Gulls force nine turnovers, top Rams
Box Score
BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott College defense forced nine Framingham State turnovers, including seven by way of interception, as the Gulls edged a 26-15 victory in each team’s season-opener on Saturday evening in Beverly, Mass. Endicott’s Neil Powers (Westford, Mass.) made a spectacular leaping catch in the far corner of the endzone with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Football fans were not disappointed with the game’s opening eight minutes of action as the Gulls got the day started with an opening-drive interception by \#Alex Alcala\# (Leominster, Mass.). The INT quickly led to six points as running back \#Mike Lane\# (Medfield, Mass.) took a handoff off the right side and scampered for a 22 yard touchdown for the early lead. \#Carlos O’Donnell\# (Salem, Mass.) tacked-on the PAT for the 7-0 advantage.
The Gulls’ defense struck again on the ensuing drive as \#Kyle Capsalis\# (Townsend, Mass.) picked off junior quarterback Patrick Franey (Waltham, Mass.) inside Endicott territory, turning the ball back over to the Gulls’ offense with 9:58 remaining in the opening frame.
After a 32 yard run by senior \#Colby Hawkins\# (Scituate, Mass.), the Gulls took to the air with a nine-yard touchdown strike from quarterback \#Phil Konopka\# (Shelton, Conn.) to senior \#Tyler Felix\# (Foxboro, Mass.). After the successful PAT, the Gulls’ lead was extended to 14-0.
Framingham State responded in a big way on the game’s very next play as Franey played pitch-and-catch right down the middle of the field to senior wideout Anthony Kewley (Rutland, Mass.) for a 67 yard touchdown. A botched point after attempt actually worked out in the Rams’ favor when holder Dale Parsons (Melrose, Mass.) was able to turn the corner and break the plane to make it a 14-8 ballgame.
After a scoreless second quarter, Framingham State came back to take its first lead of the night on a nine play, 91 yard drive, capped off with a 25 yard touchdown pass from Franey to freshman Brandon Holbrook (Carver, Mass.). The Rams elected to kick the point after, taking a 15-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
Just as they did in the first quarter, Endicott found a way get into the endzone twice in the fourth. Just 41 seconds into the game’s final frame, \#Colby Hawkins\# broke free from the pack off the left side for a 15 yard touchdown run, a drive that was setup by an Endicott interception.
The Endicott defense then forced three consecutive 4-and-outs, with the final of the group ending with yet another interception, this time by linebacker \#Nick Scozzaro\# (Wellington, Fla.). With the ball back in the hands of the offense, quarterback Phil Konopka tossed up a jump ball to the far corner of the endzone where \#Neil Powers\# made a great leaping catch for a 25 yard insurance touchdown.
Konopka ended the evening 14-of-26 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. \#Colby Hawkins\# ran the ball 15 times for 95 yards with a score, while \#Mike Lane\# finished the game with 12 carries for 48 yards and TD. \#Mike Fimiani\# (Melrose, Mass.) led the receiving effort with four catches for 44 yards.
Framingham quarterback Patrick Franey was 20-of-39 for 273 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions. Backup Richard Gallant (Gloucester, Mass.) also tossed a pick in his only series at the helm. Running back Dave Leach (Chelmsford, Mass.) eclipsed the 100 yards mark with 138 yards on 26 carries. Receiver Anthony Kewley had seven catches for 149 yards (21.2 YPC) and a touchdown.
The Endicott defense forced two fumbles (recovered one) and had seven interceptions in the victory. The special teams also recovered a fumble on a botched punt return effort by the Rams. Gulls’ linebacker \#Kevin Eagan\# (West Hartford, Conn.) led the way with a game-high 13 total tackles (eight solo and five assists). \#Alex Alcala\# also turned in a double-digit tackle performance with three solo and eight assisted takedowns. Sophomore \#Andrew Pochebit\# (Portland, Maine) had 1.5 sacks for a loss of 11 yards.
Endicott looks to improve to 2-0 next Saturday when the Blue and Green travel to Troy, N.Y. to square-off with 22nd-ranked RPI in the Engineers’ season-opener. Framingham State returns to action on the same day when the Rams play in their home debut against Nichols College at 1:00 p.m.