WNE Football Falls Just Short on Senior Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 12, 2022) – The Western New England football team put a scare into No. 23 Endicott College on Saturday afternoon from Golden Bear Stadium, though the Gulls were able to squeak away with a mere 26-21 victory on Western New England Football's Senior Day.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-6, 3-3 CCC
• No. 23 Endicott: 10-0, 6-0 CCC

How it Happened:
A nine-play 86-yard drive for the Golden Bears opened the scoring to give Western New England an early 7-0 lead over the CCC's top ranked Endicott College Gulls. The drive would be highlighted by a fake punt turned into a 29-yard rush from WNE's Jake Chiasson to give the Golden Bears excellent field position. AJ Hall would connect with De'Andre Harris for a 26-yard catch on 2^nd and 11 to get WNE down to the EC 28-yard line on the opening drive. A 12-yard rush from Ian Britt would get Western New England a 12-yard pass from QB Bryce Karstetter to Greg Perry to open the scoring for the Golden Bears. Western New England's Matt Gilbert would tack on the extra point, giving WNE a 7-0 lead. 

On the first drive of the game for the Gulls, Western New England would swallow the chances, landing a 4^thand 1 for EC, as they would be forced to punt. Punter Quinten Fox would see his kick be blocked by Leandro DePina and scooped at the 12-yard line to give the Golden Bears more good field position to work with. Dillon Kohl would rush for eight yards and on fourth down and two to go, Danny Gisonno would run the ball up the middle and into the endzone, giving the Golden Bears a 14-0 lead, following the made extra point attempt. 

The pesky Gulls would not go down quiet, however, as Endicott would take advantage of two offside penalties on Western New England and would march down the field in 11 plays and 62 yards to grab their first six points of the afternoon on a four-yard rush from Yavier Cosme-Diaz to give the Gulls some life. The Endicott defense, who had been one of the tops in the nation coming into today's action, would turn up the tempo on Western New England, forcing a quick three and out on the next drive, which would be the final of the quarter for the Golden Bears. 

On the first drive of the second quarter, Endicott would complete their drive, getting a 12-yard touchdown pass from Clayton Marengi to Yavier Cosme-Diaz to get Endicott another six points. Both extra point attempts from the Gulls were failed. 

Western New England would take some costly penalties down the stretch towards the end of the first half that would blank their drives. Endicott would come back from a 14-point deficit to take their first lead of the game when a seven-yard rush from Yavier Cosme-Diaz would get Endicott a 19-14 lead heading into halftime. 

Western New England's best chance in the third quarter came on a drive that started at their own 36-yard line that lasted seven plays and 3:40 of elapsed time. Dillon Kohl would get a carry on fourth and one from the Endicott 44, though would be stuffed at the line to gain, turning the ball over on downs back to the Gulls. Endicott would make Western New England pay for that, getting a 23-yard touchdown run from Clayton Marengi on a 4^th and 6 play to put Endicott ahead 26-14. 

After both teams would exchange a pair of three-and-outs, Endicott would take advantage of a fumble at their own 25-yard line, with Western New England driving down the field in an attempt to get back into the contest. On the ensuing drive, the WNE defense would come up big, getting the Gulls off the field in four plays. WNE would come up with a touchdown of their own, their first since the opening minutes of the first quarter when AJ Hall found Conrad Swanson open by the back right pilon of the end zone, giving WNE seven points on the scoreboard and just a five-point deficit. WNE would have Endicott on the ropes though the Gulls offense would come up big on multiple occasions in the final drive of the game. A 2^nd and four from the WNE 35 would end up in a five-yard run from EC QB Clayton Marengi, sealing the victory for the Gulls by a final score of 26-21. 

Inside the Numbers:

• WNE collected 267 yards of offense on the day, using three different passers in the contest. Bryce Karstetter threw nine completions on 17 attempts, Conrad Swanson collected five completions on nine attempts and AJ Hall went 2/2 in the contest. Both Karstetter and Hall threw for a TD pass while Swanson recorded a touchdown catch. 
• Dillon Kohl ran 15 times for 43 yards on the day while Ian Britt ran 12 times for 36 yards. 
• De'Andre Harris caught five passes for 63 yards for WNE. Greg Perry scored the opening TD of the game for Western New England, collecting four catches for 30 yards on the afternoon. 
• Both Joe Shea and Jake Chiasson collected 12 tackles each, while Thomas Gasbarro collected nine. Teammates Ippokratis Georgiadisand Leandro DePina collected eight tackles each.
• WNE was whistled for ten penalties that accumulated 62 yards of total loss. The Golden Bears held the ball for 31:29 on the day while Endicott collected 28:31 of total possession.
• WNE honored their senior class prior to the game. Thank you for all your contributions on and off the field!

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE sees their season come to a close at 4-6 and 3-3 in CCC play. 
• Endicott awaits the NCAA Selection Show to find out who they will play for the NCAA Division III Football Championships first round. EC won the CCC after collecting a 10-0 record and 6-0 in CCC play.