Western New England downs Westfield State 20-10 for second straight President's Cup

Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. - Senior quarterback Bryce Brown (Guilford, CT) made a successful return to the lineup and an inspired defense forced seven turnovers as the Western New England football team captured its second straight President's Cup with a 20-10 victory over Westfield State Friday night (Sept. 16).

The Golden Bears improved their record to 2-1 after winning at Alumni Field for the first time in six meetings dating back to 1999.

Brown, who missed last week's game at Massachusetts Maritime with an injury, rushed for a game-high 88 yards on 15 carries (5.9 avg.) and scored a touchdown. He completed 6-of-18 passes for 62 yards.

Western New England intercepted a school-record five passes, including two by junior corner back Alex Miller (Seekonk, MA), and had two fumble recoveries. WNE also had eight sacks for 64 yards in the contest.

The Golden Bears scored on their first possession when senior running back JJ Jachym (Milford, CT) ran seven yards for a touchdown to cap an 11-play, 61-yard drive at the 9:20 mark.

Junior corner back Nicholas Silvester (Weatogue, CT) stopped a scoring threat when he intercepted a pass by sophomore quarterback Tommy Leung (Milford, CT) at the WNE 9 with 39 seconds left in the period.

Westfield State (1-2) finally got on the board in its next possession when junior Kennan Startzell (Rockland, MA) kicked a 24-yard field goal after the Owls had a touchdown called back because of a penalty with 6:37 left in the second period.

Freshman Nick Fox-Edele (Springfield, MA) gave Western New England a 10-3 lead with a 23-yard field goal with just under four minutes remaining before halftime.

Junior corner back Corey Brown (Worcester, MA) then made an important play with an interception just 2:23 left before the break. Bryce Brown then broke through for a key 33-yards scoring run on fourth-and-four with 1:08 remaining as Western New England took a 17-3 lead into the locker room.

Sophomore defensive tackle Kevin Soule (Medfield, MA) recovered a fumble that led to a 31-yard field goal by Fox-Edele at 10:34 of the third quarter.

Leung, who replaced senior Tyler Dow (Franklin, MA) in the opening quarter, had a tough final period throwing three interceptions as Miller picked-off the first two passes of his career. Junior free safety Phil Tsopanides (Fairfield, CT) had an interception at the WNE 15 early in the quarter.

Leung (14-for-25, 170 yards) smartly directed the Owls on a seven-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a two-yard scoring run by freshman running back Michael Mercadante (Wilbraham, MA) with 3:21 left in the game.

The Golden Bears' opportunistic defense was the difference.

Sophomore linebacker Brandon Ormsby (Windsor, CT) (7 tackles), senior linebacker Todd Krolikowski (Bristol, CT) (6 tackles, 4 sacks for 31 yards), senior linebacker Mark Devlin (Guilford, CT) (6 tackles, 2 sacks), and junior defensive end James Georges (Stamford, CT) (6 tackles, 3.5 sacks for 23 yards) were tough to stop.

Junior receiver Kevin Parnell (Berlin, CT) had a nice outing for the Owls with six receptions for 41 yards, including a 12-yard catch that led to Mercadante's touchdown. Junior linebacker Dan Dowling (Stoneham, MA) had a team-high nine tackles, including two for losses.

Western New England finished with 268 yards, including 206 on the ground. The Owls managed only 175 yards with a net of minus one yard after figuring in the sacks.

Contact: Ken Cerino, Western New England athletic communications director (413) 782-1227
kcerino@wne.edu