Box Score Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore free safety Phil Tsopanides (Fairfield, CT) intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the game as upstart Western New England College defeated Plymouth State 14-6 Saturday (Oct. 23) to take over sole possession of first place in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division.

The Golden Bears improved to 7-1 with their school record seventh consecutive victory and stayed perfect in the division at 5-0.

Coach Keith Emery's squad is the only unbeaten team in divisional play (Boyd/Bogan) in the 16-team conference.

This also was WNEC's first victory over Plymouth State in 13 all-time meetings and avenged a 38-21 loss to the Panthers last year on their home field.

Junior quarterback Bryce Brown (Guilford, CT) directed a pair of 78-yard scoring drives to give Western New England College a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Brown (13 carries, 62 yards) started the scoring with a 21-yard run with 49 seconds left in the first period for his team best eighth touchdown of the season.

Junior running back JJ Jachym (Milford, CT) then hit the end zone from four yards out with 1:22 remaining before halftime. He finished with 122 yards on 13 carries in compiling his third 100-yard game of the season.

Plymouth State (6-2, 4-1 Boyd) finally got on the board on a one-yard run by senior quarterback J.J. Brooks (Seabrook, NH) with 6:13 left in the final period.

Western New England College was able to knock 4:31 off the clock before the hosts took over at their own 12 with 1:42 left in the game.

A face mask penalty gave Plymouth a first down at the 50 and sophomore running back Ty Long (Dover, NH) ran three yards on a fourth-and-two to give PSU another opportunity at the WNEC 39.

Two plays later, Brooks completed a 24-yard pass to senior receiver Brendan Fontaine (Canterbury, CT).

On fourth-and-10 from the 15, Tsopanides picked-off a pass from freshman quarterback Josh Morgan (Foster, RI) (who entered the game as Brooks moved to wide receiver) and returned it 36 yards to give the Golden Bears the biggest win in their 30-year history. Tsopanides finished with a team high 10 tackles and had a pass breakup.

Senior linebacker Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) compiled eight stops and became Western New England College all-time tackle leader with 309.

Senior linebacker Justin Bailey (Northborough, MA), junior tackle Nate Kuzmeski (Tolland, CT), and sophomore end James Georges (Stamford, CT) each recorded seven tackles. Freshman tackle Scott Maille (Bristol, RI) chipped-in with a fumble recovery and half-a-sack.

Plymouth out-gained Western New England College by a 309 to 287 margin as Long rushed for a game high 127 yards (one shy of his career high) on 32 carries. Brooks was 7-of-13 passing for 98 yards.

PSU had entered the game winning 19 of its last 20 Boyd Division games since 2007 and 24 of 28 home contests since 2005.