Plymouth Outlasts Owls on Homecoming

WESTFIELD, Mass.  --   Plymouth State QB Braden Lynn ran for two touchdowns and threw for one to offset a three touchdown-pass performance from Westfield's Miles Foerster, as the Panthers outlasted the Owls, 42-35 to spoil Westfield's homecoming on Saturday at Alumni Field.

Plymouth State improves to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the MASCAC.  Westfield is now 2-5 and 2-4 in the conference.

Westfield led 28-21 after a 10-yard TD run from Curtis Dion with 7:54 left in the third quarter.

Plymouth marched 65 yards on eight plays on the ensuing drive, capping the series with an 8-yard off tackle TD run from Reece Davis to tie the game at 28-all after Seamus Ross' extra point.

The Panthers caught a break on the next series, as the Owls fumbled and TJ Taveras recovered the ball at the Westfield 21-yard line, setting up a short field.  Four plays later Lynn scrambled six yards on a bootleg to the left for the TD and a 35-28 Panthers lead.

Westfield was forced to punt after a third-down sack, and Plymouth again put together a long drive this time 82 yards in 10 plays, this one capped by a 9-yard TD scramble from Lynn for a 42-28 lead with 7:48 left in the game

Westfield wasn't done, and after a 24-yard Brandon Paquette kickoff return set the Owls drive up at their own 40-yard line.   Two plays later Foerster rolled left, then threw all the way back across the field to Aidan Patterson, who caught the ball at the 34-yard line and scampered through traffic, all the way from the right side of the field back to the left, where Foerster, hustling on the play, threw the final block for Patterson to skip into the endzone untouched for a 66-yard completion and trimmed the lead to 42-35 after Andrew Currier's extra point with 6:03 left in the game.

But Plymouth was able to grind out the final six minutes of the game with a methodical 11-play, 62-yard drive with 10 straight running plays before the final kneel down.

Foerster finished 8-11 passing for 163 yards with three TD's passing and one on the ground.   Patterson ran for 69 yards, and caught two passes for 71 yards.   Westfield's Casey Tang caught four passes for 77 yards including a pair of touchdown catches.

Andrew Lovell and Josh Marino led the Owls defense with 13 tackles each, and Marino added an interception with a 10 yard return.

For Plymouth, Lynn completed 10 of 16 throws for 144 yards  with one touchdown and one interception.   The Panthers rushed for 238 yards as a team, led by 129 yards from Reece David and 87 from Gregory Walker.    Mitchell Cripps caught two passes for 84 yards.  Taveras and Hunter Burke each made nine stops for the Panthers.

Westfield will be back in action at home next Saturday, hosting Mass Maritime at noon, which will also be the Owls senior day game before they close the year with two straight games on the road.