DANBURY, Conn. - Chad Blaszky (Selden, N.Y.) rushed 30 times for 233 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 52-21 win over the visiting University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Corsairs in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) football action this evening at Westside Complex. WestConn improves to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the MASCAC with the victory over the previously-undefeated Corsairs wo drop to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference. The Wolves will host MASCAC rival Plymouth State next Saturday at 4 p.m. in their next game. UMass-Dartmouth welcomes league Massachusetts Maritime next Saturday at 4 p.m. With his outstanding performance, Blaszky became the all-time rusher in WestConn football history with 2,724 career yards. He passes Octavias McKoy, who totaled 2,513 yards for the Wolves. The game was never in doubt, as WestConn jumped all over UMass-Dartmouth for 21 points in the opening quarter. Special teams set the tone early when junior Aiden Figueroa (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) blocked a Corsair punt and returned the loose ball 32 yards to give the Wolves a touchdown on UMass-Dartmouth's first drive of the game. The Corsairs came back and advanced to the Wolves 12-yard line on a 51-yard pass from Dante Aviles-Santos to Angel Sanchez. The WestConn defense came up big, however, and turned UMass-Dartmouth over on downs. WestConn marched down the field on its first offensive possession, going 88 yards on six plays, including three Blaszky rushes for 63 yards, and finishing the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from junior Keion Jones (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) to classmate Zach Soriano (Middle Island, N.Y.) with 7:29 left in the first quarter. The Wolves defense stopped the Corsairs on another fourth down and took advantage of the good field position to go ahead, 21-0, on a five-yard touchdown run with 3:03 left before the first break. UMass-Dartmouth scored early in the second quarter on a two-yard scoring plunge by Luis Gonzalez, but the home team scored twice more before halftime. Blaszky broke free for a 30-yard scoring scamper with 7:03 on the clock and Jones scored on a 31-yard sprint at the 2:08 mark of the second quarter. The Wolves went into halftime with a 35-7 lead and Blaszky had 135 rushing yards after two quarters. WestConn nearly scored again on the first drive of the second half, reaching the Corsair 15-yard line but coming up empty with a missed field goal. WestConn sophomore CB Mike DeFelice (New Windsor, N.Y.) thwarted the Corsairs next drive with an interception of an Avilas pass and Jones made them pay with an 17-yard touchdown pass on a highlight-reel grab by junior WR Julian Ferguson (Enfield, Conn.) that gave the home squad a 42-7 lead with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter. In the fourth frame, the home team added a 23-yard field goal by senior Anthony Weidtman (Nesconset, N.Y.) and a three-yard touchdown run by junior RB Kamryn Holmes (Branford, Conn.). UMass-Dartmouth scored twice in the last quarter on an 11-yard run by Jalyn Aponte and a 10-yard scoring pass from Avilas to Sanchez late. Blaszky averaged 7.8 yards per carry, while Holmes added 74 rushing yards on 10 carries as WestConn totaled 353 yards on the ground. Jones finished 11-for-16 through the air for 154 yards, while Aviles-Santos threw for 210 yards and ran for a team-high 66 yards for UMass-Dartmouth. Ferguson caught five passes for 84 yards and Sanchez had five grabs for a game-high 104 yards. Defensively, WestConn LB Nosa Uzamere (Hempstead, N.Y.) made all eight of his tackles in the first loss with seven solo and 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior LB Myles Wilson (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) and senior S Deshaun Hardy-Walker (Newark, N.J.) added six tackles each and Wilson added 1.5 tackles for loss for the Wolves. Jackson Wellman paced the Corsairs with nine tackles.
WestConn Football Knocks Off UMass-Dartmouth With Dominant Performance
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230930_jyjv.xml
2023
Mass-Dartmouth
21
Western Connecticut
52
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mass-Dartmouth (4-2) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Western Connecticut (3-2) | 21 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 52 |
Sep 30, 2023