Becker Slips Past Fitchburg State, 35-33

Delaney rushes for 137 yards and two scores in Falcons season-opener

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 6, 2013) – The Fitchburg State football team opened its 2013 season this evening, posting 360 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, but fell to non-conference foe Becker College, 35-33 at packed Elliot Field.

Trailing 33-29 with 1:34 left, Becker strung together an eight play, 67 yard drive to find the end zone and complete its comeback victory. Quarterback Robert Baker (Monroe, Conn.) connected on a swing pass out of the back field with Matthew Romasco (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) who scampered ten yards up the far sideline for the end zone with 0:08 remaining in regulation.  

Fitchburg State fought hard to take a four point advantage of their own at the 1:34 mark of the fourth quarter as freshman Garrett Dellechiaie (Leominster, Mass.) led a four play, 43 yard drive to the endzone in just 0:54. The freshman slinger put the Falcons on top with a 33-29 advantage as he hit Phillip Saint Juste (New Rochelle, N.Y.) with an 11yd TD pass to the left side.

Early in the contest, the Falcons opened with the momentum, notching a 14-0 lead off a Mike Delaney (Marion, Mass.) touchdown and Kristopher Taylor (Somerville, Mass.) pick six, but the Hawks crawled right back into the contest with the rushing attack of Baker and Romasco. Justin McAfee (Boston, Mass.) ended the Becker scoring drought with an 11yd TD reception however before John Creesy (Merrimac, Mass.) knotted the score (14-14) with a three yard blast up the middle.

The score remained tied heading into the break, but Fitchburg State drew first blood in the second as Delaney blasted his way up the middle for a nine yard TD at the 8:51 mark. Becker answered right back with Thomas Decanio (Staten Island, N.Y.) 46 yard touchdown for a 21-20 Hawk advantage just two minutes  later.

Both teams then traded scores as Fitchburg State's Taylor Wrice (Malden, Mass.) collected his first collegiate touchdown with an 8yd reception and Becker's Nicholas Sherman (Hartford, Conn.) brought in a 12yd TD catch, setting up the team's final two scoring drives.

Delaney led the Falcons offensively, posting 137 yards and two touchdowns with 25 carries on the evening, while Dellechiaie finished 10-of-17 with 91 yards and two TD's. Junior Ty Spencer (Foxboro, Mass.) was also solid on the receiving end with six catches for 74 yards, while classmate Tevin Bienaime (Swansea, Mass.) finished with a team-best ten tackles (4 solo, 6 assists), one forced fumble and two pass breakups.

The Hawks used a balanced running attack with Romasco leading the way at 13 carries for 60 yards, while Creesy added 48 yards and one score. Baker finished with a 12-for-27 evening, throwing for 206 yards and four touchdowns, while DeCanio, Romasco and Sherman all added receiving scores.

Fitchburg State (0-1, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action next Saturday as it visits Curry College at 1 p.m. Becker (1-0, 0-0 ECFC) will host MIT on Saturday at 1 p.m.