Worcester, MA- In the final home game of the 2024 season, the Worcester State football team (3-5, 3-4) not only hosts the Mass. Maritime Buccaneers in a bid to get to .500 in the conference, but will also be honoring this year's senior class. Those being honored today are #8 Ebenezer Ankomah Gyau (Worcester, MA), #7 Dominic Annese (Peabody, MA), #76 Sam Branco (Rehoboth, MA), #17 Jayden Caron (Woonsocket, RI), #24 Tyler Chaves (Hudson, MA), #90 Alex Dipre (Fitchburg, MA), #2 Dylan Hall (Plainville, CT), #13 Adam Hill (Lunenburg, MA), #33 Nico Holmes (Mansfield, MA), #69 Trever Johnson (Oxford, MA), #88 Collin Lyons (Norton, MA), #11 John McMasters III (Raynham, MA), #0 Jamison Metcalf (Leicester, MA), #79 Austin Michaelson (Charlton, MA), #62 Matt Noonan (Salem, MA), #44 Matt O'Connor (Selkirk, NY), #5 Deion Osei-Sarpong (Holden, MA), #65 Justin Sneed (Harwich, MA), #25 Alex Thibeault (Judson, MA), #22 Drew von Klock (Walpole, MA), #70 Jason Zelaya (Somerville, MA) and #26 Damien Mitchell (Lancaster, PA).
Final
Worcester State: 7
Mass. Maritime: 34
How it Happened:
The first quarter would start with a three and out for Worcester but a more successful second drive saw junior quarterback Cam Ayotte (Millbury, MA) complete a pass to Hall which would be followed up by a 52 yard touchdown pass to von Klock to cap off a 2 play 62 yard touchdown drive. The next drive would provide a 40 yard run from Holmes but a late interception would stall the drive just shy of an additional touchdown. In between the Worcester scoring chances the Buccaneers would manage to add three touchdowns in the first half of action, with a missed extra point settling the halftime score at 20-7.Mitchell made numerous crucial tackles in the half, with the biggest being on a 3rd down stop that would stall the Buccaneers drive down the field.
The second half would open with a 12 play turnover on down for the Buccaneers, but Mass. Maritime would still find a way to score, this time off an interception and 59 yard return back to the endzone to extend their lead to 27-7 for the lone score in the third quarter. The fourth quarter would find Mass. Maritime added an additional touchdown to their plate for the 34-7 lead, that would remain until the clock expired for the Buccaneers to claim the victory.
Ayotte would go 14 for 23 on the day with a touchdown, with his longest pass of the day going for 52 yards. Holmes would go for 89 yards on 17 carries with a day long 40 yarder. Von Klock was the big receiver on the day with 129 yards on five attempts and a touchdown. McMasters III ended the day with 18 tackles, nine solo and nine assisted with one broken up play, to lead the defensive core of O'Connor, Metcalf, Annese, Caron, and Mitchell.
What's Next:
Worcester State will be on the road for their last game of the season when they journey to Framingham State on November 16th to take on the Rams at 12pm.