Buccaneers Scuttle Owls Senior Day, 21-14 in OT

WESTFIELD, Mass. -   Mass Maritime Academy's Evan Pierce plunged in from 1-yard out on a contested call in overtime to lift the Buccaneers to a 21-14 win in a heartbreaker on Westfield State's senior day at Alumni Field on Saturday. 

MMA improves to 4-4 overall and 3-4 in the MASCAC, while Westfield is now 2-6 overall and 2-5 in the league.

Westfield led 7-0 at the half on a day that featured gusty, swirling winds, with Owls QB Miles Foerster finding Aidan Patterson for a 19-yard TD connection with 3:04 left in the third quarter.

Maritime tied the game 7-7 on a 1-yard run from QB Joesph Schwarz midway through the third quarter, but Westfield answered on it's next drive, using nine plays to go 69 yards, capped by a 20-yard scoring strike from Foerster to Casey Tang, with Andrew Currier's extra point giving the Owls a 14-7 lead.

Momentum swung back to the Bucks early in the fourth quarter.  Westfield marched the ball to the MMA 20, but on 4^th and 4 Currier's field goal attempt was blocked bythe Buccaneers Stephen Jurbala, with Jorden Woods scooping the loose ball and scurrying 80 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown and a 14-all tie with 11:33 left.   Jurbala blocked a big kick for the second straight week, having foiled a potential game winning field goal against Framingham last weekend.

The two teams traded short drives before Westfield took over with 4:47 left in regulation. Westfield moved the ball down the field with a series of bursts, including a 19-yard reverse to Tang to open the drive, then a 15-yard completion to senior RB Curtis Dion, and then Dion broke several tackles on a 4^th and 1 play for a seven yard gain that gave the Owls first and goal from the MMA six yard line with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

From there, the game exploded.

Foerster rolled to his right on 1^st and goal  and was picked off by MMA's Jackson Mahoney with 1:06 to play.  After a penalty and a pair of short runs, MMA's Jackson Moss busted a 63-yard run, weaving through the Owls defense all the way to the Westfield 26 before he was stopped by the Owls last defender, Eric  Lovell.

An injury timeout gave the Bucs a chance to reset, but on the ensuing play Westfield's Justyn Gardner forced a fumble, but a penalty on the Owls on the loose ball gave possession back to the Buccaneers.  MMA's Grayson Smith missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with the wind short and left, in the closing seconds.

In the overtime, MMA got the first possession after the Owls opted to go second, and an end around from Brennan Keefe set the Bucs up first and goal from the two.  Pierce took two attempts to plunge in.  He was stopped on the first, but was ruled in the end zone by one of the officials on the second try.  Smith booted the extra point for the 21-14 lead.

Westfield was forced to start at the 40-yard line on it's possession after an unsportsmanlike call on the protest of the TD.  Westfield went 4-and out, with Foerster getting sacked by Kyle Stephens and Colin Bower to close the game.

Foerster finished 13-22 passing for 122 yards a TD and an interception.  Manny Mengata led the Owls wih 59 yards rushing on 23 carries.  Tang caught four passes for 43 yards and had two carries for 34 more.

MMA alternated quarterbacks all day long, with Pierce and Schwarz combining to go 5-9 for 105 yards.  Moss finished with six carries for 56 yards.

The Owls defense was led by Tommy Bean and Budder Ferreira with 10 tackles each.

Mac Kromenhoek made 12 stops for Maritime.

Westfield State honored its 13 seniors and grad students before the game.   Tafari Proctor, Zach Allen, Will Rodgers, Tate O'Mara, Will Brewster, Alex Mitchell, Vinny Cirillo, and Dylan Zuerblis were recognized along with Bean, Ferreira, Gardener, Tang, Dion and Foerster.

Westfield will play their final two games of the season on the road, heading to UMass-Dartmouth next Saturday for a 12 noon kickoff, before wrapping up the year at Fitchburg State on November 15.