Hawkins, Gulls Notch Homecoming Win
Oct. 20, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - Colby Hawkins (Scituate, MA/Scituate) rushed for a game-high 123 yards including a 36-yard touchdown to lead Endicott College to a, 34-21, win over Western New England College in a NEFC Boyd Division game on Homecoming Saturday in Beverly, Mass.
Although Hawkins only carried the ball nine times, the sophomore running back averaged 13.7 yards per carry to lead the Gulls ground attack.
The game opened with Endicott calling a nifty flee flicker pass with Alex Smith (Winthrop, MA/Winthrop) completing a 36 yard strike to Ryan MacLean (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) to set the pace early on. Smith put the Gulls ahead for good when he connected with Jake Maxfield (Newport, NH/Newport Middle) for a 10-yard touchdown. Christopher Brennan (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) nailed the extra point to give the Gulls an early seven point lead.
Western New England responded with a 70-yard drive of their own, however a quarterback substitution yielded a Justin Paroby (Taylor, PA/Riverside Junior/Senior) fumble deep in Endicott territory. The Gulls defense swarmed to the loose ball, resulting in a WNEC turnover.
The Endicott offense drove down the field 89-yards, highlighted by Hawkins 36-yard touchdown run. The shifty sophomore broke through the defensive line, made one man miss and was off to the races, putting the Gulls up 14-0.
After a strong stand by the Endicott defense, the Gulls offense marched 51-yards down the field for their third straight score. Smith connected with Drew Cusato (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) for a 25-yard gain and Mark Killinger (Rockland, MA/Rockland) rushed into the end zone for a five yard touchdown. Following Brennan's PAT, the Gulls took a commanding 21-0 lead into the intermission.
Midway through the third quarter, the Golden Bears drove back into Endicott territory but were stopped short of the goal line, this time when Jared Giblin (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) intercepted Tim Hegarty (Bridgewater, MA/Bridgewater-Raynham) at the Endicott 11-yard line.
A facemask penalty against Western New England moved the Gulls to the 31-yard line where they started their drive. Endicott marched down the field 84-yards, due in large part to strong runs from Cusato, Hawkins, and Killinger; resulting in their fourth touchdown of the game. With four seconds remaining in the third quarter, Mark Killinger capped of the long drive when he found the end one with a 7-yard run. Brennan's PAT was no good but the Gulls lead was expanded to 27-0.
After both defenses swapped three-and-outs, the Golden Bears finally broke the plane when newly inserted quarterback Jake Meffen (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) completed a 34-yard pass to Matt O'Brien (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor). James Farrell (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) added the PAT to cut the lead to 27-7.
On the ensuing drive, Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME/Brunswick) forced an Alex Smith fumble as the 6'0" linebacker hit the Gulls quarterback inside the pocket at the EC 25-yard line. Following the recovery by the visitors, Meffen found Cliff Carpluk (Long Valley, NJ/Mendham) in the end zone for a fifteen yard score. After a Farrell extra point, the score was 27-14 with 8:08 remaining in the game.
Alex Smith was intercepted on the next drive by Patrick Lesco (Seymour, CT/Seymour) and the Golden Bears finally found themselves back in the ballgame. Western New England drove to the Endicott 25-yard line but their hopes of a comeback were shot when Giblin made his second interception of the game, this time picking off Meffen.
Chris Sheehan (Needham. MA/Needham) plunged into the end zone with 3:48 left to all but end the hopes of a comeback for the Golden Bears.
Western New England tacked on a late touchdown but after Giblin recovered the onsides kick, the Gulls took a knee to end the game.
The win improves the Gulls to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the NEFC Boyd Division. Western New England falls to 2-6 on the year and 0-5 in the NEFC Boyd. Endicott returns to work next Saturday as the Blue and Green travel to UMass-Dartmouth for a 12:00 Noon kickoff with UMD.
Game Notes... Alex Smith completed 13 passes to seven different receivers... The Golden Bears played four quarterbacks (three of which threw passes) who completed 26-of-39 passes for 308 yards... Joe DePamphilis (Winthrop, MA/Savio Prep) led the Gulls with a game-high eight tackles while Joe Bengal (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart) led the Golden Bears with seven tackles...