Football Hosts Mass. Maritime on Senior Day

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University football will take on Mass. Maritime Academy on Saturday, November 1 at 12:00 P.M. from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. as part of senior day. The Owls enter the weekend with a 2-4 MASCAC record (2-5 overall) while the Buccaneers sit a game ahead at 3-3 (3-4 overall).

SENIOR DAY: Prior to the start of the game, Westfield State athletics will honor football and cheerleading's senior class. For football: Zach Allen, Tommy Bean, Will Brewster, Vinny Cirillo, Curtis Dion, Budder Ferreira, Miles Foerster, Justyn Gardener, Alex Mitchell, Tate O'Mara, Tafari Proctor, Will Rodgers, Casey Tang, Edwin Wilson, and Dylan Zuerblis.

For cheer, captains' Ella Drinkwater and Trevor Pluff along with Halia Murphy, Evelyn Parker, Jernette Cavalieri, Kaiya Thomas-Rivera, and Gabrielle Dumont will be recognized.

LAST WEEK: Westfield State held a lead midway through the third quarter, but could not slow down the Plymouth State offense, falling 42-35 in a hard-fought Homecoming matchup. Trailing by seven entering the second half, the Owls orchestrated two consecutive scoring drives, a 26-yard receiving touchdown to Casey Tang, then after a Joshua Marino interception, Curtis Dion punched in the go-ahead score from ten yards out to take a 28-21 lead. Plymouth responded by tallying the next three scores of the game to take a 42-28 lead where they would hold off a late Owls push. Miles Foerster tossed three touchdown passes, two to Tang and a 66-yard strike to Aidan Patterson. Marino added 13 tackles to go along with the pick, and Andrew Lovell also added 13 tackles.

LAST YEAR: The battle of the trenches was on full display in this game a season ago with the Owls prevailing by a 13-10 score on Halloween night at Mass. Maritime last year. The two teams combined for 360 yards on the ground and just 62 yards via the pass. The Owls rushed for 202 yards on the evening with Dylan Disabella running in the game-winning touchdown from 49 yards out in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Linebacker Budder Ferreira was all over the field, leading the game with 13 tackles while recording a pair of sacks and four tackles for loss. Dylan Zuerblis also registered a sack while forcing a fumble. Mass. Maritime had six different players tote the rock in the game, including quarterback Evan Pierce who scored the Bucs lone touchdown on the night. Ian Gauch generated 1.5 tackles for loss and 12 total stops while forcing and recording a fumble recovery.

WESTFIELD ON OFFENSE: The Owls are averaging the fourth-most points in the MASCAC, scoring 25.7 per game on 309.7 yards per game. Although the game is likely to be decided up front and in the run game, senior wideout Casey Tang has developed into a go-to target for Owls quarterback Miles Foerster. Tang is the team leader in receptions (23) and yards (356) and now has four touchdowns on the season. Manny Mengata figures to have a sizeable workload as he leads Westfield with 612 rushing yards, an average of 87.4 per contest. Aidan Patterson notched his team-leading eighth touchdown of the season last week and has rushed for an average of 6.8 yards per carry this season while operating out of the A back slot.

WESTFIELD ON DEFENSE: Defensively, Westfield is allowing 27.3 points per game on 255.7 yards per game, the second fewest total yards against in the conference. The Owls are just one of two teams in the conference that are holding their opponents under 100 rushing yards per game as Westfield checks in as the number one ranked defense versus the run (74.1 yards per game). The Owls are coming off a week in which the run defense was tested, allowing a season-high 238 yards to the Panthers. Budder Ferreira is third in the MASCAC with 8.5 tackles for loss and is the team leader in tackles with 47. Zach Allen has registered three interceptions to front the secondary. Eric Lovell has gathered a pair of interceptions and has four pass breakups overall.

WESTFIELD ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Andrew Currier was 5-5 on extra point attempts last week, increasing his season total to 15 makes in 16 attempts. He's also punted six times for a total of 165 yards, three of which have pinned the opposition inside the 20-yard line. Brandon Paquette has returned 16 kicks for 240 yards, for an average of 15 yards per touch.

MASS. MARITIME ON OFFENSE: Mass. Maritime is averaging 15.7 points per game, the second fewest in the conference, to go along with 268.4 yards per game. The Buccaneers chew the clock in part to a run-heavy scheme which has resulted in the most rushing attempts (345) of any team in the MASCAC. Mass. Maritime is second in the conference in rushing yards per game at 201.1 and have six players with 20 or more carries. Zach Proctor leads the unit with 254 yards with Chase Dombroski close behind at 227 yards. The Bucs have attempted the fewest passes in the league (64 attempts) and are averaging 67.3 air yards. Quarterback Evan Pierce has completed 28 of 46 passes for 353 yards and five touchdowns. He has also rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

MASS. MARITIME ON DEFENSE: The Buccaneer defense has been one of the stingiest units in the conference, serving as the second-best scoring defense by allowing 15.9 points per game on 270.0 total yards. Maritime is second in the MASCAC in run defense, trailing only the Owls while giving up 87.7 yards per contest. The Buccaneers have forced the fewest turnovers in the MASCAC (three interceptions and three fumble recoveries). Linebacker Jackson Mahoney is second in the MASCAC with 65 tackles and has also registered five tackles for loss and two sacks. Defensive lineman Mac Kromenhoek leads the defense with 3.5 sacks.

MASS. MARITIME ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Last week, defensive back Stephen Jurbala blocked a would-be 19-yard field goal by Framingham State, preserving a 14-12 win for the Bucs over the then undefeated Rams in conference action. Owen Lane has returned seven kicks for 181 yards, an average of 25.9 yards which includes a long of 40. Freshman kicker Grayson Smith is 12-14 in PATs and 2-5 in field goal tries with a long of 32 yards. James Sansone has tallied 19 punts for 652 yards including a long of 60.

NEXT WEEK: Westfield State's remaining two games will be on the road as the Owls travel to UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, November 8 at 12:00 P.M. Mass. Maritime finishes the year with back-to-back home contests beginning on November 8 versus Worcester State.

COVERAGE: Multi-camera coverage of the game along with video and live stats can be found at WestfieldStateOwls.com with Cody Chalifoux and Evan Levrault on the call for the game.