Football Travels to Plymouth State Saturday

Westfield State University football hits the road this weekend, traveling to face Plymouth (N.H.) State on Saturday, October 26 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game that kicks off at 12:00 noon.   Westfield comes into the game 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the MASCAC.

LAST WEEK:  The Owls put up 246 yards of total offense last week, (180 yards on the ground) but only found the end zone once in a 21-7 loss to Framingham State on Saturday. Dylan Disabella led Westfield in offense as he was the leading rusher (130 yards) and finished with 143 all-purpose yards including a 13 yard touchdown pass from Gabe Fernandez. The Owls defense and special teams forced two turnovers, a fumble recovered by Tate O'Mara and an interception by Tafari Proctor.  The Panthers of Plymouth State improved to 2-3 overall and is 2-3 in the MASCAC after a 21-6 win last week against Vermont State Castleton.

THE SERIES: The Owls are 3-17 all-time in matchups versus Plymouth State since the start of the Owls' program in 1982.

WESTFIELD STATE ON OFFENSE:   The Owls produced 246 yards, 37:03 in time of possession, and posted 11 more first downs than the Rams on Saturday. Dylan Disabella rushed for 130 of the Owls 180 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Fernandez threw for seven completions for 66 yards passing.    The Owls average 265 total yards per game, which is good for fourth in the MASCAC. Westfield has largely dominated opponents in time of possession this season, averaging 36 minutes per game, but a spate of turnovers in the last two games have helped limit the Owls to just 17 ppg this season.    For the season, Sean Willis leads the ground game with 422 yards rushing.  He hopes to return this week after missing the Framingham game due to an injury.   Disabella stepped in capably, toting the ball 29 times for 130 yards in his debut as the feature back.  Disabella also leads the Owls with 223 receiving yards on 12 catches, and Curtis Dion has 24 yards of receiving and rushing yards.   Senior QB Gabe Fernandez has been triggering the Owls offense, he's 38-94 passing for 549 yards and four TD's.

WESTFIELD STATE ON DEFENSE:  Blake Simpson continues to be the Owls leading tackler, with 37 total stops this season.   Safety Tafari Proctor has 29 tackles and leads the Owls with three interceptions and 85 return yards.   The Owls held Framingham to only 219 yards of total offense last week, only eight first downs, and under 23 minutes of time of possession.  Cade Nelson led the game with 1.5 sacks, bringing his season total to 3.5, tying for third in the conference. Westfield accomplished seven tackles for loss from the likes of Corey Henderson (2), Nelson (2), Simpson (1.5), Dylan Zuerblis (1), and Budder Ferreira (0.5).

WESTFIELD STATE ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Cooper Harvey was one-for-one on extra point attempts on Saturday. Harvey and Logan Gallagher both missed field goal attempts that were both 35 plus yards away.   Dion headlined the returners last week with one return for 20 yards.

PLYMOUTH STATE ON OFFENSE: Willie Lombard leads Plymouth State the MASCAC in yards per game with 103.8 (a total of 577 on the season), and is tied for second in touchdowns with seven, and third for yards per carry with 5.3 per attempt.  In four games this season, Braden Lynn has thrown for 481 yards while completing 59 percent of their passes.  Mitchell Cripps leads the receiving corps with 13 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown

PLYMOUTH STATE ON DEFENSE: The Panthers linebacker Jack Milano is second in the MASCAC with 12 tackles per game. Robert Leveillee as he has secured 4 tackles for loss, while Plymouth's sack leader belongs to Evan Wilson as he has got home to the quarterback 1.5 times this season.  The Panthers defense has forced eight total turnovers including one of the  MASCAC leaders in interceptions in Jonah Bassett Jr. He is in a tie with Proctor and two others with three interceptions on the year. The fumbles this fall have been recovered by Mikey Levesque and by Robbie Engel with one recovered a piece.

PLYMOUTH STATE ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Seth DiSalvo takes the kicking responsibilities for the Panthers as he was three-for-three in the game on Saturday with point after attempts. DiSalvo is 11-for-12 this season on point after attempts and is one-for-three on field goal attempts, his one make was from 22 yards out.   Lombard is the Panthers main return man as he has returned 18 kicks this fall for 356 yards for an average of 19.8 yards per return. Lombard is first in the conference with the most return yards and is second for average per return.

COVERAGE: Live stats and video links are available at WestfieldStateOwls.com. 

NEXT WEEK: The Owls will hit the road again for the fourth time in five weeks as Westfield heads to Buzzards Bay to take on Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The game will kick off at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 31.   The Panthers head to Framingham to take on the Rams of Framingham State on Saturday, November 2 with a noon kickoff.