Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Tyler Ward connected with Alejandro Colon with a 38-yard pass for the go-ahead touchdown with 4 minutes and 18 seconds remaining and then the Western New England defense did the rest as the Golden Bears came from behind to defeat visiting Westfield State, 17-14, in the annual Presidents' Cup game on Saturday before a Homecoming crowd of almost 3,000 at Golden Bear Stadium. The Owls fall to 1-1 while the Golden Bears improve to 2-0.

Westfield now leads the all-time series 14-12 over its Mass Pike rivals, as the campuses are separated by 30 minutes. Western New England avenges last year's 33-7 loss at Westfield and has taken four of the last five meetings.

Western New England senior running back Kevin Cook finished the contest with 90 rushing yards on 34 carries. Cook passed the 3,000-yard rushing mark on his career and is now third all-time in that category in program history. He also ran the ball for a touchdown, giving him 39 for his career which ties Marvin Langley's (1998-2001) school record of 39 rushing touchdowns.

Western New England outgained Westfield 342 to 245, but the Owls had the advantage in time of possession, 34:24 to 25:36.
 
After a few missed opportunities by the Golden Bears at the end of the third quarter, the Owls came out with intensity to begin the fourth and took the lead for the first time 14-10 with 14:26 left in the contest after a six-play, 36-yard possession, which resulted in a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Michael Mercadante.

Coming from behind, the Golden Bears' toughness on both the offensive and defensive side proved to not let them down. After a brilliant stop on defense, the Golden Bears took over on offense at the Westfield State 49-yard line just over five-minutes left. Ward ran eight-yards on a keeper to give the Golden Bears a second-and-2 on the Westfield State 41. Cook then scrambled for a 3-yard gain to give WNE a first down on the Westfield State 38, setting up Ward's game-winning TD pass to Colon.
 
Mercadente finished the contest with a game-leading 129 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
 
Westfield's Bobby Boire caught five passes for a team-leading 47 yards, and quarterback Steve Guercio finished the contest with a total 98 yards of total offense that included 93 yards in the air and five yards on the ground.
 
With 10:01 left in the first quarter, Cook ran the ball into the end zone from one yard out to give the Golden Bears a 7-0 lead.
 
A long 21-yard pass from Guercio to Yinka Areago set the Owls up with great field position at the Golden Bears' 28. Guercio then completed his second pass of the possession with a 12 yarder to Boire, setting the Owls up with a first down at the Golden Bears' 16. Mercadante then rushed the ball twice, with the second being a 13-yard rush into the end zone. Mike Bortolussi then converted on the PAT to tie the game up at seven-all. 
 
The Golden Bears began a possession at their own 36 with 5:09 remaining in the first half. A combination of complete passes by Ward and rushes by Cook set the Golden Bears up in the red zone but weren't able to convert all the way and settled for a successful field goal from 29 yards by Kevin Patterson.
 
The Golden Bears once again moved their way down the field with an 88-yard, 3:39 possession in the third quarter, which resulted in a blocked field-goal attempt that was recovered by the Owls with 3:52 left in the third.
 
Westfield went on the offensive side for the last time with 4:18 left in the game, but got just over midfield resulting in a turnover on downs with less than a minute left, giving the ball back to Western New England to run out the game clock.
 
Defensively, Hezekiah Duncan led the Golden Bears with 12 total tackles (1 solo), a career- and game-tying-high, while Zachary Fleming chipped in with nine. Julon McCoy, Jonathan Lytle and Greg Sheridan led Westfield with 12, 11 and 10 tackles.
 
The Golden Bears will have a bye week and then head to Castine, Maine, on Sept. 27 to face Maine Maritime at 1 p.m. in the New England Football Conference opener while seeking to extend a three-game winning streak. Westfield State is now 1-1 and on the season and will travel to UMass Dartmouth next Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest.