Westfield, MA --- Junior Kemani Jones (Milton, MA) finished with 226 yards of total offense, which included for 169 yards and two touchdowns, as he helped lead Worcester State to a 35-22 victory over Westfield State in MASCAC football action this afternoon at Alumni field.
The Lancers (7-2, 5-2 MASCAC) run their winning streak to six straight games in a tie for second place in the conference standings. The Owls fall to 5-4 and 4-3 in the league.
Senior Pat Viencek (Bernardston, MA) racked up 212 passing yards and two scores, but he threw three of interceptions as classmate Jack Sprague (Maynard, MA) hauled in five receptions for 51 yards and one touchdown.
Westfield State senior Michael Mercadante (Wilbraham, MA) scampered for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns as classmate Steve Gercio (Gardner, MA) tossed 246 passing yards to go with one TD.
After the Lancers opened the contests scoring on a nine-yard touchdown flick from Viencek to freshman Isaiah King (Richmond, VA) with 11:50 on the clock in the first quarter, the visitors built up their lead to 14-0 on a one-yard sneak by Viencek at the 10:43 mark in the second stanza.
Later in the quarter, Worcester State found itself on its own three with 7:00 left in the half. Westfield State took advantage of the opportunity and converted a safety on the first play of the series to trail by 12.
The hosts then used the free kick to put points on the board. With a drive that started at midfield, Gercio connected with junior Bobby Boire (Millbury, MA) for a 15-yard hook-up to help the Owls make it a 14-9 contest at the intermission.
Westfield State took over their first lead of the contest by taking their first possession of the third quarter to the house on a 54-yard scamper by Mercadante. The point after pass attempt, however, failed and which saw the Owls hold the 15-14 edge with 12:28 on the scoreboard.
Following a punt, the Lancers got the ball back on the fourth interception of the season by senior Mike Goulden (Rehoboth, MA) inside the red zone. Worcester State made the most of the opportunity by taking over the 22-15 lead for good when Viencek found Sprague open in the end-zone for an 11-yard touchdown reception.
The Owls looked poised to answer on its next drive, but Gercio was picked off at the Westfield State 43 yard line by senior Bryan Narcisse (Medway, MA) near the line of scrimmage.
Worcester State increased its margin to 28-15 on a 28-yard scoring blast by Jones just before the third quarter expired.
On its next two possessions of the fourth quarter, the Lancer defense stepped up and did not allow the hosts to get past midfield as both stalled drives resulted in a turnover on downs. With the momentum on their side, the Blue and Gold increased its margin to 35-15 when Jones hit pay dirt on a 14-yard touchdown with 3:25 remaining.
Westfield State did score a late touchdown as at the 1:36 mark on a one-yard plunge by Mercadante, but the Lancers recovered the ensuing on-side kick and ran out the clock to end the contest.
Defensively, senior Sean Hanley (Wilmington, MA) finished collecting a game-best 14 tackles (seven solo), which include three sacks for 17 yards and a forced fumble. Narcisse chipped in with 11 tackles of his own, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks while Goulden added three TFLs.
Sophomore Rafael Guzman (Cambridge, MA) had Worcester State's third interception as the Owls had three on the entire season coming into the matchup.
For the hosts, junior Marcus Pettigrew (Auburn, MA) registered eight tackles, two which were for a loss and one sack as senior Troy Cutter (Lunenburg, MA) notched a team-high 10 tackles (five solo).
With his yardage total today, Jones has 1,172 to his credit which is the third most in single-season history. He is only 58 yards away from the top spot held by former standout Marcus Price and set in 2011.
In a battle between the two leading rushers in the conference, Jones averaged 6.5 yards on 25 carries while Mercadante finished with 6.4 yards on his 25 rushes.
On the final weekend of the regular season, Worcester State will try to upset Framingham State on Saturday at 12 PM, who is unbeaten in MASCAC play. Westfield State tries to knock off Western Connecticut on Friday night at home in a 7 PM matchup.