Mass-Maritime Pushes Past Fitchburg State, 56-32

Teague leads Falcons with 181 yards rushing and two scores

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. (October 13, 2012) – Sophomore Steph'fon Teague (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) collected 181 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns but the Fitchburg State fell short to Mass-Maritime Academy, 56-32 in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action this afternoon.

Junior Mike Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) combined for 36 completions, 556 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns (six passing, two rushing) to lead Mass-Maritime. Stanton threw for two scores and ran for another in the opening ten minutes of action, connecting on a 23-yard touchdown strike to sophomore E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) before hitting fellow junior Keith Caruso (Hingham, Mass.) on a 41-yard hook-up midway through the opening stanza. 

Stanton's 27-yard scoring scamper with 5:10 to play in the first extended the Buccaneers advantage to 21-0, but the Falcons back to within nine at 21-12 midway through the second quarter. A four-yard run by sophomore Ty Spencer (Foxboro, Mass.) and a six-yard scamper by Teague closed Fitchburg State's gap.  

Trudel extended the hosts' advantage to 28-12 at the break, as his 12-yard touchdown run with 1:22 to play in the half capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive. Fitchburg State responded on the opening possession after intermission when Spencer hauled in an eight-yard scoring strike from junior quarterback Christian Lopez (Bronx, N.Y.), closing close the Falcons' deficit to 28-18. 

Mass-Maritime took control once again with three unanswered scores in just over 12 minutes of action, as Stanton's third touchdown toss of the day, a 34-yard connection with freshman Drew Girouard (Sagamore Beach, Mass.), extended the Buccaneer edge to 35-18.  Trudel hooked up with junior David Wilson (Weare, N.H.) on an eight-yard touchdown to cap an 18-play, 71-yard drive for a 42-18 hosts' lead before finding sophomore Jonathan Wright (Newburyport, Mass.) on a 26-yard scoring strike with 9:58 remaining.

Lopez connected with junior Jordan Burris (New Bedford, Mass.) on Fitchburg State's ensuing possession for his second touchdown pass of the day from 35 yards out, but the Bucs closed out their scoring with Trudel's third touchdown pass, a 45-yard connection with junior Brian Donaghey (Quincy, Mass.) with 8:19 to play.  Teague's second visit to the end zone of the afternoon, an eight-yard run with 4:29 to play, accounted for the final Falcon points of the contest.

Teague finished the day with 181 yards to go with his two scores in the setback for Fitchburg State, while Lopez completed 17-of-30 attempts for 290 yards and two touchdowns.  Burris (155 yards) and Spencer (119 yards) each had eight receptions in combining for 274 yards for the Falcons, who amassed 508 yards of total offense on the day. 

Sophomore Talib Barksdale (Hudson, N.Y.) registered a game-high 14 tackles in the setback for Fitchburg State, which also received ten tackles from sophomore Elizear Torres (Bronx, N.Y.) as well as eight stops and an interception from sophomore Taron Seaforth (Lynn, Mass.).

Fitchburg State (2-5, 1-3 NEFC Bogan) will be back in action next Saturday as it closes out the 2012 home slate vs. Bridgewater State at 1:30 p.m. Mass-Maritime (3-3, 2-2 NEFC Bogan) heads to Castine, Maine next Saturday afternoon to tangle with Maine Maritime at 12 p.m.