Sophomore Peter Hoff runs for career-high 115 yards and two touchdowns
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 14, 2017) – The Western New England University football team recorded five takeaways, and sophomore Peter Hoff (Shelton, Conn.) ran for a career-high 115 yards and two touchdowns as the Golden Bears opened Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) play with a 41-14 victory over Endicott College on Saturday afternoon.
Top Performers
• Hoff led the Golden Bears offensively, averaging 7.2 yards per carry and topping 100 yards on the ground for the first time in his career.
• Senior quarterback Anthony Service (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) completed 12-of-21 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for a ten-yard score.
• Senior wide receiver Mark Dietrich (Cheshire, Conn.) finished with a team-high five receptions for 74 yards and one touchdown.
• Junior linebacker Mike Chirco (Weedsport, N.Y.) recorded 11 tackles and a fumble recovery, while senior safety Sam Olsson (Milford, Conn.) added eight tackles and an interception.
• Endicott sophomore quarterback Joe Kalosky (Plymouth, Conn.) completed 23-of-40 pass attempts for 281 yards one one touchdown, to go with 41 yards and one score on the ground.
• Sophomore wide receiver Zach DeNike (Old Tappan, N.J.) hauled in five receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown.
• Junior linebacker William Rivera (Orangeburg, N.Y.) led the Gulls defensively with a team-high 11 tackles, including one sack.
Game Review
• Sophomore Damond Davis (Springfield, Mass.) returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as the Golden Bears raced out to a 7-0 lead.
• Western New England's next possession stalled inside the Endicott 10-yard line, but sophomore Kieran Lombard's (Dover, N.H.) 26-yard field goal gave the home team a 10-0 advantage with 6:36 remaining in the opening quarter.
• After an Endicott punt, the Golden Bears got the ball back and put together an eight-play, 52-yard drive that culminated in Service finding Dietrich in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 17-0.
• Western New England's defense continued to dominate, forcing a punt and recovering a fumble on the Gulls' next two possessions, respectively. A 49-yard touchdown run by Hoff with just under nine minutes left in the quarter increased the Golden Bears' lead to 24-0.
• The Gulls broke through late in the half, as Kalosky connected with DeNike for a 51-yard score.
• Kalosky fumbled on Endicott's second play of the second half, and senior Tim Huffam (Medway, Mass.) recovered the ball. Seven plays later, Lombard converted a 27-yard field goal to give the Golden Bears a 27-7 advantage.
• Another fumble ended the Gulls ensuing drive, and Western New England capitalized on the turnover when Hoff plunged into the end zone from one yard out with 11:22 remaining in the third quarter.
• Endicott answered with a 27-yard touchdown run by Kalosky on its next possession, but the Gulls had their following two drives ended with interceptions by Olsson and junior Chris Quarles (Naugatuck, Conn.), respectively.
• Western New England capped the scoring in the contest early in the fourth quarter on a ten-yard touchdown run by Service.
Notes
• Western New England now leads Endicott 8-7 in 15 all-time meetings with the Gulls.
• The Golden Bears utilized a balanced offensive attack with 208 yards through the air and 198 on the ground.
• With 38 career passing touchdowns, Service is one shy of matching Justin Walz '10 for first on the program's all-time list.
• Olsson has recorded an interception in three consecutive games.
Up Next
Western New England (4-2, 1-0 CCC Football) travels to Becker next Saturday, while Endicott (1-5, 0-1 CCC Football) hits the road to take on Salve Regina.