COLLEGE FOOTBALL
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior reserve running back Brian Beauchemin (Orange, Mass./Mahar Regional HS) rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries to lead Westfield State University to a 14-9 victory over Fitchburg State in the regular season football finale on Saturday, Nov. 3.
Westfield completed the 2012 season with a 3-7 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the Bogan Division of the New England Football Conference. Fitchburg finished 2-8 and 1-6.
The Owls were trailing 3-0 and struggling offensively midway through the second quarter when Beauchemin was inserted into the backfield. He immediately sparked the Owls by running for 25 yards on four consecutive plays. The drive ended with a 38-yard field goal that was just wide left, but Westfield scored on its next possession to take a 7-3 lead with 48 seconds left in the first half.
Westfields' first-half touchdown drive was led by junior receiver Kane Terilli, who finished with a game-high eight catches for 126 yards. Terilli caught three passes for 72 yards on the scoring drive, including a five-yard TD pass. The big play, however, was a 53-yard pass from freshman quarterback to Terilli that placed the ball at the Falcon four.
Led by the hard running of Beauchemin, the Owls scored early in the third quarter to take a 14-3 lead. Beauchemin carried the ball four times for 38 yards on the 58-yard scoring drive. The 5-11, 210-pound back bowled over several Fitchburg defenders when he scored on a 28-yard touchdown romp.
Fitchburg struck for a quick touchdown early in the fourth quarter for the game's final points on a 76-yard scoring strike from quarterback Christian Lopez to Ty Spencer. The pass failed for the two-point conversion.
On their next possession, the Falcons moved to the Owl 37 when Westfield senior cornerback Mike Szydlowski came up with the defensive play of the game as he intercepted a pass as the Westfield 30 and returned it 24 yards.
Westfield then controlled the ball for 14 plays to run out the final 6:32 on the clock. Beauchemin carried the ball eight times on the decisive drive. The Owls did attempt a 23-yard field goal that was wide right with 1:44 remaining, but the Falcons were flagged for running into the kicker. Westfield retained possession at the Fitchburg 3 and ran out the clock as the visitors had burned their timeouts.
The statistics were fairly even as Westfield compiled 295 yards in total offense to Fitchburg's 290. Washburn completed 14 of 31 passes for 174 yards, while Lopez connected on 12 of 24 passes for 187 yards. Spencer had five catches for a game-high 151 receiving yards. In addition to his 76-yard TD catch, Spencer had a 51-yard reception on the Fitchburg's first drive of the game that set up Eric Anastasio's 24-yard field goal.
Fitchburg sophomore Steph'fon Teague tied Beauchemin for game-high rushing honors with 93 yards on 20 carries.
Westfield defensive back Gregg Jackson posted a team-high 11 tackles and senior end Chris "C-Walk" Walker had four tackles for losses including two sacks.
Sophomore linebacker Talib Barksdale led Fitchburg with 11 tackles (7 solos, 2 for losses).