WESTFIELD, Mass. – Trailing 16-6 at the end of three quarters, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football team (5-2, 3-2 MASCAC) scored 20 unanswered points to complete a 4th-quarter comeback and defeat Westfield State (0-6, 0-4 MASCAC), 26-16, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
With their backs against the wall, the Corsairs offense got to work on its first drive of the fourth quarter. UMassD marched 71 yards in 3:26 as sophomore
Dante Aviles-Santos completed three passes, including a 39-yard strike to freshman
Easten Coleman. Aviles-Santos then took it himself and sliced up the middle to make it a 16-12 deficit.
On UMassD's very next drive, junior
Luis Gonzalez got loose for a 73-yard TD rush to give the Corsairs a 20-16 advantage at 7:48 that they never relinquished.
Aviles-Santos and freshman
Antonio Brown put an exclamation point on the comeback with a 40-yard pass and catch with 4:26 remaining in the game.
Aviles-Santos was 14-20 with 251 passing yards, two touchdowns, including a 31-yard TD to freshman
Marvens Jean in the first quarter, and added one on the ground. Gonzalez finished the game with 124 rushing yards on 14 attempts for an average of 8.9 yards per carry. Jean came away with 96 yards of total offense, while Brown had 77 receiving yards and a TD.
On defense, sophomore
Logan Chappell picked off two passes and now leads the MASCAC with five interceptions. 5th-year senior
Chris Gomes had an INT as well. Senior
Javien Delgado led the team with 14 tackles, while freshman
Sam Alicea had 11 tackles and a sack. Junior
Josh Lacerte registered a sack as well.
It was the special teams that shined for the Owls. Junior Cameron Danahy intercepted UMassD's 2-point conversion in the endzone and returned it all the way for two points in the first quarter. Westfield got another big play on special teams on the first play of the second quarter, as Christian Julian fielded a punt at the 25-yard line and scampered 75 yards for a touchdown.
The third touchdown for Westfield was a 24-yard pass from senior Peyton Capizzi to sophomore Anthony Cintron just before halftime.
UMass Dartmouth is back at Cressy Field on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Fitchburg State.
