Fitchburg State Downs Mass-Maritime, 40-17

Falcons improve to 2-3 on the season behind Teague's 175 yards on the day

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. (October 5, 2013) -  Junior Steph'fon Teague (Fitchburg, Mass.) rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown, while freshman quarterback Garrett Dellechiaie (Leominster, Mass.) amassed 215 yards of total offense and accounted for three scores to lead Fitchburg State to a 40-17 MASCAC victory over Mass-Maritime on Saturday afternoon.

Teague's nine-yard run just 2:44 into the contest capped an opening eight-play, 66-yard drive that gave the visiting Falcons (2-3, 1-2 MASCAC) an early 7-0 advantage. The host Buccaneers (2-2, 0-2 MASCAC) answered back on a 35-yard field goal by freshman Ryan Quinn (North Andover, Mass.) on their first possession to close back to within four, but Dellechiaie then directed Fitchburg State on a 14-play drive that started on his own 6-yard line and was capped by sophomore Mike Delaney's (Marion, Mass.) nine-yard scoring scamper.

The Buccaneers answered back with a three-play, 77-yard drive that consumed just 44 seconds of the clock, as junior Stefan Gustafson (Plymouth, Mass.) hauled in a 19-yard strike from fellow junior John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) that sliced the hosts' deficit to 20-10. The Falcons countered with Delaney's one-yard plunge with 9:18 remaining in the half to cap another long Fitchburg State drive (12 plays, 65 yards) that gave the Falcons a 27-10 advantage at the break. 

Maritime opened the second half with junior Austin Pierce's (Peabody, Mass.) two-yard TD run, but Dellechiaie directed an ensuing eight-play, 65-yard drive that ended when he found junior Phillip Saint-Juste (New Rochelle, N.Y.) on a 14-yard touchdown pass and a 34-17 lead.  Dellechiaie iced Fitchburg State's triumph early in the final stanza, as he scampered in from 20 yards out to account for the final score.

Dellechiaie completed 17-of-22 pass attempts for 169 yards in the victory for the Falcons, as Teague and Delaney (89 yards) combined for all but 100 of the visitors' 364 rushing yards on the afternoon.  Junior Ty Spencer (Foxboro, Mass.) hauled in six receptions for 72 yards for the winners, who amassed 533 yards of total offense in running 91 plays and collecting 29 first downs while holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

Defensively, junior Elizear Torres (Bronx, N.Y.) paced Fitchburg State defensively with 17 solo tackles and one interception, while senior Alex Alcala (Leominster, Mass.) made 11 total stops (10 solo) for the Falcons. Sophomore Taron Seaforth (Lynn, Mass.) recorded five pass break-ups on the day for the visitors, who also received six tackles and a pair of break-ups from freshman David Dezeme (Fort Myers, Fla.).

Fitchburg State will be back in action on Saturday as it hosts Worcester State University at 1:30 p.m. Mass-Maritime will visit Western Connecticut on Saturday at 12 p.m.