Owls rally past Western New England College in President's Trophy clash
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior quarterback Dan Cohen (Wilbraham, MA) threw for 221 yards and the winning touchdown for the second straight week as the visiting Westfield State football team rallied for a 23-21 victory over Western New England College in the annual 20th Annual President’s Trophy contest Saturday afternoon (Sept. 13).
This was the second straight win for the Owls who now have a 12-8 edge in the President's Trophy series with the Golden Bears.
Cohen completed 12-of-25 passes with the big play a 64-yard touchdown to junior receiver David Benoit (Ludlow, MA) with 13:50 left in the fourth quarter. Cohen stepped up into the pocket to avoid a blitz and heaved the ball down field where Benoit made a juggling catch and went untouched into the end zone. He finished with game-high eight receptions for 177 yards.
Last week Cohen and Benoit connected on a school-record 95-yard play early in the fourth quarter in a 13-10 win over Nichols.
The Golden Bears, who were playing their home opener, took the opening kickoff and moved from their 34 to the Owls’ 23 before junior defensive back Nick Leverone (Natick, MA) came through an 80-yard interception return to give the visitors at 7-0 lead with 10:27 remaining in the quarter.
WNEC took advantage of a blocked punt by freshman Austin Adaskaveg (Southington, CT) to tie the game. On third down, junior receiver Chris Vaillant (Holliston, MA) made a nice catch on a 14-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone from junior quarterback Justin Walz (Groton, CT) with 4:53 left in the period.
The Owls took a 14-7 lead into halftime following a one-yard run by junior fullback Steve Ohlson (Quincy, MA) with 3:06 remaining in the second stanza.
Western New England College (0-2) tied the game when Walz ran up the middle to avoid a blitz and went 19 yards to make the score 14-14 with 8:40 left in the third quarter.
Westfield State scored on the following possession on a 28-yard field goal by sophomore Chris Stengel (Forest Hill, MD) at the 5:40 juncture. Stengel also averaged 45.1 yards for eight punts, including a 70-yard kick.
WNEC came right back to take its first lead when Walz (17-of-34, 144 yards) connected with junior receiver Rob Chiaccio (Groton, CT) (a former high school teammate at Fitch High School) on a 32-yard play just 28 seconds later. Freshman Nick Taber (Staten Island, NY) set-up the touchdown with a 59-yard kickoff return.
Western New England College senior running back Jordan Capitanio (Torrington, CT) went over the 100-yard mark for the second straight week gaining a game-high 106 yards on 21 carries.
The Golden Bears held a slim four-yard advantage (311 to 307) in total offense.
Westfield State senior linebacker Jay Fielding (Methuen, CT) compiled 12 tackles (including two for losses) while Leverone had 10 stops. Senior linebacker Matt Burzdak (Hampden, MA) contributed 10 tackles and a sack.
Sophomore linebacker Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) had a solid game for the Golden Bears with 13 tackles while sophomore linebacker Justin Bailey (Northborough, MA) had nine tackles. Freshman defensive back Daniel Darragh (Northford, CT) had his first college interception at the WNEC 11 with 4:24 left in the game.
