Fitchburg State Rallies Past Coast Guard, 28-21

Kimber sparks Falcons with five catches for 91 yards and two TD's

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 1, 2011) – Senior Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) hauled in two touchdowns on the afternoon, leading the Fitchburg State football team to a 28-21 victory over Coast Guard Academy in New England Football Conference action this afternoon.

Kimber sparked the Falcons, one-play, 37 yard game-winning drive, taking in his second touchdown pass of the afternoon with 0:13 remaining in regulation. The senior receiver connected with quarterback Brian McDonald (Walpole, Mass./Hebron Academy)  for a 37-yard bomb, beating double-coverage for the game-winning score.

On the afternoon, Fitchburg Sate mustered 285 yards of total offense, including 157 on the ground and 128 in the air. Kimber led all Falcon receivers with five catches, 91 yards and two scores, while freshman running-backs Steph'fon Teague (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and Farren Davis (Readsboro, Vt./Drary) rushed for 98 yards and 88 yards respectively. Senior Eric Gerken (Tampa, Fla.) paced the Bears offense with ten catches for 150 yards and two scores, while quarterback Jarrod Owens (Monroe, Ga.) finished 23-of-37 for 272 yards, two TD's and 40 yards rushing.

Coast Guard came out gunning, taking a 7-0 lead just 1:49 into the contest as Owens connected on a 29 yard strike to Gerken, but Fitchburg State responded ten minutes later as Teague found pay dirt on a nine yard run to knot the score at 7-7.

The Bears answered on their next series as the pair of Owens and Gerken connected again, this time for a 16 yard strike to cap a seven play, 59 yard drive. Gerken sparked the Coast Guard scoring drive with three catches for 39 yards, while Collis Brown (Kingswood, Texas) and Casey Parris (Lake Tawakoni, Texas) added a pair of catches in the series.

The score remained at a 13-7 standstill until midway through the third quarter when Fitchburg State grabbed its first lead of the contest on a McDonald one-yard touchdown plunge. The score capped a six play, 71 yard drive for the Falcons, including 61 yards rushing from Davis.

In the fourth, the Falcons padded their lead, taking a 21-13 advantage on Kimber's first TD snag of the day. McDonald hit Kimber on a 10 yard fade, beating double coverage in the back of the end-zone for the score.

After a four and out by Coast Guard, the Bears turned to their defense forcing a Falcon fumble on the Fitchburg State 20 and setting up first and ten for the game-tying score. A 13 yard rush by Taylor Hames (Milford, Conn.) put the ball at the Falcons two yard line before Owens found the end-zone with a two-yard blast.

With the score tied at 21-21, Fitchburg State was forced to a four and out, but a beautiful punt by Lenny Masciangioli (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) forced the Bears back to their own one yard line. The Falcons held strong, limiting Coast Guard to only five yards in the series and forcing a punt. Sophomore Luis Cruz (Revere, Mass./Revere) brought the punt  back to the Bears 37, setting up Kimber's game-ending heroics.

Defensively, senior Anthony Bizzotto (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) led the Falcons with a team-high ten tackles, while classmate Will Gasson (N. Falmouth, Mass./Mansfield) and Chris Rose (Gloversville, N.Y./Gloversville) collected one interception apiece. Junior Curt Barrett (Bremen, Ga.) led the Bears with ten stops from the line-backer spot.

Fitchburg State (2-3, 1-1 NEFC) will be back in action next weekend as it travels to Framingham State at 12 p.m. Coast Guard (1-3, 1-1 NEFC) will visit Bridgewater State on Saturday at 12 p.m