SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 26, 2024) – After scoring the first seven points in the game, the Western New England football team gave up 41 unanswered points to the visiting 11^th-ranked Gulls of Endicott College on their way to a 41-7 victory over the Golden Bears in a crucial Conference of New England matchup on Saturday afternoon from Golden Bear Stadium.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-3, 1-1 CNE
• No. 11 Endicott College: 6-1, 2-0 CNE

How It Happened:

After winning the coin toss to open the game, the Golden Bears would receive the opening kickoff of the game to get the contest underway. The Golden Bears would open with just two yards on their opening drive, as the difficult Endicott defense would force a punt to get their offense on the field. John Moss would send a 40-yard boot to the Endicott nine-yard line to start EC's offense. The Gulls started their drive with a completed pass as QB Clayton Margengi found Kennedy Charles for eight yards. The Gulls would then be doomed on the drive by two penalties to push themselves back while Western New England would stuff EC's running back Yavier Cosme-Diaz on third and 19, forcing a punt. Western New England would start their next offensive drive at the Endicott 46-yard line and would put together their best drive of the half to score the first seven points of the game. Brady Lafferty would complete a pass to Greg Perry for 16 yards to open the drive, while Ryan Carlson would run for 27 yards to move WNE to the Endicott five-yard line. On a third-down play, Western New England would convert a five-yard pass when Lafferty found De'Andre Harris in the end zone for six points to give the Golden Bears a 6-0 lead. Chris Digiacomo would add the extra point for a 7-0 WNE lead.

Endicott would waste little time on their next offensive drive of the game to quickly respond with seven points of their own, needing just three plays and 60 yards to move down the field quickly as a 39-yard pass from Marengi would find Charles in the pocket while Charles would run 39 yards down the field for the score. Endicott would tie the game at seven with a Mike Bartley extra point. The first quarter would end with Endicott taking the 14-7 lead after Marengi would run 60 yards up the field for an Endicott touchdown to give the road team the lead after one quarter of play. Endicott ran for 106 yards in the opening half while tossing for 57, totaling 163 opening quarter yards. Western New England ran for 32 yards and threw for 40, getting just 72 yards in the opening frame.

The Gulls would open the second quarter with the ball, though the Golden Bears would quickly get the Gulls off the field as JJ Josefik, Nick Kolifrath, and Cayden Porter would come around with key tackles for the Golden Bears. WNE's first offensive drive of the second quarter would last over seven minutes and combine for 14 total plays, though the Golden Bears would not convert any points, seeing Endicott block a 23-yard field goal to keep Western New England off the scoreboard. Lafferty made three big passing plays during the drive, including a 30-yard pass, though WNE would remain at seven points. The Gills would fire up seven more points before the quarter and half would end, traveling 80 yards on 16 plays, which would be capped off with a touchdown on a one-yard rush from Come Diaz to give the Gulls a 21-7 lead after 30 minutes of play. In the second quarter, Endicott came away with just 69 total yards, though that would put the only points up in the quarter.

The Gulls opened the third quarter with the ball while Western New England looked to keep the Gulls off the scoreboard in hopes of mounting a comeback. The Golden Bears would, in fact, force a punt on Endicott after their five-play, 22-yard drive would be stuffed by the Golden Bears as Jason Shumilla would create multiple plays to stop the Gulls offense. Western New England's first drive of the second half would not go as planned as Lafferty would be picked off by Joe Tirrell, leaving Endicott in prime scoring position, just 12-yards away from the end zone. Endicott would move down the field quickly, getting first and goal from the one-yard line. Cosme-Diaz would be called on three separate times from the one-yard line though would be stopped all three times by the WNE defense as Shumilla, Joe McNamara, and JJ Josefik would keep the running back from scoring. Western New England would keep Endicott out of the end zone for the fourth straight play on fourth and goal, as the Gulls went for a trick play that would not catch Western New England off guard as Maurice Henlon would make a big stop for the Golden Bears that turned the ball over on downs.

Stuck on their own one yard line, the Golden Bears would find a way to get out of the jam, though the Endicott defense would be too much as two straight incompletions for Western New England from their own 27 yard line would keep the drive from moving with 6:34 to play in the third quarter. The Gulls would punt on their next drive while WNE would commit another turnover, this time a fumble, to give the ball back to Endicott. Western New England would hold the Gulls scoreless in the third quarter though would not be able to gain any points themselves, still trailing 21-7 after three quarters of play.

Endicott needed just 42 seconds in the fourth frame to get on the board again when Clayton Marengi tossed a score to Jacob Ward from three yards out, giving the Gulls a 28-7 lead. The Golden Bears would be forced off the field quickly in a three-and-out sequence, forcing a 40-yard punt from John Moss. The Gulls would use the momentum to score a 36-yard touchdown pass from Margeni to Adam Goodfellow, giving EC a 34-7 lead. The extra point would be blocked by the Golden Bears, though Endicott would remain ahead by a large number. The WNE defense could not move the ball forward on their next drive that lasted just four plays, gaining no yards. Endicott would be on the board for their third touchdown of the quarter that would seal the game with still 9:53 to play in the frame when Bryan Metayer would run into the end zone from 12 yards out to take a 41-7 lead. WNE would be doomed by another interception at the Endicott two-yard line, while a fumble at the goal line on their next possession would put the game out of reach as the 11^th-ranked Gulls would come away with the CNE victory, 41-7.

Inside the Lines:

• The Gulls picked up 20 of their 41 points in the fourth quarter, rushing and receiving for over 100 yards in the frame. In total, the Gulls ran for 196 yards in the win while throwing for 231 total yards.
• The Golden Bears passed the ball 43 times in the game, all coming from Brady Lafferty, who completed 20 of those passes for 233 yards and one touchdown. The Golden Bears ran for 80 yards in the game, 56 from Ryan Carlson.
• De'Andre Harris led WNE with four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Larson grabbed five catches, a WNE game high, for 60 yards.
• Defensively, the Golden Bears were led by graduate student Jason Shumilla, who recorded six solo tackles and eight assisted tackles, good for 14 total tackles in the game. Shumilla recovered on fumble while making two total tackles for loss.
• Nick Kolifrath, Kadeem Walker, Thomas Gasbarro, and Joe McNamara also led the WNE defense on the afternoon.
• Endicott's defense picked up one sack, forced one fumble, and had two interceptions in the game, holding Western New England to a season low seven points.
• The 34-point win for Endicott is their largest margin of victory over the Golden Bears all-time. EC has taken four straight from Western New England in the series.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears look to get back in the win column on Saturday, November 2 at 12:00 PM when they travel to Husson University.