Panthers Outlast Falcons, 24-7

Panthers Outlast Falcons, 24-7

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University football team fell to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Plymouth State University 24-7 on Saturday afternoon at Elliot Field. With the win the Plymouth State Panthers are MASCAC Champions.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State University 7, Plymouth State University 24
Records: Fitchburg State (3-6, 2-5 MASCAC), Plymouth State (9-1, 7-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The Panthers tallied the only points of the first half on their first possession of the game. After the Falcons went three-and-out to open the frame, Plymouth State put together an 80-yard drive culminating with a Mitch Banuskevich (Milford, NH) 2-yard scamper and a good extra point for the 7-0 lead.

PSU doubled the lead in the 3^rd quarter with a 40-yard fumble recovery for a score. Falcon's quarterback Connor Fitzsimons (Flushing, NH), after dropping back on 2nd-and-5 was stripped from behind by freshman Zac Garside (Londonderry, NH), the loose pigskin was corralled by senior Jack Howarth (Portsmouth, NH) who motored the distance to push the lead to 14-0.

A 4^th quarter 36-yard field goal from freshman Jeremy Martin (Charlton, Mass.) would give Plymouth an 17-0 advantage.

The Falcons avoided the shutout with a 5-yard Jevon Brown-Simpson (Lynn, Mass.) touchdown with 4:06 remaining. However, with under two minutes to play, Plymouth State added an 26-yd interception return by Malcom Huesman (Burlington, VT) to seal the victory.

By The Numbers

The Falcons offense compiled 325 yards on the day. Fitzsimons was 23-for-26 for 243 yards and an interception. Brown-Simpson ran for 102 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown, while senior Devin Summiel (Tewksbury, Mass.) had 82 yards with 8 receptions and Jesse Lastra (Fort Meyers, Fla.) pulled down 6 balls for 80 yards.

Freshman Adalberto Alamo (Kissimmee, Fla) led the Falcon defense with 7 total tackles, junior Cyrick Watford (Meriden, Conn.) had three total tackles and a sack on the afternoon, to hold the powerful Plymouth offense to just 238 yards.

Banuskevich led Plymouth State with 96 yards rushing and 40 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Junior Grant McGregor (Burlington, Conn.) led the Panther defense with 11 total tackles and a forced fumble, sophomore defensive back Matt Shea (Windham, NH) added 10 tackles for the visitors.

Tenth meeting between the two schools on the gridiron with the Falcons 3-7-0 when taking on the Panthers.

Fitchburg State has won three of the previous four meeting with Plymouth State with the Panthers coming away with a 23-6 win last season (11/12/16).

Up Next

The Falcons will host UMass Dartmouth next Saturday (November 11^th) at noon. They will honor their senior class in a pre-game ceremony.