Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. - Senior quarterback Justin Walz (Groton, CT) has won a lot of games for the Western New England College football team with his passing.

This time Walz used his running ability scampering 24-yards with 3:55 left in the game as the Golden Bears rallied for an exciting 26-21 victory over host Endicott Saturday (Oct. 24) in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division game.

The Golden Bears evened their record at 4-4 while improving to 3-2 in the Boyd Division. Endicott falls to 3-5 and 1-4 in the division.

Western New England College's defense came through in the clutch in the final drive after sophomore quarterback Phil Konopka (Shelton, CT) quickly drove the Gulls from their own 25 to the WNEC24. Konopka converted a pair of fourth down pass attempts before throwing four straight incompletions with 54 seconds remaining.

Walz accounted for all of the Golden Bears' touchdowns after passing for two touchdowns and running for two more. He completed 12-of-22 passes for 201 yards with a pair of interceptions, and added 50 more yards on the ground.

WNEC jumped to a 14-0 lead when Walz fired a 75-yard pass to junior receiver Matt O'Brien (South Windsor, CT) with 35 seconds left in the opening period and a 28-yard score to freshman running back Mike Graham (Norwalk, CT) at the 9:49 mark of the second quarter.

Endicott tied the game by scoring two touchdowns in the final 2:44 of the half when Konopka hit sophomore receiver Ryan Carino (Stratford, CT) with a 19-yard score, then ran one-yard with just seven seconds left in the period.

Western New England College took advantage of a botched punt attempt to go ahead 20-14 when Walz ran two yards with 11:49 left in the third quarter. Senior place-kicker Jake Field (Bedminster, NJ) had his extra point attempt blocked by junior defensive back P.J. Bay (Darien, CT).

Konopka (15-30, 132 yards) found junior receiver Neil Powers (Westford, MA) for a 30-yard TD, which put the hosts ahead 21-20 with 6:42 remaining in the third stanza.

That set the stage for Walz who marched the Golden Bears 80 yards on seven plays for the winning score.

WNEC finished with 302 yards while holding Endicott to 287 yards.

Junior linebackers Justin Bailey (Northborough, MA) and Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) compiled 15 and 11 tackles, respectively.

Sophomore running back Mike Lane (Medfield, MA) led the Gulls with 108 yards rushing while senior back Colby Hawkins (Scituate, MA) added 70. Sophomore receiver Mike Fimiani (Melrose, MA) had a game high seven catches for 43 yards.