Westfield State University hosts Worcester 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 1-7 and a 1-5 record in the conference. Worcester State has a 1-7 overall record with a 1-5 record in the conference.
SENIOR DAY: Saturday will be the Owls senior day, with Dylan Clark, Cameron Danahy, Brendan DeBarber, Joseph DiBlasi, Danny Farrell, Gabriel Fernandez, Michael Foley, Corey Jackson Jr., Christian Julian, Cade Nelson, Colby Pires, Alec Rodriguez, Gilberto Rodriguez, Jordan Smith, Jacob Swinehart, Owen Thompson, and Alvin Yvon recognized in the pregame ceremonies.
LAST YEAR: The Owls defeated Worcester State with a final score of 28-18. Jordan Smith (Coventry, Conn) had 130 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 25 carries for the Owls. Smith also threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Swinehart. Quarterback Colby Pires (Milford, Ma) was 16/17, which is currently the school record for completion percentage in a game and threw for 129 yards. For Worcester State, quarterback Aaron-Moses Williams completed 19 out of his 28 attempts and threw for 293 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Brodie Jacques led in receiving with a game high 132 yards and scored a touchdown as well.
LAST WEEK: Westfield State lost in dramatic fashion to Plymouth State with a final score of 20-19. The Panthers completed a hail mary as time expired to give them the lead. Quarterback Gabe Fernandez (Holyoke, Ma) threw for 228 yards and a touchdown, completing passes to seven different receivers. Owen Thompson (Plympton, Ma) led in receiving for the Owls with 80 yards on six catches and a touchdown. Jordan Smith also ran for two touchdowns. On defense Christian Julian (Hingham, Ma) had two interceptions, returning one of them for 54 yards. Tyler Cooley (Randolph, Ma) led in tackles with 13, and linebacker Budder Ferreira (Haverhill, Ma) had ten tackles on the day.
WESTFIELD STATE ON OFFENSE: The Owls are averaging 227.6 yards of total offense per game. Jordan Smith leads in rushing for the Owls averaging 85.8 yards per game, which is 4th in the MASCAC. Mike Foley (South Windsor, Conn) leads in receiving averaging 46.5 yards per game and has three total touchdowns on the year. Gabe Fernandez is averaging 123.3 yards passing per game, which is sixth in the MASCAC.
WESTFIELD STATE ON DEFENSE: On defense, the Owls have allowed 28.1 points per game on the season. Tyler Cooley leads the defense in tackling averaging 11.9 per game, which is the most in the conference. Dylan Zuerblis (Wethersfield, CT) and Cade Nelson (Shrewsbury,Ma) both have three sacks each on the season. Christian Julian and Zachary Allen (Chelmsford,Ma) both have two interceptions on the year for the Owls.
WESTFIELD STATE ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Owen Thompson punted six times with an average of 38.2 yards per punt, and placed one of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Thompson is averaging 35.3 yards per punt on the year. Curtis Dion (Seymour, CT) had one kick return for 25 yards bumping his average up to 21.1 yards per return on the season.
WORCESTER STATE ON OFFENSE: The Lancers are averaging 10.3 points per game and 171.8 yards of total offense. Senior Quarterback Mike Loveless has a 55.6 completion percentage on the year averaging 122 yards per game. Junior running back Nico Holmes leads in rushing and receiving for the Lancers. Holmes averages 86.5 yards of total offense per game and has four rushing touchdowns on the year.
WORCESTER STATE ON DEFENSE: Worcester State is allowing 41.1 points per game. Graduate Student defensive lineman Ryan Justin leads the team in both tackles and sacks with 42 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the year. Defensive back Damian Mitchell leads the team in interceptions with two, and Romeo Holland has 35 tackles 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' Randall Elfman and Anthony Franco will have the call of the game. Live stats are available on WestfieldStateOwls.com.
A LOOK AHEAD: Westfield State will travel to Fitchburg State to close out their season on Saturday, November 11 at 12:00 pm. Worcester State will close out their season at home against Framingham State on Saturday, November 11 at 12:00 pm.
-- written by Anthony Franco, sports information intern