Fitchburg State Rallies Past Westfield State, 13-7
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (6-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
|
Westfield St. (2-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Spencer sets Falcons career TD receptions mark with 20th career TD grab
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Fitchburg State's Garret Dellachiaie found Ty Spencer in the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left in regulation as the Falcons rallied for a 13-7 win over Westfield State on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
With that touchdown, Spencer set a new Fitchburg State career touchdown receptions mark with his 2oth career TD grab to eclipse the previous record of 19 held by form Falcon standout wide receiver Philip Saint-Juste.
With the win, Fitchburg State improves to 6-3 and 4-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference, while Westfield falls to 2-6 and 1-4 in the MASCAC.
Dellachiaie drove the falcons 72 yards in a 1:07 with just one timeout available on the game winning drive. He connected for 18 yards with tight end Devin Summiel on the first play of the drive, and later scrambled out of trouble for 15 yards to help set up the winning score.
The game was a scoreless tie for the first 49:02 of the contest as the two teams for a combined 24 penalties for 243 yards, as well as nine fumbles (five lost) and five interceptions.
Westfield State found the scoreboard first on a 1-yard Travon Holder run that capped a seven play, 61 yard drive. The Owls got an apparent touchdown when quarterback Erik Washburn lofted a 25 yard pass to wider receiver Sam Laurin, who dove for the pylon, but was then ruled out of bounds at the 1-yard line. Westfield State ran four plays from the 1-yard line, getting extra life on a pass interference penalty, and then on the fifth attempt Holder took a delayed handoff to the left side for the score and a 7-0 Westfield lead with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons knotted the score with 6:00 left in the game on a 9-yard TD pass from Dellachiaie to Summiel that capped a five-play 20-yard drive after Fitchburg State recovered an Owls fumble to set up the short field.
Dellachiaie finished with 269 yards passing on 28-50 passing and pair of touchdowns, while Summiel and Spencer finished with identical receiving lines of seven catches for 81 yards and a touchdown each.
Westfield State was led by 81 yards rushing from Holder on 18 carries and one score, while Washburn completed 13 of 32 passes for 171 yards.
Defensively, the Owls got a standout game from senior linebacker Marcus Pettigrew, who made 15 tackles (seven solo) had four tackles-for-loss, one sack, forced one fumble and recovered two more, while John Ollari finished with 14 tackles and returned an interception for 33 yards.
Luis Feliz led the Falcons defense with 10 tackles, including four solo stops, while Ousmane Samb added eight stops on seven solo tackles and one assist.
Fitchburg State returns to action next Saturday as it hosts the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth for a contest starting at 1 p.m. Westfield State will travel to Worcester State next Saturday for a 12 kickoff.