the game. The score now being 26-13.

Fitchburg State showed sparks of life with three minutes left in the game forcing a fumble on Hardesky and recovering in Worcester St. territory for a final attempt at a comeback. The Lancer defense would not allow it with a pick six by senior Curt Marshall (Taunton, Mass.) to seal the game 33-13, the second interception of the game as junior Damian Mitchell (Lancaster, PA) had one earlier in the quarter.

Worcester State improves to (1-2)(1-0) with Fitchburg State dropping to (0-3)(0-1)

The next game for the Lancers will be away at UMass-Dartmouth with a 12 p.m. start in another MASCAC game.