WESTFIELD, Mass. - Westfield State's Max Margeson (Littleton, Colo./Mullen HS) and Alec Rodriguez (Westfield, Mass.) combined for a memorable interception return play for a touchdown to lift the Owls to a 17-10 win over Massachusetts Maritime Academy at Alumni Field on Saturday to bring a happy conclusion to Family and Champions Weekend.
Margeson delivered a perfectly timed hit on MMA wide receiver Andrew Brightman (Wareham, Mass./Upper Cape Tech) to jar loose the ball on a catch, with a the ball pinging directly to Owls' linebacker Rodriguez for the interception at the MMA 32-yard line. Rodriguez returned the ball a couple of yards before Brightman snagged him by the ankle, and Rodriguez handed the ball off to Margeson, who rambled 30 yards through traffic for the touchdown to give Westfield a 17-10 lead with 9:07 left in the third quarter.
The Owls hung on down the stretch for the win, improving to 1-4 on the season and 1-2 in the MASCAC. MMA slips to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.
The two teams traded salvos in the first half, with the Buccaneers getting on the board on their first drive of the game with a 7-play, 73 yard march that was capped by a 29-yard TD pass to Brightman on deep post route completion from quarterback Marc Murphy (Norwood, Mass.).
Westfield answered on their first drive, getting a big 52-yard kick return from Christian Julian (Hingham, Mass.) to set up the drive at the MMA 32. Seven plays later, Westfield's Jordan Smith (Coventry, Conn.) rumbled four yards up the middle for a game tying TD.
The two clubs traded field goals in the final 10 seconds of the half. MMA got a 24-yard TD from Logan Tsaika (E. Freetown, Mass./Appoquonet) to take a 10-7 lead with eight seconds left in the half.
Westfield got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, and Owls QB Gabriel Fernandez (Holyoke, Mass.) found Danny Farrell (Milford, Mass.) on a 25-yard completion and a personal foul on the Buccaneers gave the Owls the ball at the MMA 22 yardline with four seconds left in the half.
Westfield State first-year kicker Cooper Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game 10-10 at the half.
Neither team particularly threatened the end zone after the big interception return by the Owls. MMA drove the ball as far as the Owls' 38-yard line with less than two minutes to play, but Tyler Cooley (Randolph, Mass./Arch. Williams) dropped Murphy for a loss on third down, and Murphy's long bomb try to Brightman on fourth down fell incomplete to end the threat, and Westfield knelt on the ball three times to run out the clock.
Fernandez finished 14-25 passing for 138 yards. Farrell finished with six catches for 65 yards, and Smith rushed for 77 yards on 25 carries.
For MMA, Murphy completed 12 of 23 passes for 206 yards with a TD and an interception. Daniel Molloy (Franklin, Mass.) led the rushing attack with seven carries for 22 yards, and Brightman finished with eight catches for 96 yards. Molloy added three catches for 54 yards.
Defensively, Cooley led the Owls with 13 tackles, and Cam Danahy (Kingston, Mass./Silve Lake) added nine. Dylan Clark (Bellows Falls, Vt./BFA) came up with two big plays with two tackles for losses of 12 yards.
Liam Hines (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) led MMA with seven tackles. Owen Shea (Scituate, Mass./Norwell) made five tackles, 2.5 TFL's and a sack.
Westfield heads into its bye week, before returning to host its homecoming game against UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday, Oct. 14. MMA faces UMass Dartmouth next Saturday, Oct. 7 with a 4:00 p.m. kick off in North Dartmouth, Mass.