Late Rally Falls Short as Owls Fall to Mass Maritime, 16-8

WESTFIELD, Mass. –   Westfield State put together a late rally to trim it to a one-score game, but the Owls fell just short against Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 16-8 on Family and Champions Weekend at Alumni Field.

Westfield fell behind 2-0 late in the first quarter.  An Owls goal-line stand on defense left the Owls the ball at the 1-yard line, but a pair of false start penalties buried the offense against the goal line, and MMA's Jack Mulligan (Newtown, Conn.) tackled OT Thomas  (Coral Springs Fla./Hall) in the end zone for a safety.

The Buccaneers pushed the lead to 9-0 late in the first quarter, after a short punt set them up at the Owls 33 yards line.  Four plays later, Conner Reynolds (Norton, Mass.) scored on a draw play from 5-yards out.

MMA took a 16-0 lead at the half with Andrew Brightman (Wareham, Mass./Upper Cape Tech) on the receiving end of a 1-yard pass from Curtis Cann (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) with a diving catch in the end zone with just 10 seconds left in the half.

Westfield's defense stiffened in the second half, keeping MMA off the scoreboard and allowing just 63 yards of total offense after the half.

Westfield got on the scoreboard with a 4-play, 73-yard drive early in the fourth quarter.  Quarterback Peyton Capizzi (E. Setauket, NY/Ward-Melville) completed a 46-yard bomb down the right side of the field to Danny Farrell Milford, Mass.), then later fired a 30-yard pass into the end zone that was intended for Owen Thompson (Plympton, Mass./Silver Lake) and broken up, but the ball popped up in the air to Connor Schlittler (Walpole, Mass.) for the Owls' touchdown.    Shane Clark (Bellows Falls, Vt.) bulled his way in to the end zone for the two-point conversion, trimming the lead to 16-8 with 11:47 to play.

Westfield mounted a final scoring attempt on a drive that began with 3:32 left.  Capizzi hit Thompson for a 49-yard gain, then later connected with Anthony Cintron (Auburn, Mass.) for 19 yards.  Westfield moved the ball all the way to the MMA 13-yard line, but Capizzi was sacked on back-to-back plays, and the Owls' hopes ended with an incompletion on fourth down.

Capizzi had his best passing game as an Owl, finishing 14-22 for 221 yards and a touchdown.  Farrell caught four passes for 61 yards, and Cintron and Isaiah Lopez (Holyoke, Mass.) finished with three catches each.   OT Thomas led the Owls on the ground with 57 yards on 16 carries.

For MMA, Kobe Copeland (Virginia Beach, Va.) rushed 18 times for 66 yards, and Reynolds finished with 10 categories for 36 yards.  Cann finished 7-13 passing for 90 yards and a TD.

Westfield's defense was led by Cade Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass.) with nine tackles, including 1.5 for sacks.  William Soto (Marlborough, Mass./Assabet Valley) added nine stops, and David White (Walpole, Mass.) added eight tackles and a sack.  Travis Dozier Jr. (Adams Mass/Hoosac) picked off his fourth pass of the season.

Mass Maritime's defense was anchored by Cole Keefe (Merrimack, N.H.) with nine tackles and a sack.  Mack Brown (Harvey, La./Brother Martin) made five stops, three for losses and forced a fumble.

Westfield was plagued by 13 penalties in the game totaling 81 yards. Westfield out-gained the Buccaneers 256-195.  The Owls lost three fumbles on the day.

Westfield State gets its bye week next weekend, before returning to the field to play UMass-Dartmouth at homecoming on Oct. 16.   MMA will face UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday, Oct. 9.