Box Score Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. - A late comeback fell just short as Western New England College fell to Endicott 23-15 in a battle of the top teams in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division Saturday night (Oct. 30).

This was the first loss in division play for the Golden Bears who drop to 7-2 overall and into a tie at 5-1 with the Gulls in Boyd action with one game left in the regular season.

Endicott also moved to 7-2 after ending WNEC's school-record seven-game win streak.

Junior quarterback Phil Konopka (Shelton, CT) passed for two touchdowns and freshman Dylan Rushe (Palos Verdes, CA) kicked three field goals in the win. Junior running back Mike Lane (Medfield, MA) rushed for 183 yards on 43 carries.

Trailing 23-7 in the fourth quarter, Western New England College began its comeback cutting the margin to eight when junior quarterback Bryce Brown (Guilford, CT) tossed an eight-yard scoring pass to senior receiver Matt O'Brien (South Windsor, CT) and then the two-point conversion to O'Brien with 4:23 left in the game.

Endicott punted on its next possession and the Golden Bears took over on their 19 at the 3:10 mark.

Brown moved the Golden Bears 73 yards to the Gulls' eight-yard line with under a minute to go, but WNEC couldn't score from three tries as junior linebacker Nick Scozzaro (Wellington, FL) sacked Brown for eight yards on fourth-and-goal to preserve the win.

The Gulls took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Rushe and went ahead 10-0 when Konopka (14-for-30, 123 yards) hit junior tight end Taylor Allen (Westboro, MA) on a three-yard score with 1:30 left before halftime.

EC extended its margin to 13-0 on Rushe's 38-yard field goal at 4:43 of the third period.

Western New England College got on the board following a 42-yard run on an option pitch by sophomore receiver Brendon Thompson (Enfield, CT) with 1:36 remaining in the third.

The Gulls appeared to put the game out of reach when Rushe booted a 23-yard field goal and Konopka fired an eight-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Neil Powers (Westford, MA) with 7:39 left in the game.

Thompson started the rally returning the ensuing kickoff 52-yards to set-up the Golden Bears' second touchdown.

Brown completed 20-of-38 passes for 187 yards, but suffered three interceptions. Junior receiver Kenny Muhlack (Groton, CT) finished with four catches for 68 yards. O'Brien also hauled in four receptions for 50 yards. Graham had a team high 62 yards rushing on five carries.

Senior linebackers Justin Bailey (Northborough, MA) and Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) had 14 and nine tackles, respectively, for the Golden Bears. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Ormsby (Windsor, CT) also had nine stops.

Endicott out-gained WNEC by a slim 305-289 margin.

Scozzaro had a big game finishing with 10 tackles, three sacks, and an interception. Sophomore linebacker Oscar Moore (Lynn, MA) also compiled 10 stops.