MILTON, Mass. – The Western New England University football team used a dominant third quarter performance to pull away from Curry College en route to a 49-27 victory over the Colonels on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Walter M. Katz Field.
Top Performers
The Golden Bears were led offensively by senior quarterback Alec Coleman (Arlington, Mass.), who completed 31-of-41 pass attempts for 360 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman also picked up 24 yards and an additional score on the ground.
Senior running back Jamyre Soberanis (Dorchester, Mass.) topped the 100-yard mark for the second straight game and third time this season, finishing with 106 yards and three touchdowns on 17 attempts (6.2 avg.).
Coleman completed passes to seven different targets, including junior Steven Fedorchak (Guilderland, N.Y.), who hauled in a game-high ten receptions for 118 yards. Sophomore AJ Hall (Norwalk, Conn.) caught five passes for 75 yards and a score, while junior Adam Razza (Watertown, Conn.) made six catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Junior cornerback Tucker Hartmann (Anthem, Ariz.) paced the Golden Bears defensively with a team-high ten tackles and three pass breakups. Junior safety Aaron Lamar (North Conway, N.H.) totaled nine tackles and recorded an interception, while sophomore cornerback Jerry Woodard (Windsor, Conn.) also picked off a pass.
Curry senior quarterback Nick Juvelier (Centereach, N.Y.) completed 30-of-54 passes for 339 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Freshman wide receiver Gabriel Desouza (North Andover, Mass.) was Juvelier's top target, catching eight balls for 130 yards and a score. On the defensive side, the Colonels were led by freshman cornerback Joshua Gabbidon (Orlando, Fla.), who made a game-high 13 tackles.
Game Review
Leading 21-20 at halftime, the Golden Bears broke the game open in the third quarter. Western New England received an immediate spark from freshman EJ Dudley (Meriden, Conn.), who returned the opening kickoff of the second half 57 yards to the Curry 36-yard line. Working with a short field, the offense needed just seven plays and less than three minutes to find the end zone, as Coleman connected with Razza for a five-yard score to increase Western New England's lead to 28-20.
On the fifth play of Curry's ensuing possession, Juvelier fumbled and sophomore Brine Wotherspoon (Wyoming, R.I.) recovered the ball at the Colonels 43-yard line, giving the Western New England offense favorable field position again. Six plays later, Dudley score on a two-yard rush as the Golden Bears went up 35-20.
The Curry offense was able to cross midfield on their next possession, but the drive stalled and the Golden Bear defense forced a turnover on downs. Coleman started off Western New England's drive with a 27-yard completion to Fedorchak, before finding Soberanis and Razza for gains of 14 and 12 yards, respectively, on the next two plays. Coleman capped the possession with a nine-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Golden Bears a 42-20 lead.
Curry again turned the ball over on downs late in the third quarter, and Western New England responded with a lengthy 13-play, 86-yard drive that lasted just under six minutes and culminated in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Coleman to Hall.
Trailing 49-20, the Colonels got the ball back and were finally able to end Western New England's 21-0 run, as Juvelier connected with freshman running back Jason Cambra (El Paso, Texas) for a nine-yard touchdown to cap a 14-play, 73-yard drive. The touchdown catch, which came with five minutes remaining, capped the scoring in the contest.
Notes
• The Golden Bears outgained the Colonels 559-398, averaging 7.1 yards per play to Curry's 4.9 yards per play.
• The Western New England defense limited the Curry offense to 31% third down efficiency (5-of-16).
Up Next
Western New England (6-1, 4-0 CCC) returns home next Saturday (11/2) for a showdown with Endicott College at 1 p.m. Curry (1-6, 1-3 CCC) travels to Becker next Saturday.