Fitchburg State Withstands Becker, 27-20
LEICESTER, Mass. – The Fitchburg State football team defeated the Hawks of Becker College, 27-20 as the Falcons opened their 2016 campaign this evening in non-conference action at Alumni Field.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
13 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
|
|
7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 20 |
Team Stats
Becker
| Game Statistics | Fitchburg St. | Becker |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 309 | 212 |
| Rushing Yards | 117 | 39 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of Poss. | 31:51 | 28:09 |
Summiel ties Falcons all-time TD receptions mark with his 21st career TD
LEICESTER, Mass. – The Fitchburg State football team defeated the Hawks of Becker College, 27-20 as the Falcons opened their 2016 campaign this evening in non-conference action at Alumni Field.
In the first quarter, Fitchburg State capitalized on good field position following a failed fake punt attempt by the Hawks. The Falcons wasted no time, capping a six-play, 37yard drive on a two-yard plunge by senior tailback Jevon Brown-Simpson to make the score 7-0 with 11:27 to play.
Becker knotted the score two possessions later after junior linebacker Angel Flores intercepted a pass and ran it back to the 23-yard line before junior quarterback Nas Sinkfield-Shelton found senior wide out Howard Holmes in the left flat and ran it in for the five yards out to make the score 7-7 with just over nine minutes left.
The Green and Gold regained the lead, going 73 yards on ten plays as senior signal caller Garrett Dellechiaie rifled a pass to junior Jesse Lastra a 32-yard strike for the 13-7 advantage. The score remained 13-7 until late in the second quarter when Dellechiaie and Lastra hooked up again on a 21-yard touchdown, capping off a six-play, 68-yard drive for the 20-7 lead going into the break.
Following intermission, Becker drove the length of the field on its first possession of the half as Sinkfield-Shleton connected with senior DeJahn Dawkins on a 48-yard catch and run to polish off six play, 87-yard drive to make the score 20-13 with 7:59 left in the third quarter.
The Hawks retied the score (20-20), going 51 yards on five plays, capped by a one-yard touchdown reception by Dawkins. The Falcons regained the lead with 12:40 left in the fourth as Dellechiaie hit an open Devin Summiel from 24 yards out to take a 27-20 advantage. With that TD catch, Summiel tied form Falcon standout receiver Ty Spencer's all-time TD receptions mark of 21.
Dellechiaie paced the Falcons offense, going 25-for-34 with 289 yards passing and three touchdowns, while the duo of Lastra and Summiel combined for 13 catches for 143 yards and all three TD's. For Becker, Sinkfield-Shelton completed 18-of-32 passes for 212 yards and a trio of TD's, while Dawkins led the Hawks receiving corp with three catches for 54 yards and a pair of scores.
Defensively for Fitchburg State, senior Tre Watson finished with a team-best 11 stops, including five solo tackles, six assisted stops and one fumble forced, while classmate Ousmane Samb added 11 stops with nine solo tackles, two assisted and a fumble forced.
Junior Shane Padent paced the Hawks defense, registering a game-best 13 tackles on nine solo tackles, four assisted stops and one tackle for loss, while junior LaDarious Carter finished with 12 stops, including six solo stops, six assisted tackles, one sack and 1.5 TFL's.
Fitchburg State (1-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action next Saturday as it hosts the Spartans of Castleton State at 2 p.m. Becker College (0-1, 0-0 ECFC) will visit MIT next Saturday for a contest starting at 1 p.m.