Worcester State Fights Past Fitchburg State, 20-10

Cannava tosses for his conference leading 13th touchdown of the year in NEFC setback

WORCESTER, Mass. (October 17, 2009) - The Fitchburg State football team saw its two-game conference winning streak come to a halt as the Falcons fell to New England Football Conference rival, Worcester State College, 20-10 this afternoon.

Sophomore Tony Tokarz (Holden, Mass./Holden) amassed 253 yards of total offense with a pair of touchdowns to help lead Worcester State to its first NEFC victory of the season. Tokarz finished the contest with 87 yards on the ground and 166 in the air as he passed and ran for a score. Teammates David Bougan (Webster, Mass./Webster), Marcus Price (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) and Nate Starling (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) were also solid as the trio combined for 156 yards rushing on 27 carries. Price led the three-headed monster with 73 yards on the ground.  

Offensively, Fitchburg State was led by junior Jordan Cannava (Woburn, Mass./Melrose) who tossed for 186 yards and his conference leading 13th TD of the year as hit he hit senior Kyle Callahan (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) with an 18-yard scoring strike. Senior captain Steve Austin (Jupiter, Fla./Stony Brook) led the Falcons rushing attack with 67 yards rushing, while junior Carlos De La Rosa (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) caught seven passes for 70 yards.

Worcester State controlled the offensive tempo from the get-go as the Lancers outrushed Fitchburg State 237-58 in the contest. The Lancers held the Falcons fourth ranked offense to only three points through the first 58 minutes of the contest, allowing only a 40yd FG by senior kicker Evan Georgopoulos (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) late in the first quarter.

Trailing 3-0 at the end of one, Worcester State collected 20 unanswered points to take a commanding 20-3 lead midway through the fourth frame. Tokarz started the scoring for Worcester State with a 50yd TD run in the second quarter, while Jamaal Atkins (Webster, Mass./Webster) and Starling found the end zone in the third and fourth frames respectively.

Sophomore Will Gasson (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) paced Fitchburg State defensively, totaling ten tackles (2.5 for a loss) with a pair of forced fumbles, while freshman Mark Irvine (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) ended with a team-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Senior Matt McLean (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) had a break-out performance for the Lancers, totaling ten stops (3.5 for a loss) with a sack.

Fitchburg State (4-3, 2-2 NEFC) will be back in action next Saturday as it hosts Mass-Maritime Academy at 1:30 p.m. Worcester State (1-6, 1-3 NEFC) will host Coast Guard Academy next Saturday at 12 p.m.

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Worcester State 20, Fitchburg State 10

Scoring:
First Quarter: FIT: Evan Georgopoulos (40yd FG), 1:40;
Second Quarter: WOR: Tony Tokarz (50yd run), 10:14;
Third Quarter: WOR: Jamaal Atkins (16yd pass), 2:21
Fourth Quarter: WOR: Nate Starling (11yd run), 1:54; FIT: Kyle Callahan (18yd pass), 00:52