Football navigation headerFootball
Release

9.15.07
Western New England College holds on to beat MMA 21-13

Castine, Maine – The Western New England Golden Bears controlled play for the first three quarters of today’s game and held off a furious Mariner comeback to win 21-13. The game featured 730 yards of total offense and outstanding performances by both teams on each side of the ball.

Senior running back Brandon Goodrich (Waterboro, ME) rushed for 108 yards and a score for MMA while sophomore quarterback Tyler Angell (Leeds, ME) threw for 118 yards and a touchdown on 6 completions. Travis Shaw (Old Town, ME) caught 4 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Travis Fergola (picture left) (10 tackles, 8 assists) was a bright spot on a Mariner defense that gave up 435 yards of total offense.

Justin Walz completed 24-of-33 passes for 301 yards and factored into every score for the Golden Bears. The sophomore quarterback threw for 2 touchdowns and rushed for the other, which proved to be the game winner. Kevin Miculcy caught 8 balls for 61 yards and a score while Cliff Carplunk had 7 catches for 90 yards and a score. Jordan Captianio carried the load on the ground, rushing for 99 yards on 24 touches.

The Golden Bears got on the board first scoring on their first drive of the game. WNEC marched 58 yards in 13 plays to go up 7-0 on a Justin Walz (Groton, CT) pass to Kevin Miculcy (Greenwich, CT). The drive was capped off by a James Farrell (East Longmeadow, MA) extra point conversion.

The Golden Bears struck again late in the first quarter on another touchdown pass from Walz. The drive took 10 plays and consumed only 3:10 off the game clock. The big play in the drive was a 45yard completion from Justin Walz to Rob Chiaccio (Groton, CT), bringing WNEC down to the MMA 21 yard line. After a holding penalty that pushed the Golden Bears back to the 20 yard line, WNEC quarterback Jeff Walz completed the touchdown pass to Cliff Carpluk (Long Valley, NJ) to put them up 13-0. The extra point by Farrell was good to put WNEC up 14-0.

On their first possession of the second half, WNEC scored again marching 72 yards on 12 plays in 4 minutes. The drive started after a MMA fumble and ended with Justin Walz taking the ball into the end zone from 1 yard out. Farrell converted the extra point to put the Golden Bears up by a score of 21-0 with 7:45 left in the third quarter. The teams exchanged possessions until MMA finally got on the board at the 12:15 mark of the 4th quarter when Brandon Goodrich (pictured above) rushed the ball up the right side for 25 yards and the touchdown. Jim Bower (South Paris, ME) converted the extra point to help MMA close within 14 points of WNEC at 21-7. A key play in the drive was a 37 yard reception from Tyler Angell (Leeds, ME) to Travis Shaw (Old Town, ME) to help set up the touchdown. MMA sustained their momentum when Conor Callahan (Southington, CT) intercepted a Walz pass, but couldn’t capitalize on the turnover as they went three and out on the possession.

Maine Maritime (1-1) didn’t fold and obtained good field position after a WNEC punt and converted that field position into their second touchdown of the game. MMA inched closer when Travis Shaw caught his third pass of the drive for a 9 yard touchdown from Tyler Angell. The drive went 7 plays and only took 2:28 off the clock, but left only 4:24 in regulation time. Bower missed the extra point and the Mariners trailed 21-13.

Maine Maritime had one final attempt, after forcing the Golden Bears to punt late in the game but junior strong safety Lionel Houle III (Granby, MA) sacked MMA quarterback Chris Kates (Lisbon Falls, ME) to end the Mariners hopes.

The Golden Bears out gained MMA by a 435 to 295 margin and held the ball for 34 minutes and 15 seconds, compared to 25 minutes and 45 seconds for MMA. MMA defensive back Nate Bolduc (Farmington, ME) had 6 tackles while freshman linebacker Wade Mondoux (Berwick, ME) had 5 tackles for MMA. Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) and Dan Ballantine (Staten Island, NY) each had 5 tackles for WNEC.

MMA Athletics • Pleasant Street • Castine, ME 04420 • (207) 326-2450