Football Heads to Westfield St. for Annual Presidents' Cup Game
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 9, 2021) – The Western New England football team will head to Westfield State tomorrow night for their first Friday night lights game of the season for the 33rd edition of the Presidents' Cup.
Recent History: Western New England Golden Bears vs. Westfield State Owls
The last time the two teams met was in 2019 for a high-scoring event. The Golden Bears defeated the Owls 56-35. There were six touchdowns in the first quarter alone to end the first with the Golden Bears leading 28-14. Western New England had 33 first downs while totaling 701 yards of offense to the Owls' 354. Steven Fedorchak led the Golden Bears with nine catches for a total of 319 yards and recorded five touchdowns. EJ Dudley had three rushing attempts for 13 yards while also returning two kickoffs for 16 yards. Both Jerry Woodard and Ricky Montalvo earned interceptions in the game. Erich Keutmann led the team with 12 tackles while Joshua Salem notched eight.
Last Time Out:
Western New England is coming off a 24-13 win over Springfield College in their annual Pynchon SAW game where the Golden Bears earned the trophy for the second time in a row after the 2019 win. In the win, the Golden Bears tallied 17 first downs, 317 yards of total offense, 182 passing and 135 rushing, and held possession for 25:14. Bryce Karstetter went 15-for-28 in the game with the longest pass being 48 yards while recording two touchdowns. Dillon Kohl led the team rushing with 43 yards on seven carries while Adam Razza led the receiving corps with 75 yards on three catches. Matt Gilbert went 3-for-3 on extra points and made a 39-yard field goal for a total of six points in the game that earned him CCC Special Teams Player of the Week. Keutmann led the team with 12 tackles with one sack for a loss of eight yards that earned him CCC Defensive Player of the Week.
Golden Bears Offense:
The Golden Bears will look to be led by quarterback Karstetter again after an impressive showing in game one. Western New England had a host of running backs appear against Springfield, four of which ran for over 10 yards in the game. Kohl averaged 6.1 yards per rush while Ryan Carlson averaged 4.3. Karstetter had four main receivers with at least three catches a piece while Fedorchak led with five completions. Razza averaged 25 yards per catch while Matt Eylander averaged 11.7.
Golden Bears Defense:
Western New England had an impressive defensive game against Springfield this past weekend recording one interception by Aaron Lamar and four forced fumbles by Bailey Devine-Scott, Montalvo, Tom Satkowski, and Cayden Porter. The Golden Bears sacked the quarterback three times with Keutmann, Brine Wotherspoon and Satkowski in on the action for a total of 25 yards. Keutmann led with 12 tackles while Devine-Scott and Montalvo both recorded nine.
Golden Bears Special Teams:
The Golden Bears special teams excelled last week with Gilbert at the head. Gilbert notched a 39-yard field goal to extend the Golden Bears lead to nine while also going 3-for-3 in extra points. Zac Christian punted for Western New England three times in the game for a total of 115 yards.
Last Time Out:
The Owls traveled to Nichols College last Friday where Westfield State fell 21-6 to the Bison. Miles Forester threw the touchdown pass to Tod Holloway Jr. for the Owls' only point of the game. Westfield State tallied 14 first downs, 208 yards of offense and secured the ball for 24:22. Peyton Capizzi led the Owls rushing with 48 yards while Kordell Parrish notched 78 yards receiving. Cameron Danahy led the defense with 13 tackles.
Owls Offense:
The Owls will look to improve their offensive attack in week 2 behind quarterbacks Miles Foerster and Peyton Capizzi. Foerster, a transfer from the University of Connecticut, drew the start last weekend and finished 12-26 for 132 yards with one TD and one interception. Capizzi came in the game to spell Foerster, and finished 3-5 passing, but most impressively scrambled for 48 yards on seven carries to fuel a late drive. The Owls will utilize junior Lee Colon who led the Owls with 378 yards rushing in 2019, when he posted several strong games to close the season. Clark and Thomas split the lion's share of the carries last weekend. Junior transfer Kordell Parrish had the big play last week with a 78-yard catch, while senior Tod Holloway, Jr., led the Owls with eight catches for 41 yards on the evening.
Owls Defense:
Defensively, returnees Peter Spinale, Noah Juaire and DaiJonn Cummings lead the defensive line, with senior David White moving from linebacker to defensive line. Sophomore Cade Nelson blocked a field goal try last week while Junior Julian Bass picked up the Owls' only sack in the opening week. Among the defensive backs, sophomore Travis Dozier, Jr. came up with a goal-line interception to thwart a scoring drive last week. Senior Robbie Nelson anchors the linebacker corps, while junior Cameron Danahy finished with 13 tackles.
Owls Special Teams:
Against the Bison, the Owls punted the ball five times all by Danny Farrell. Farrell recorded a total of 72 yards on five punts while Jon Applebee was unable to convert on his one extra point attempt.
Game Information:
The game will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. on the campus of Westfield State.
Be sure to keep up with the game with the links below.
Live Stats: https://www.westfieldstateowls.com/links/v81drb
