Owls Football Kicks Off 2024 Hosting Anna Maria on Friday Night

WESTFIELD, Mass.  –  Westfield State football kicks off the 2024 season on Friday, hosting Anna Maria College in a non-conference game on Friday, September 6 at Alumni Field on 7:00 p.m.

The Owls begin a new era with head coach Lou Conte, Jr. taking the helm of the program.   Conte came aboard in July after Pete Kowalski retired after nine seasons leading the program and 28 years as a part of the coaching staff.

"It's gone well," said coach Conte of the preseason. "It's a big learning, gathering information period where we are trying to figure out what we've got, who fits where in the new defense and the new offense, who your playmakers are, who you can count on, what we can do well, and what we should probably stay away from.  The players have been fantastic in picking it up and learning what it is we are trying to get done.   They are all 'freshmen' in this offense and defense right now.  There moving quickly, faster than expected really."

LAST YEAR:  A slow start doomed the Owls in a 51-26 loss at Anna Maria.  The AmCats got a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Eric Pino to open the game, and the Owls fell behind 24-7 late in the first half before Westfield's Jordan Smith sprung a school-record 89-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds left in the half.   Smith finished with 123 yards on 23 carries to lead Westfield, while AMC QB Ryan Russell completed 26 of 43 passes for 423 yards and five TD's.  Westfield's defense was led by 10 tackles each from Cam Danahy and Marckus Allen-Nesmith.  Nesmith added an interception and a 16-yard return.  Westfield will be look to improve on last season's 3-7 record.

THE SERIES:  Anna Maria leads 1-0, after the first-ever meeting between the two teams at Caparso Field in Paxton, Mass. in last year's season opener.

WESTFIELD STATE ON OFFENSE:  The Owls will have a new look on the offensive side of the ball as coach Conte brings his brand of the triple option to Westfield.   Senior QB Gabe Fernandez will be under center after taking back the starting job midway through the 2023 season, when he completed 88 of 184 passes for 1031 yards and six td's. 

"Run first, pound it between the tackles, force you to defend it," said Conte when asked to describe his offense.  "Slow and steady, more of a scheduled offense, trying to gain three yards or more, we'll go for it on fourth down if it's close enough.    Take deep play action when the opportunity presents itself.   It's the opposite of feast or famine, he joked.  But hopefully physical and aggressive."

"The offense won't go without a quarterback and a b-back," said Conte.

"At quarterback, you need a guy who can operate, who's a thinker, who's tougher, and Gabe Fernandez has done a great job of trying to expedite his learning curve, he's a hard studier, he loves the game, watches a lot of film, he's really accepted his responsibilities there," said Conte. "They have full control, and can check any play at any time.   And there's some talent behind him on the depth chart as well."

"The B-back is a different role than most anyone on this roster has been asked to play," said Conte. "It's more of an old-school fullback type, getting carries between the tackles and in small spaces.  The guys who can handle the beating the best while producing will be the guys who take the snaps.  Right now it's Sean Willis that will be the starter, but there are other guys who are going to push him for time."

"The wings, the A-backs, are really talented.  Dylan Disabella, Jake Swinehart, and Curtis Dion have done a really good job and will get touches and be threats in the pass game.  The whole wide receiver crew is pretty interchangeable.   Will Brewster is a good 'take the top off' guy, Dakari Eady is another speed guy, and they are both long and can block as well.  Jordan Lanoue will play TE and WR because of his size, and there are some younger guys who will contribute, but are still feeling their way through the playbook."

Disabella has shown flashes of athleticism while playing as a tight end the last two season, but has battled a variety of nagging injuries that has limited his production and playing time.  The wide receiver corps graduated its top four receivers in terms of number of catches, but returns Swinehart (12-109) and Brewster (9-137). Brewster had a strong day against Anna Maria a year ago with two catches for 52 yards and TD.

The Owls return a veteran offensive line that includes Alvin Yvon, Gilberto Rodriguez, Noah Will, Vinny Cirillo and Alex Mitchell.

"The bigs up front are some of the bigger o-line guys I have ever coached," said Conte. "They're some big dudes who can move fairly decently.  I feel pretty good about it.  They probably have had the toughest change in the overall offense switch.  Their size should help us."

WESTFIELD STATE ON DEFENSE:  The Owls return a pair of all-conference players on the defensive side of the ball, in DT Cade Nelson and CB Zach Allen, but they will slot into the new defense of coach Conte and defensive coordinator Chris Ehorn.

"The 4-3 defense has been a staple here for a while," said Conte. "Moving to an odd front, you need more outside linebacker and strong safety types.  They seem to have adjusted really well.    The guys we're going to count on have fit into it pretty well, but the guys who have gotten snaps are doing things that are completely different than they have the past couple of years.  The back end is pretty similar, but they've all taken well to it.  I think.  We'll see."

"Budder (Ferreira) and Justyn (Gardener) are two really good inside linebackers," added Conte. "Cade is experienced but he is doing something different than he has."

Nelson was the team's third leading tackler in 2023 with 54 total stops and led the team with 4.5 sacks.  Allen finished the year with 28 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and three interceptions.

WESTFIELD STATE ON SPECIAL TEAMS:  All conference place kicker Cooper Harvey is back.  Harvey was 17-20 on extra points, and 3-6 on field goals, with a long of 39 yards in the 2023 season.  Andrew Currier takes over in the punting game. Long snapper Dylan Clark is back with the Owls, and Swinehart gets the first crack at being Westfield's return man.

ANNA MARIA ON OFFENSE:  Quarterback Ryan Russell is back to lead the AmCats offense. Russell threw for more than 3,000 yards last season and averaged 310 yards passing per game, with 29 TD tosses against just 11 interceptions, and was named ECFC offensive player of the year.  Running back Jamal Cariglia was AMC's second-leading rusher a year ago with 684 yards.  The AmCats finished 5-5 last season in a wild year that ended with a 37-34 loss to Salve Regina in the New England Bowl.  The Cats scored 39.1 points per game, but allowed 37.2, including an improbable 93-14 loss at Coast Guard a week after facing the Owls last September.

ANNA MARIA ON DEFENSE:  The AmCats had six all conference defensive players a year ago, none of whom return on the top line of the depth chart, losing several to graduation.  Senior Linebacker Sam Jakana is the top returning tackler with 40 stops and 2.5 sacks last season.

"You don't always know what teams will do against the option," said Conte.  "They have a new defensive coordinator, so what they did last year may not be the same.   We're trying to figure it out from film and other sources.  I think I know what they're going to do . . .  but we'll have other stuff ready to coach up as well."

ANNA MARIA ON SPECIAL TEAMS:   AMC all-conference kicker/ punter Ryan Kent returns after converting 41 of 45 extra points and six of nine field goal tries in 2023.  He averaged 32 yards in the punt game.

NEXT WEEK:  Westfield will be home again next Saturday, September 14 with a 2:00 p.m. kickoff against Bridgewater State to open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

NEXT YEAR:  Anna Maria will join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference as a full member, and will become a regular fixture on the Owls football schedule, as well as as an opponent for Westfield State in each conference sport the AmCats offer.

COVERAGE:   Live stats and video are available at WestfieldStateOwls.com.  The game is also livestreamed via the MASCAC.tv app on AppleTV, Roku, AmazonFire, and most major streaming devices.  Note that the app has been updated this summer so please re-install the app on your TV or streaming device to ensure you get full coverage of MASCAC events.