Owls Fly Past Falcons in MASCAC Football Action

Lawton rushes for a career high 144 yards

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University football team fell to the Owls of Westfield State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action 26-7 this afternoon at Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 7, Westfield State 26
Records: Fitchburg State (1-7, 0-6 MASCAC) | Westfield State (1-7, 1-5 MASCAC)

How It Happened

After a scoreless first quarter the Falcons found the endzone early in the second frame. Quarterback Connor Fitzsimons (Flushing, NY) capped a 47-yard, 9 play drive with a 10-yard strike to senior Joshua Nelson (Providence, RI) on the slant play. Linnea D'Acchille (Valley Falls, NY) connected on the extra point and the 7-0 lead.

On the next possession for the Falcons, the Owls recovered a Fitchburg miscue for great field position at the home 15-yard line. One play later running back Leesandro Colon (Holyoke, Mass.) scampered up the middle for a touchdown. A missed extra point posted the score at 7-6 Fitchburg headed into intermission.

Westfield received the kick-off in the second half and put together a six play, 60-yard score in just under three minutes. Colon had an opening play 17-yard run to put the Owls in Falcon territory. Two plays later sophomore Shane Clark (Bellows Falls, VT) produced an 18-yard gain, then Colon finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown. A good extra point from Cam Gallagher (Uxbridge, Mass.) pushed the score to 13-7 Westfield.

The Owls extended the lead to 20-7 with a one yard run from quarterback Andrew Peltier (Holyoke, Mass.) with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Westfield had the only score in the fourth, a 4-yard touchdown run from Clark secured the 26-7 final.

Inside the Numbers

• 35th meeting between the two schools on the gridiron with the Falcons currently 10-35 all-time when taking on the Owls.
• Fitchburg State was led by sophomore Steven Lawton (Ayer, Mass), who ran for a season high 144 yards on 30 carries, while junior Melchior Lynch (Roxbury, Mass.) had 16 yards on 7 carries. Sophomore Joseph Haskins (Pepperell, Mass.) had four catches for 66 yards receiving.
• For Westfield, Peltier completed 3-for-13 passes for 60 yards, six yards rushing and a TD. Colon had 132 yards on the ground on 20 carries and two touchdowns, while Clark finished with 72 yards on 13 touches.
• Defensively, freshman Kiambu Jones (East Orange, NJ) paced the Falcons with a team-best nine stops on three solo tackles and six assisted stops, while junior defensive back Caleb Gonsalves (Mashpee, Mass.) posted eight tackles and 0.5 sack.
• Seniors Joseph Mazzotta (Norwood, Mass.) and George Cole (Chelmsford, Mass.) paced the Owls defense combining for 28 tackles, while junior Alijah Ellis (Derby, Conn.) had a pair of interceptions.

Up Next

The Falcons will travel to Worcester State next Friday night for a MASCAC match-up at 7:00 pm, while the Owls will enjoy the bye week.