LUNENBURG, Mass. â€" Western New England College junior quarterback Jon Tallerico (Port Chester, NY) completed 24-of-37 passes for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but Fitchburg State used a balanced running and passing attack to outlast the Golden Bears 35-20 in a non-divisional NEFC game Saturday at Lunenburg High School.

The Golden Bears fell behind 14-0 after the opening period, but pulled within 20-14 at half-time following a two-yard run by junior Justin White (Essex Junction, VT) and nine-yard pass from Tallerico to junior Justin Varga (Colonia, NJ) with 39 seconds left before the break.

The Owls scored the game’s next two touchdowns before Tallerico connected again with Varga on a 16-yard score with 2:13 left in the contest to complete the scoring.

Western New England College (0-2) finished with 337 yards and didn't have any turnovers. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Miculcy (Greenwich, CT) had eight receptions for 134 yards (including a 54-yarder). Varga finished with five catches for 43 yards while senior wide receiver Mark Kyer (Stratford, CT) had five receptions for 30 yards. Junior linebacker Matt Guaragno (Port Chester, NY) had 15 tackles for the Golden Bears while junior free safety Jim Kantany (East Longmeadow, MA) had 12.

Fitchburg (2-0) took a 20-14 lead with 9:24 left in the second quarter when place-kicker Treavor Smith tossed a 19-yard scoring pass to Nick Pisanelli on a fake field goal attempt. Brian Milleisen rushed for 114 yards and two scores while William Earley added 109 yards and one touchdown. Corey Hetherman completed 11-of-23 passes for 193 yards and one TD as the Owls totaled 462 yards.