PAXTON, Mass. -Â After trailing 28-0 early in the second quarter, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football team outscored Anna Maria, 48-35, for the remainder of the game, including 28-straight points in the second half. It was not enough as the home team held off UMass Dartmouth, 63-48, Saturday afternoon at Caparso Field.
Junior QB
Dante Aviles-Santos threw for four touchdown passes on 362 yards and ran one in as well. Sophomore RB
Marvens Jean had another big game, rushing for 219 yards and two TD's, while 5th-year senior WR
Keenan Little Hauled in two catches for six on 110 yards. Sophomore WR's
Thomas Zednik and
Owen Quigley each had one touchdown catch.
5th-year senior
Javien Delgado led the Corsairs with 10 tackles. Classmate
JP Mason and sophomore
Sam Alicea each finished with eight tackles.
Anna Maria jumped out to a 28-0 lead with 9:28 on the clock in the second quarter on a two-yard run, a pair of 49-yard TD passes, and an 11-yard pass for six. Jean broke away for a 58-yard touchdown rush to finally put UMass Dartmouth on the board with 9:17 remaining in the second.
Anna Maria would score two more touchdowns before Zednik grabbed a 25-yard strike from Aviles-Santos to make it a 42-13 game at halftime.
It took until the 5:39 mark of the third quarter for UMass Dartmouth to cut into the lead when Aviles-Santos found Quigley for an 18-yard TD to cut the deficit to 42-20. The AMCATS would score two consecutive touchdowns to extend their advantage to 56-20. Aviles-Santos then connected with Little for a 75-yard TD pass at the end of the third, making the score 56-27.
Jean ran for a 61-yard TD to start the fourth quarter. The defense then got a safety, Aviles-Santos and Little worked together for a 35-yard TD pass, and Aviles-Santos ran for a 23-yard touchdown to cut it to a 56-48 score with 5:35 remaining.
With an opportunity for the Corsairs to force overtime, Anna Maria ended that thought with a 14-yard touchdown rush to extend the lead to 63-48 with 1:38 on the clock, putting the game out of reach.
UMass Dartmouth plays its biggest game of the year on Saturday when they host defending MASCAC Champion Framingham State at 1:30 p.m.
