WORCESTER, Mass. – Powered by a career-high and program record 340 rushing yards from senior captain
Mekhi Wilson, the UMass Dartmouth football team defeated Worcester State University, 49-40 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday. The Corsairs move to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play, while the Lancers are now 3-4 and 3-2 in the MASCAC.
It was a historic day for the senior rusher from Narragansett, R.I., as Wilson ran for 340 yards on a career-high 39 attempts. His 340 yards eclipses the previous single-game record of 254 yards – set in 2022 by Marvens Jean '25. Wilson recorded four touchdowns in the game, including the game-clinching score late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Sophomore wide receiver
Jayden Francois led the receiving core with four catches for 127 yards and a touchdown, while rookie
Jayson Dyer recorded 13 attempts for 52 yards and a score to compliment Wilson in the running game.
Defensively, the Corsairs were paced by sophomore linebacker
Kenimar Noel, who had eight tackles, including 1.5 for a loss of six yards. Rookie defensive back
Gavin Butterfield added six tackles, including a pass breakup, while junior defensive edge
Donovan Turner had six tackles – including a sack for a loss of three yards. On special teams, junior
Connor McManus went 7-for-7 in PAT's and posted 420 yards on eight kickoffs with an average of 52.5 yards.
The Corsairs opened the game's scoring in the first quarter as sophomore quarterback
Jackson Hart ran it in from five yards out. Worcester State answered on a 45-yard pass from MJ Bakaysa to Jack Poirier to tie things up, but a two-yard run by Dyer at 1:18 sent the visitors into the second quarter with a 14-6 lead.
UMass Dartmouth struck first at the 8:59 mark as Wilson rushed in from seven-yards out for a 21-6 advantage. The Lancers countered less than four minutes later as Bakaysa found Joey Christian from 23-yards out to narrow the score to 21-12.
Wilson recorded his second touchdown of the game with 4:39 to play, but a 1-yard run by Jermaine Norfleet helped pull the home team closer going into halftime with the Corsairs up 28-19.
Worcester State got things going to open the third as Gavin Hatfield carried it in from seven yards out to make it a 2-point game (28-26). The Corsairs responded as senior quarterback
JC Petrongolo – who had 127 yards passing on the day – found Francois for a 55-yard score and a 35-26 lead.
Christian once again found the endzone for the Lancers, competing an 81-yard touchdown pass to make it a two-point game (35-33) heading into the final quarter. Wilson countered quickly for the visitors, posting his third score of the game, this time from 13-yards out to give the Corsairs a solid lead.
Despite the momentum, the Lancers answered yet again as Norfleet ran it in from a yard out with 6:08 remaining for the 42-40 score. In the end, the ball went back into the hands of Wilson, who carried the ball 75 yards down the field in the drive, completing it with an 11-yard rush into the endzone.
The Corsairs defense held strong on the final drive for the home team as UMD forced four incomplete passes by the Lancers for a turnover on downs with 49 seconds remaining.
As a team, the Corsairs combined for 507 yards of total offense on 67 plays – outpacing the Lancers by 104 yards on the day (403).
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday, October 24 when it hosts MASCAC-rival Bridgewater State for Blue & Gold Weekend. The game will kickoff at 4pm on Cressy Field.
