Curry Cruises Past Fitchburg State 49-14 in Non-Divisional NEFC Action
MILTON, Mass. – Senior Mark Gilson (Mansfield, Mass.) threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns, leading Curry past Fitchburg State, 49-14, in a non-divisional New England Football Conference (NEFC) match-up Friday night in Milton. The Colonels improved to 1-1 on the season, while the Falcons dropped to 1-1.
Curry opened the game with a 13-play, 65-yard drive that was capped off with a nine-yard pass from Gilson to junior Bruce Vieira (Pelham, N.H.). After several punts, the Colonels' offense got the ball back and marched 54 yards downfield on six plays and into the end zone after a three-yard rush by freshman Trae Weathers (Revere, Mass.) with 2:39 left in the first.
In the second quarter, an eight-yard touchdown rush by freshman Jordan Shairs (Gloucester, Mass.) extended Curry's lead to 21. The Colonels' defense forced Fitchburg into a three-and-out and then sophomore Chevere Archer (Lynn, Mass.) blocked a punt, which was recovered by sophomore Jonas Duffrene (Waltham, Mass.) at the visitor's nine-yard line. On the offense's first play, Weathers ran nine yards for his second touchdown of the night with 8:53 left in the half. The Falcons recorded their first touchdown with 32 seconds remaining before intermission on a fourth-down, 21-yard pass from freshman Brian McDonald (Westwood, Mass.) to sophomore Brian Wallace (Ayer, Mass.) and headed into halftime trailing, 28-7.
Fitchburg pulled within 14 after McDonald rushed for a three-yard touchdown early in the third. Curry answered back on the following drive with a five-play, 57-yard push into the end zone that was capped off with another Gilson to Vieira connection to extend their lead over the Falcons to 35-14. After forcing Fitchburg into another three-and-out, the Colonels went 40 yards downfield and Gilson connected with junior Rob Bambini (Westwood, Mass.) for an 11-yard touchdown. In the fourth, Curry scored its final touchdown of the night with a nine-play, 83-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown dive from Vieira, accounting for the 49-14 final.
The Colonels held a significant edge in first downs (26-9), total offense (523-120) and possession time (34:49-25:11).
Gilson was 8-for-12 for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Anthony Carnevale (Oradell, N.J.) was 6-for-9 for 77 yards. Sophomore Phil Bigelow (East Orange, N.J.) led all rushers with 90 yards on eight carries. McDonald finished 8-for-20 for 86 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Sophomore Chris Bachand (Newington, Conn.) had a game-high 16 rushes for 44 yards.
Junior Jason Genece (Waltham, Mass.) led the Curry defense with six tackles (5 solo), including five tackles for loss (-14 yards) and one sack (-7 yards). Genece also collected the Colonels' lone fumble recovery. Game-high tackling honors went to Fitchburg sophomore Joseph Sasso (Melrose, Mass.) who amassed 10 total tackles (9 solo).
Curry returns to action on Saturday, September 17, playing at Coast Guard Academy with a 12:00 p.m. kickoff. Fitchburg State also plays on the road on the 17th, visiting Endicott with a 1:00 p.m. game start.
