Fitchburg State Falls To UMass Dartmouth, 45-17

Miller leads Falcons with two TD passes

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (September 20, 2008) - The Fitchburg State football team suffered a tough 45-17 defeat to UMass Dartmouth in New England Football Conference action this evening at Cressy Field.

Senior quarterback Jim Miller (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) led the Fitchburg State offense with 187 yards passing (11-for-27), two touchdowns and two interceptions, while senior running back Marlon Thornton (Bromfield, Conn./Bromfield) carried the ball 21 times for 135 yards (6.4 yds/carry). Sophomore receiver Kenneth Russell, Jr. (Bedford, Mass./Bedford) was also solid with a game-high five catches for 89 yards and one TD.

Senior running back J.T. Harold (North Andover, Mass./Austin Prep HS) led the UMass Dartmouth rushing attack with 222 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, while classmate Alex Garro (Mattapoisett, Mass./Old Rochester) led the aerial attack with 87 yards passing and one touchdown. Senior wide-out Aaron Russo (Johnston, R.I./Johnston) brought in 28 receiving yards, 36 yards rushing and three TDs.

UMass Dartmouth opened the scoring late in the first quarter as Harold found the end zone on a 7-yard run to cap a four play, 20 yard drive. Fitchburg State responded just 2:24 later as Miller connected with Russell, Jr. on a 46-yard pass to knot the game at 7-7 heading into the second frame.  

STEVE WITHERELL

After an exchange of field goals by both teams early in the second quarter, UMass Dartmouth broke a 10-10 tie as Russo capped a ten play, 48 yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Corsairs a 17-10 advantage heading into the half.

UMass Dartmouth came out firing early in the second half, registering back-to-back touchdown runs by Harold and Russo to take a commanding three touchdown lead. Harold ignited the rally with a 66 yard touchdown run just 1:38 into half, while Russo capped the rally with a four yard TD run at the 9:34 mark.

Fitchburg State fired back as Miller connected for his second TD pass of the game, with a 43-yard throw to junior wide-out Devon Jennings (Boston, Mass./Brockton). The pass capped a four play, 80 yard drive for the Falcons, but UMass tallied two more score late in the game to take a 45-17 lead and preserve the victory.  

Junior captain Steve Witherell (Westchesterfield, N.H./Brattleboro Union) led the Falcons defensively, totaling 9.5 tackles with seven solo stops, a sack and two tackles for lost yardage. Sophomore Sean Golden (Montville, Conn./Montville) had his second solid game in a row, totaling 7.5 tackles (five solo, five assists. Freshman defensive back, John Cordasco (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls HS) led the Corsairs with nine tackles, including two solo stops.

Fitchburg State (0-3, 0-2 NEFC) is back in action next Saturday as it hosts Framingham State College at 1:30 p.m. UMass Dartmouth (2-1, 0-0 NEFC) will host Plymouth State College on Saturday.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

UMass Dartmouth 45, Fitchburg State 17

Scoring:
First Quarter: UMD: J.T. Harold (7 yd run), 4:53; FSC: Kenneth Russell, Jr. (46 yd pass), 2:29; Second Quarter:  UMD: Geor Vasilisadis (26 yd FG), 13:07; FSC: Evan Georgopoulos (29 yd FG), 9:52; UMD: Aaron Russo (1 yd run), 6:04;
Third Quarter: UMD: Harold (66 yd run), 13:22; UMD: Russo (4 yd run), 9:34; FSC: Devon Jennings (43 yd reception), 8:09; UMD: Russo (9 yd reception), 4:26
Fourth Quarter: UMD: James Moore (1 yd run), 12:45;