Westfield State University hosts Plymouth State at Alumni Field on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game. The Owls come into the game with an overall record of 1-6 and a 1-4 record in the conference. Plymouth State has a 2-5 overall record with a 2-3 record in the conference.
LAST YEAR: Plymouth State defeated the Owls with a final score of 31-22. Owls' quarterback Colby Pires (Milford, Ma) threw for 234 yards and a touchdown, which included a 63-yard touchdown to Michael Foley (South Windsor, Conn). Jordan Smith (Coventry, Conn) added 102 yards rushing on 24 attempts and a touchdown. For Plymouth State, quarterback Braden Lynn threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Jake Donahue had a game high 104 yards receiving with two touchdowns. Cade Nelson (Shrewsbury, Ma) had six tackles for the Owls, and Luc Normandeau had 12 tackles for Plymouth State.
LAST WEEK: Jordan Smith's 164 yards on 40 carries were not enough as The Owls fell to Bridgewater State 21-0. For the Bears, Adam Couch ran for 117 yards and a touchdown. Neither team had much success throwing the ball as the weather conditions made it tough on the quarterbacks. Defensive back Zachary Allen (Chelmsford, Ma) added an interception for the Owls.
WESTFIELD STATE ON OFFENSE: The Owls are currently averaging 10.6 points per game and 218.7 yards of total offense. Jordan Smith bumped his average up to 94.6 rushing yards per game on the year. Michael Foley leads the Owls in receiving. Foley has 13 catches for 210 yards on the year.
WESTFIELD STATE ON DEFENSE: The Owls have a total of 12 takeaways on the year. Tyler Cooley (Randolph, Ma) leads the MASCAC, averaging 11.7 tackles per game. The Owls also have a total of 13 sacks on the year coming into this game.
WESTFIELD STATE ON SPECIAL TEAMS: JJ Tauscher (Easthampton, Ma) had his first punt return of his career and returned it for 15 yards. Adam Legere (Bedford, Ma) punted three times for 73 yards with an average of 24.3 yards per punt.
PLYMOUTH STATE ON OFFENSE: Plymouth State is averaging 24.3 points per game and 271 yards of total offense a game. Quarterback Braden Lynn has thrown for 912 yards, nine touchdowns, and one interception on the year. Running back Willie Lombard has rushed for a total of 601 yards and six touchdowns and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Jake Donahue leads in receiving with a total of 287 yards and three touchdowns.
PLYMOUTH STATE ON DEFENSE: Plymouth is allowing 28.1 points per game and 380 yards of total offense. Junior linebacker Evan Wilson leads the way for Plymouth State averaging 10 tackles a game. Defensive back Luc Normandeau is averaging 6.1 tackles per game from the secondary. Defensive lineman Collin Crowe leads the team in sacks with 3.5 on the year.
LIVE COVERAGE: The game will be live streamed on WestfieldStateOwls.com and on the MASCAC.tv channel, which is available on Roku and Apple TV devices. Westfield State students' Zach Bianco and Anthony Franco will have the call of the game. Live stats are available on WestfieldStateOwls.com.
-- written by Anthony Franco, Sports Information intern
A LOOK AHEAD: Westfield State will host Worcester State on Saturday, November 4 at 12:00 p.m. on Westfield's senior day. Plymouth State will host Mass Maritime on Saturday, November 4 at 12:00 p.m.