WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State hosts Western Connecticut State University on Friday, September 16 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football opener for both teams. Kickoff is 7:00 p.m.
Westfield State enters the game ooking for it's first win of the season, slipping to 0-2 after falling at Western New England, 38-14 last Saturday. WestConn is 1-1, having lost to William Paterson (NJ) 28-7 in the season opener, but topping Albright (Pa.) 28-14 last weekend.
LAST MEETING: WestConn topped the Owls 42-6 in Danbury last season, out gaining the Owls 451-289. Wolves QB John Giller tossed three TD passes and RB Roy-Penn Cosentino rushed for 116 yards and a TD. For Westfield, O.T. Thomas rushed for 105 yards and WR Danny Farrell caught three passes for 32 yards. LB Cameron Danahy led Westfield with six tackles.
WESTFIELD STATE ON OFFENSE: The Owls have options at quarterback after a solid performance from Colby Pires last weekend earned him MASCAC rookie of the week honors. A junior transfer from UMass, Pires completed 13 of 26 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Incumbent Gabriel Fernandez is 12-24 passing for 143 yards and a TD this season. Jordan Smith was largely stymied in the running game last week, but caught seven passes for 52 yards out of the backfield. He leads the Owls with 102 yards on the ground through two games. Junior Michael Foley, himself a transfer from WestConn, caught three passes for 95 yards and a TD last week, and leads Westfield State with 163 receiving yards this year.
WESTFIELD STATE ON DEFENSE: The Owls struggled to slow WNE early in the game last week. Sophomore LB Tyler Cooley led the Owls with 11 tackles last week, and shares the team lead with safety Christian Julian with 18 stops this season. Owls linebackers Cameron Danahy and Cullen MacNeil are next with 15 and 14 stops respectively. Freshman CB Bearett Henderson was the league's rookie of the week two weeks ago, coming up with pair of special teams scores, and has 10 tackles as well.
WESTFIELD STATE ON SPECIAL TEAMS: The Owls came up with a big play on special teams in the opener, with DL Julian Bass blocking an extra-point try, which led to a scoop-and-score 2-pt conversion from Henderson. Freshman PK Evan Milstead has shored up the kicking game with five extra points in six attempts so far this year. Shane Clark and Owen Thompson split reps in the punting game, with Clark leading with a 39 yard average so far this season. Julian leads the Owls return game at almost 21 yards per game.
WESTCONN ON OFFENSE: Sophomore QB John Giller was named the MASCAC's offensive player of the week after finishing 15-for-24 (62.5%) passing with 251 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers in the Wolves' 28-14 win over Albright College. He's completing better than 50 percent of his passes for 411 yards this season. Chad Blaszky leads the rushing attack at 91 yards per game, and junior Mack Driver offers a battering ram at FB in short yardage situations. WR Julian Ferguson (7-129-1) and Shakespaere Rodriguez (9-128-1) are the top receiving options for Giller.
WESTCONN ON DEFENSE: The Wolves are allowing opponents just 200 yards per game. DB Peter Bencivengo leads the team with 17 tackles. Big DT Jalen Genao has provided the pressure with one sack and a forced fumble. LB Matt Forti is second on the team with a dozen tackles this season, and FS Luke Pappalardo has the Wolves only interception this season.
WESTCONN ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Junior PK Anthony Wiedtman is 1-1 on extra point tries but 0-1 on field goals so far this season. Giller and Colin Cleary have split punt opportunities, but the Wolves are averaging just 28 yards per punt.
LIVE COVERAGE: You can follow the game live with video and live stats at WestfieldStateOwls.com. The video feed of the game is also simulcast on the MASCAC.TV channel, which is available on Roku and Apple TV devices. Westfield State students Nick Malouin and Rory Regan have the call of the game.
NEXT WEEK: The Owls will play host to Framingham State in a MASCAC game on Saturday, Sept. 24 with a 2:00 p.m. kickoff as part of the University's Family and Champions Weekend. WestConn will host Bridgewater State next Saturday with a 5:00 p.m. kickoff at the WestSide Athletic Complex in Danbury.