Fitchburg State Shuts Down UMass Dartmouth, 23-7

Falcons defense turns it up for seven sacks in 2009 home opener

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 19, 2009) - The Fitchburg State football team posted 23 unanswered points as it shut down the UMass Dartmouth offense and collected a 23-7 non-divisional victory in New England Football Conference action this afternoon.

The Fitchburg State defense provided a run-stopping effort, limiting UMass Dartmouth to only 28 yards on 38 carries. Junior Anthony Bizotto (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) led the Falcons defensive charge with a game-high ten stop (nine solo, two assists), while adding one sack and one fumble recovery. Junior Sean McGinn  (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and sophomore Frank Grenham (Hyde Park, Mass./Dedham) solidified the Falcons D-line, combining for 4.5 sacks, 6.0 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

UMass Dartmouth took an early 7-0 lead as senior quarterback Chris Pineiro (Norton, Mass./Norton) found classmate George Vasiliadis (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) on an 8-yd touchdown pass, but Fitchburg State responded late in the second half, cutting the Corsairs lead to 7-3 as senior kicker Evan Georgopoulos (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) connected on a 27-yd field goal as time expired. 

The second half was all Fitchburg State who racked up 97 yards on the ground and  129 yards through the air. Junior Jordan Cannava (Woburn, Mass./Melrose) led the Falcons comeback trail, opening the third frame with a 24-yd touchdown pass to junior Carlos De La Rosa (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) to give Fitchburg State a 10-7 edge.

Later in the third, Cannava lifted the Falcons once again, this time on the ground as the junior quarterback found the end zone on a one yard run to cap an eight play, 69 yard drive. In the drive, Cannava hit De La Rosa for a  30 yard bomb, while senior Steve Austin (Jupiter, Fla./Stony Brook) collected ten yards on the ground.

Fitchburg State continued to boost its lead as Georgopoulos tacked on two consecutive field goals to give the Falcons a 16 point advantage. Early in the frame, Georgopoulos connected from 31-yards out, before sealing the contest with a 25-yard field goal at the 4:26 mark.

Cannava led the potent Fitchburg State offense to 331 total yards, tossing for 185 (16-of-26) and rushing for 40. Austin led all rushers posting a game-high 104 yards, including a 41 yard burst late in the fourth period, while De La Rosa added 87 yards receiving with one TD.

Fitchburg State (2-1, 0-0 NEFC) will be back in action next Saturday as it travels to Framingham State College at 1:30 p.m. UMass Dartmouth (1-2, 0-0 NEFC) will host Plymouth State on Saturday at 12 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Fitchburg State 23, UMass Dartmouth 7

Scoring:
First Quarter: UMD: George Vasiliadis (8yd pass), 12:23;
Second Quarter: FIT: Evan Georgopoulos (24yd  FG), 0:00;
Third Quarter: FIT: Carlos De La Rosa (24yd pass), 11:37; FIT: Jordan Cannava (1yd run), 6:45;
Fourth Quarter: FIT: Georgopoulos (31yd FG), 10:13; FIT: Georgopoulos (25yd FG), 4:26;