DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a 22-point opening quarter, the UMass Dartmouth football team recorded a 42-7 victory over visiting Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Cressy Field. The Corsairs move to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, while the Falcons fall to 0-8 and 0-6 in the MASCAC.
The Corsairs got the scoring going quickly as junior wide receiver
Marvens Jean dashed into the endzone from six-yards out for a 6-0 lead. UMass Dartmouth went on to record 16 more points in the frame. Grad student rusher
Luis Gonzalez then drove into the endzone on a 1-yard gain, while on the next play, the Corsairs defense prevailed for a safety against the Falcons. A 38-yard pass from quarterback
Dante Aviles-Santos to junior
Jalyn Aponte for the 22-0 advantage.
In the second quarter, the Corsairs made another quick score as Aviles-Santos found junior wideout Thomas Zednick for a 12-yard touchdown at the 8:37 mark. The home team pushed the margin to 35-0 minutes later as junior wide receiver
Angel Sanchez returned a punt for 79-yards and the score.
Gonzalez added another touchdown to his day in the third quarter, rushing it in for another 1-yard gain and giving the Corsairs the 42-7 lead.
Fourth quarter action saw the Falcons get on the board as junior quarterback Dylan Cosner found rookie wide receiver Peter Norton for a 31-yard touchdown.
The Corsairs, who held Fitchburg State to just 58 yards passing and only 170 yards of total offense on the day, posted 421 yards of offense, including a season-high 300 yards rushing with 121 passing. UMassD also had 22 first downs, limiting the visitors to nine.
Aviles-Santos went 6-for-12 in the game with 121 yards and two touchdowns. He had one interception on the day, while also rushing six times for 52 yards. Gonzalez rushed 11 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while rookie rusher
Mekhi Wilson had 12 rushes for 74 yards. In the air, Aponte caught a pass for 38 yards for the touchdown, while Sanchez had one catch for 35 yards.
Defensively, the Corsairs were paced by junior Mike Hendricksen, who posted 10 tackles, including two solo with a QB hurry. Senior linebacker
Jackson Wellman added nine tackles – four solo – which included 2.5 for a loss of 12 yards, along with 1.5 sacks for nine yards and two QB hurries. Junior linebacker
Sam Alicea added eight tackles, including two for a loss of 14 yards – both sacks.
On special teams, Sanchez returned three punts for 119 yards, including his long of 79 for the touchdown.
Fitchburg State saw rookie QB Rocky Marchitelli go 2-for-6 with 10 yards before being replaced by Cosner, who was 2-for-8 with 48 yards and a touchdown. Senior tight end Matthew Aguirre rushed 23 times for 133 yards, while Norton had one catch for 31 yards and the score.
Defensively, grad student Muhammad Camara recorded a game-high 14 tackles, including 0.5 for a loss of three yards for the sack of Aviles-Santos.
The Corsairs are back in action next Saturday with a critical MASCAC match-up. UMass Dartmouth heads North to battle undefeated Bridgewater State at 12pm.
