Danbury, CT --- Freshman Sebastian Paz (Orlando, FL) booted a 32-yard field goal with two seconds left in regulation to help lift Worcester State to a 52-49 victory over Western Connecticut in MASCAC football action this evening at The WAC.
With the triumph, the Lancers improve to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play while the Colonials see their three-game streak come to an end as they fall to 5-3 (4-2 MASCAC).
Junior Kemani Jones (Milton, MA) led the offense for the Blue and Gold with 220 all-purpose yards that included 184 yards rushing and one touchdown to go with five receptions for 36 yards.
Freshman Noah Brum (Honolulu, HI) tossed for 247 yards and a pair of scores as senior Casey Hippert (Douglas, MA) grabbed the lions share with 11 receptions for 146 yards and one score.
Western Connecticut sophomore Michael Nicol (Wolcott, CT) racked up 306 yards of total offense while he finished with 228 passing yards and four touchdowns in addition to 78 yards rushing and one TD.
The leading rusher for the Colonials was senior Tory Mack (Stratford, CT) who had 96 yards rushing and one score. Junior Alex Altermatt (Branford, CT) pulled down three receptions for 60 yards with two touchdowns.
Western Connecticut opened with the early 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 13-yard pass from Nichol to Altermatt and a 40-yard scoring strike to sophomore William Andrew (Fort Knox, NY).
Colonial sophomore Bobby Durham (New Haven, CT) stripped the quarterback and classmate Brian Birdsell (Bethel, CT) recovered a fumble on the Worcester State 15 yard-line to set the table for the second score.
The Lancers evened up the contest at 14-14 on a three-yard scoring flick from senior Pat Viencek (Bernardson, MA) to freshman Isaiah King (Richmond, VA) before classmate Aurian Dawkins (Mansfield, MA) scooped up a 72-yard fumble recovery with 5:07 on the clock in the first quarter.
WSU sophomore Shane Gleim (N. Grosvernordale, CT) had a key 21-yard sack and forced miscue to put the visitors on the West Conn four to help give the Blue and Gold a short field to work with to break up the shutout.
The Colonials though scored twice before the end of the opening stanza. Nichol scampered into the end-zone for a 20-yard score and then Mack tacked on a four-yard plunge with 48 ticks left to double-up the visitors 28-14. Viencek was picked off twice to set up both touchdowns as Durham logged the first and sophomore Kareem Paterson (Milton, MA) snatched the second at the WSU 35.
Worcester State responded with two scores in the second quarter to tie up the contest at 28-28. After Viencek lobbed an 11-yard pass to senior Josh Fortin (Danielson, CT) at the 12:56 mark, the Blue and Gold marched down the field and were successful on a 15-play, 92 yard drive which culminated on an eight-yard reception by senior RJ Johnson (Framingham, MA) from Brum.
Western Connecticut though tacked on one more touchdown to lead 35-28 at the intermission. Andrew hauled in a 27-yard pass by Nichol. The Colonials got the ball back at midfield and nearly went up by ten, but senior Michael Killoran (W. Hartford, CT) missed a 38-yard field goal to the left.
Neither squad did anything on either of their first two possessions in the third until senior Mike Goulden (Rehoboth, MA) recovered a fumble by Mack in the end-zone to tie up the score.
Following a stalled Colonials possession that forced the hosts to punt, Western Connecticut sophomore Delshawn Wilson (Norwalk, CT) came through for his defense on a 31-yard interception that he brought to the house for a touchdown with 3:44 left in the third.
The Lancers then drove down to the goal line and looked poised to knot the score, but junior Kenneth Strecker (Uncasville, CT) ended those chances with the Colonials fourth pick of the contest in the end-zone.
But Goulden forced a fumble on the third play of Western Connecticut's next series and senior Zack Skerry (Milford, MA) brought the recovery inside the WCSU five. Jones followed that up by hitting pay-dirt on a two-yard touchdown to equal up the score 42-42 with seconds remaining in the third.
In the fourth, Brum had a two-yard pass to Hippert with 10:53 remaining before the Colonials made it a 49-49 contest on a 35-yard pass from Nicol to Altermatt.
Neither squad scored on its next possession which saw both go for it on fourth down. The Lancers had a chance to go ahead with 2:30 left in regulation, but Paz missed a 42-yard field goal, which went to the left of the uprights.
A fumble recovery that was forced by senior Raheem Williams (Amityville, NY) and recovered by classmate Chris Esler (Southbury, CT) with 1:15 on the clock helped put the Colonials in prime position on their own 43. However, the Lancers got the ball back on an 11 yard interception that was diagnosed perfectly by Dawkins.
Jones dashed ahead on a 35-yard burst and then he caught another 15-yard reception to set the table for Paz who capped off a wild victory with his fifth field goal of the campaign.
Defensively, Gleim was the star with 14 tackles (12 solo) with 2.5 tackles for a loss of 22 yards with one forced miscue and a recovery. Skerry finished with six tackles (five solo) with three TFL as Dawkins distinguished himself with a forced fumble, one recovery and he had one of WSU's two interceptions.
Patterson led the Colonials with nine unassisted stops while Wilson matched the effort with nine (six solo) to go with one sack, three tackles behind the line of scrimmage for 11 yards and one caused turnover. Williams chipped in with two sacks and a forced fumble.
The two squads accounted for 49 first downs and 891 yards of total offense as the Lancers held slim leads in passing (296-228) and rushing (192-175). There were also a remarkable 11 miscues total in the entire game as the Blue and Gold threw away four passes and the Colonials coughed up five balls.
Each team will host their final regular-season home game on Saturday. Worcester State takes on Plymouth State at 1 PM while Western Connecticut entertains UMass Dartmouth at high noon.