Falcons Soar Past Owls, 26-8

Fitchburg, Mass --- Fitchburg State University's football team honored 13 seniors during its last contest of the season at Elliot Field, defeating Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opponent Westfield State 26-8 on senior day Saturday afternoon at Elliot Field.

With the win Fitchburg State improves to 4-4 overall (2-4 MASCAC) while Westfield State slides to 2-6 (1-5 MASCAC).

Fitchburg State's defense stymied Westfield's offense throughout the game, allowing just 117 total yards of offense and controlling the line of scrimmage with 14 tackles for loss, three sacks and just 1.1 yards per rushing attempt on average. Freshman quarterback Connor Fitzsimmons turned solid defensive play into points on the offensive side, finishing the contest with a trio of touchdown passes on 13-21 and a game-high 125 yards through the air.

The Green and Gold scored the game's opening touchdown midway through the second quarter as defensive lineman Damar Collin's intercepted an intended screen pass in the backfield to set up the offense in executable field position. After a short-three play drive, Fitzsimmons punctuated the drive when he connected with a leaping Jesse Brown in the back corner of the end zone to take the 6-0 lead after missing the extra point.  

The Falcons doubled its lead with 35 seconds left in the second quarter as sophomore Herbert Acosta out-muscled the larger Owls defender at the base of the end zone to secure the second touchdown of the game for the host team. Acosta gave the team good starting position, returning a punt 25 yards to Westfield's 25-yard line before the drive began.

After the intermission, Fitchburg State continued to punch-in golden field position as Fitchburg native Quinton Perkins returned the kick off to start the second half 78 yards. Fitzsimmons rejoiced and tossed his third touchdown of the game, finding Dakota Mullen for a short, eight-yard completion to take a 19-0 lead.

With 14:10 left in the game, Westfield State nixed the shutout possibility as tailback Ryan Wilder punched in a three-yard run as the Owls team converted a two-point chance to cut the deficit to 19-8. Fitchburg State recouped the points allowed quickly when senior running back Jevon Brown-Simpson propelled himself over the defensive line, finishing a nine play, 55-yard drive to push the margin to 26-8 on the very next series.  

Westfield State had two more possessions before the game's end, but managed just four yards of offense in that span as Fitchburg's defense forced back-to-back punts en route to back-to-back conference victories.

Fitchburg State slightly controlled time of possession, controlling the ball for 30:36 minutes to Westfield's 29:24. Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State had a higher-conversion rate on third down, 6-of-15 (40%) while Westfield State moved the chains 4-of-15 times (27%). The Owls took the turnover battle, intercepting three passes, as Fitchburg State forced just a pair of turnovers (one interception, one fumble). The Falcons totaled 179 return yards while the Owls had 113.

For Fitchburg State, Jevon Brown-Simpson finished with a game-high 39 yards on 21 attempts while Sterlin Garvin contributed 37 rushing yards off 13 carries. Acosta had the most receiving yards with 27 on two targets and Dakota Mullen caught a team-high four passes. Sophomore Cyrick Watford finished with a game-high nine solo tackles and added a pair of sacks defensively.

For Westfield State, running back Wilder finished with a team-high 34 yards on the ground including one touchdown. Wide-out Cam Card picked up a game-high 47 yards receiving on four catches. Sophomore Kenneth Marshall ended with a game-high 11 total tackles, sacking Fitzsimmons 1.5 times and came up with 3.5 tackles in the backfield.

Fitchburg State next contest comes on the road as it travels to University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth on November 5^th for a 12:00 P.M. MASCAC matchup. Westfield State hosts Worcester State on the same day. 

Release Courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme