BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott College raced to a 21-0 lead at halftime and then held on for a 34-21 victory over visiting Western New England College in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division game Saturday (Oct. 20),

This was the fifth consecutive loss for the Golden Bears who drop to 2-6 overall and 0-6 in the division.

Quarterback Alex Smith (Winthrop, MA) completed 13-of-21 passes for 180 yards and had a 10-yard scoring pass to tight end Jake Maxfield (Newport, NH) that gave the Gulls a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game.

Running back Colby Hawkins (Scituate, MA) rushed for a game-high 123 yards on only nine carries with a touchdown (36 yards) while back Mark Killinger (Rockland, MA) added 36 yards and two scores (5, 7 yards) to help Endicott break a three-game losing streak.

Trailing 27-0 heading into the fourth period, Western New England College made a brief comeback when freshman quarterback Pat Meffen (Springfield, MA) entered the game and tossed touchdowns passes of 34 yards to sophomore receiver Matt O'Brien (South Windsor, CT) and 15 yards to sophomore receiver Cliff Carpluk (Long Valley, NJ) in a 1:51 span early in the stanza. Freshman linebacker Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) recovered a fumble to set-up the second score.

Freshman free safety Patrick Lesko (Seymour, CT) then made his first interception and Meffen (who played at nearby Cathedral High School) drove the Golden Bears to the Endicott 28 before he had a pass intercepted at the Gulls' 11.

Endicott (2-5, 2-3 Boyd) then went 89 yards on nine plays capped by a one-yard run by Chris Sheehan (Needham, MA) with 2:10 remaining to seal the victory.

Freshman Justin Telesha (Milford, CT) tossed an 11-yard scoring pass to sophomore receiver Chris Vaillant (Holliston, MA) with 1:21 left in his first action at quarterback for the Golden Bears to complete the scoring.

Western New England College out-gained Endicott by a 447 to 416 margin.