WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior running back Dylan Disabella (Granby, Conn.) punctuated the Owls' senior day with 241 yards rushing and three TD's to power Westfield to a 22-7 win over Fitchburg State on Saturday at Alumni Field.
Westfield closes the season 4-6 overall and 4-5 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference under first-year head coach Lou Conte, Jr. Fitchburg ends its first season under coach Izzy Abraham at 2-8, 1-8 in the MASCAC.
Disabella and the Owls methodically ground out the win, as he finished with 35 carries, and scored on a 7-yard run in the first quarter, and a 21-yard run in the second quarter to grab a 14-0 lead at the half. He added a seven-yard TD run in the third quarter. He finishes the year as the Owls leading rusher with 763 yards and 7 rushing TD's on 143 carries, switching into the primary ball-carrier role for Westfield after a mid-season injury to Sean Willis (450 yards). Disabella also led the Owls in reciveing for the season with 14 catches for 240 yards and two more TD's
The Owls tacked on a 28-yard Cooper Harvey (Niskayuna, NY) field goal to take a 22-0 lead in the fourth quarter, before Fitchburg finally got on the board with 31 seconds left in the contest on a 50-yard Devin Lebron (Ledyard, Conn.) to Jeremy Allik (Natick, Mass.) completion.
Westfield dominated in time of possession, 42:42-17:18, and had 342 yards of total offense compared to 216 for the Falcons. The game also featured eight fumbles and two interceptions between the two teams, and a combined 26 flags for 227 yards in penalties.
Ryan Scott (Dalton, Mass./Wahconah) started at QB and finished 4-10 for 72 yards passing. He was relieved by Lucas Pickard (Dalton, Mass./Wahconah) in the second half, who was just 1-1, but that was a 38-yarder to Jordan Lanoue (Belchertown, Mass.) . Jacob Swinehart (Holyoke, Mass.) finished with three catches for 63 yards.
Fitchburg's offense was led by 55 yard rushing from Matthew Aguirre (Laredo, Tex.). Emilo Cabey (Boston, Mass./Dover Sherborn) caught three balls for 48 yards. Starter Rocky Marchitelli (Gunnison, Colo.) was 6-12 for 58 yards passing, but had to leave the game after receiving a second unsportsmanlike conduct foul. Lebron relieved him and completed 3 of 10 passes for 50 yards and a td.
Wetsfield's Eric Lovell (Barnstable, Mass.) picked off a pair of Lebron's passes, including a 24-yard return to the Falcons' 7-yard line in the third quarter that set up Disabella's third score of the day. Senior DT Cade Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass.) led the Owls with seven tackles with 1.5 TFL, and Justyn Gardener (East Hartford, Conn> added six stops and half a sack. Dylan Zuerblis (Wethersfield, Conn.) netted 1.5 sacks.
The Falcons defense was led by 13 tackles and a sack from Sebastian Burmester (Germantown, NY), ith John McGarry (Highland Lake, NY) adding eight stops.
Westfield State honored its 27 seniors before the game, and all who were healthy for the game played with the big lead late in the fourth quarter.
Jacob Applebee, Gavin Bullock, Dylan Clark, Curtis Dion, Dylan Disabella, Sean Ferguson, Gabriel Fernandez, Justyn Gardner, Nikolas Giotsas, Chris Greene, Jordan Lanoue, Adam Legere, Max Margeson, Anthony Messore, Cade Nelson, Tim O'Connor, Gilberto Rodriguez, Ethan Russell, Connor Schlittler, Blake Simpson, Jake Swinehart, Casey Tang, Matthew Varteresian, Nate Walton, Noah Will, Malachi Wright, and Alvin Yvon comprised the Owls senior class recognized in the pregame ceremonies.
Westfield finished with four wins, one more than the 2023 campaign, and their best total since the fall of 2018 when the Owls finished 5-5.