Springfield, Mass. – September 6, 2024 – The Springfield College football team rallied for a 38-32 victory over Western New England under the lights at Stagg Field on Friday evening.
The contest was the 11th time that these two rivals met in the Pynchon SAW Game, which is derived from city founder William Pynchon and the acronym of "SAW" is for the first initial of both schools, Springfield And Western New England. With the win, Springfield held onto the trophy as it earned its sixth victory in the series and defeated the Golden Bears for the third-straight year.
The Pride totaled 389 yards of offense in the contest, including 362 on the ground. Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) racked up 215 yards and a score while fellow fullback Joseph Cannizzaro (Lincoln Park, N.J.) added 58 yards and a score. Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown as well. Defensively, Cameron Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) tallied 11 tackles, including two for loss, Aiden Lewin (Orlando, Fla.) made seven tackles and had a key fourth-quarter interception, and Billy Carr (Southington, Conn.) was credited with seven stops and two sacks. On special teams, Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) had 171 return yards on three attempts with a score and Ian Wernick (Plymouth, Mass.) had a field goal and made all five of his extra point attempts
It was a fast start for the Pride as Shtefan took the second play from scrimmage 51 yards to paydirt and he plowed over several WNE defenders to find the end zone just 56 seconds into the season. Springfield doubled its lead with 6:30 on the clock following seven carries by the fullbacks, culminating in an eight-yard score by Cannizzaro.
After the teams traded possessions, WNE struck for their first score of the season on 4th and eight as Brady Lafferty connected for a 40-yard strike down the sideline to Patrick Harrigan just eight seconds into the second quarter. Following a 41-yard kick return from Maurer, Shtefan got free for a 53-yard run on third down, setting up a one-run touchdown push from Jacob Silvester (Lancaster, Mass.).
Springfield would turn the ball over twice on fumbles, allowing the Golden Bears to get a five-yard run from Jason Black and a 18-yard touchdown grab by Cam Lapierre to pull within 21-19 with 1:26 left in the half. However, Maurer took the ensuing kicking 95 yards to the house to swing the momentum back in favor of the Pride as they went into the halftime break with a 28-19 lead.
The visitors scored on the opening possession of the second half, as a Ryan Carlson one-yard score capped off an eight-play, 71 yard drive. After the Pride cap up empty on a fourth down attempt inside the WNE 40 yard line, the Golden Bears took the lead with 2:35 on the clock when Black got free off the edge for a 15-yard score.
The Pride would regain the lead after going 67 yards on eight plays, as Hart turned the corner and sliced through the Golden Bears defense for a seven-yard score with 13:53 left in regulation. Carr would come up with his second sack of the day to force the visitors off the field, and a five-yard punt on the next play gave Springfield the ball from the visitors 32 yard line. After the Pride had a touchdown called back, Wernick stepped up a drilled a 28 yard field goal push the hosts lead to 38-32.
WNE had one final drive with under five minutes to play, but the Pride defense held tough, turning the Golden Bears over on downs before Shtefan converted a third and four with a bruising six-yard carry to seal the victory.
Next Saturday, Springfield will travel to Husson for a non-conference contest slated for 1 pm.
Springfield College Rallies For Third-Straight Pynchon SAW Victory Over WNE, 38-32
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240906_4r9s.xml
2024
Western New England
32
Springfield
38
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western New England (0-1) | 0 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 32 |
| No. 23 Springfield (1-0) | 14 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 38 |
Sep 06, 2024