SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 20, 2025) – The Western New England football team was led by Kelan Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Golden Bear Stadium, who rushed for over 100 yards and scored three touchdowns, helping the Golden Bears come up with a 48-13 win over the Lancers of Worcester State University. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-1
• Worcester State University: 0-2

How it Happened: First Quarter

• The Western New England defense shut down the Lancers to begin the game, led by Nick Kolifrath and Nathaniel Mathis in the early goings, who both recorded a pair of tackle assists. WSU muffed the punt which would be recovered by Western New England at the Worcester 38-yard line, giving the Golden Bears excellent field position to begin their first offensive drive. 
• Paul Gorry led the Golden Bears out on offense to begin the drive which resulted in three points on the scoreboard as a 10-play, 27-yard drive would end in a field goal by Max LoGrasso, who cashed in on multiple occasions on Saturday, giving WNE a quick 3-0 lead. 
• That would be the only scoring of the opening quarter as the Lancers held their own on defense while the WNE defense did not allow Worcester to get into the end zone or connect on any points through the opening 15 minutes. WNE collected 85 yards of offense in the first quarter while WSU was held to 18 total, nine through the air and nine on the ground. 

Second Quarter:

• Western New England needed just two plays to begin the second quarter to get on the scoreboard as Paul Gorry took a fourth-and-one and rushed into the end zone for a WNE touchdown, followed by an extra point from LoGrasso, putting WNE ahead 10-0. 
• Worcester State picked up a score on their next offensive possession, marching down the field in just five plays and needing 65 yards to score as Lance Williams picked up a five yard touchdown run. WSU quarterback Cam Ayotte led the Lancers down the field with two long passes worth 20 yards and 34 yards, respectively. Worcester State climbed back into the game, trailing 10-7. 
• The Golden Bears had a response, picking up a touchdown of their own as Matt LaMontagne notched a nine-yard touchdown run with 8:56 left in the second quarter to restore their 10-point lead at 17-7. Scoring continued once more for WNE on their last offensive drive of the quarter as Max LoGrasso's 42-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with 2:05 remaining, giving WNE a 20-7 halftime lead. The Golden Bears produced 106 yards of offense in the second quarter while Worcester State picked up 170 yards but just seven points to show for it. 

Third Quarter:

• Western New England broke the game wide open in the third quarter, led by their first-year quarterback Kelan Cornell, who entered the game at quarterback and never left, scoring a 50-yard touchdown run on a five-play, 62-yard drive that put seven more points on the scoreboard for the Golden Bears, who took a 27-7 lead. 
• Worcester State's next drive would see a pass intercepted by Ryan Clark at the WSU 25-yard line, but the Lancers' defense returned the favor with an interception of their own as play went back-and-forth. The Lancers were then quickly forced off the field after more brilliant defense from the Golden Bears. 
• A five-play, 32-yard drive from Western New England resulted in another score from Cornell, this time from 14 yards out, as the first-year rushed home Western New England's fourth touchdown of the game that, giving the home team a 34-7 lead. The ensuing Worcester State drive saw Brayden Bunnell come up with another WNE interception. Neither team would be able to come up with another score in the quarter, with WNE leading by 27 after three quarters. 
• Worcester State rushed for -10 yards in the quarter and produced just 50 yards through the air. Western New England was all over the run game, running for 140 total yards. 

Fourth Quarter:

• An early touchdown for Western New England in the fourth quarter would be plenty for the Golden Bears to come up with a win on Saturday. Corey Kilroy would produce a four-yard rushing touchdown with 13:12 left to play in the game to increase WNE's lead to 41-7. 
• Worcester State would drive down the field on their next offensive chance, but the drive ended in the third interception of the game from Ayotte as Will Feliz notched the pick for the WNE defense, handing the ball back to the Golden Bears. 
• The Golden Bears would burn eight minutes of the clock on their last offensive possession of the game, which resulted in seven points as Cornell scored his third rushing touchdown of the game,  capping off his career afternoon in just the third game of the season, putting WNE ahead 48-7. Worcester State came up with a touchdown in the late stages of the game, but Western New England earned a 48-13 victory, improving to 2-1 on the season. 

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears recorded 471 total yards of offense on Saturday, led by Kelan Cornell, who came up with 103 yards on the ground and 59 through the air. Cornell picked up three touchdowns in the win. 
• Matt LaMontagne rushed 14 times for 85 yards and scored a touchdown for the third straight game to open the season. 
• Through the air, De'Andre Harris led all receivers with 105 yards on four catches. WNE did not have a touchdown through the air on Saturday, but recorded 167 total yards of receiving offense. 
• Ben Mann recorded 1.5 sacks for a loss of 12 yards for Western New England, the first sacks of the season overall. Austin Pszczolkowski also had a hand in a half sack for a loss of five yards. 
• Nick Kolifrath and Nathaniel Mathis led WNE with seven tackles each in the game. 
• The WNE defense picked up ten total tackles for loss in the win. 
• Max LoGrasso made both field goal attempts, a 27-yarder in the first quarter and from 42 yards out in the second quarter. LoGrasso was also true on all six-point after attempts. 
• WNE collected its second victory in two games over Worcester State, having won at Golden Bear Stadium back-to-back times. 

Coach's Corner: 
After the win, Coach Lebeau was asked about the team's performance on the day and how the team can use the momentum from this game going into conference play, which starts next weekend. "It is always nice to win on the bear. The guys prepared well all week and backed it up with a strong performance. A lot of guys contributed today and made plays. I am excited about this teams progress. We hope we can take everything we learned these first 3 weeks into conference play and keep getting better," Lebeau mentioned.
First-year standout Kelan Cornell was then asked how it felt to get his first three career Golden Bear touchdowns. "It's the best feeling in the world. It felt amazing to go out there and contribute to a win. Everything fell into place today from the offensive line dominating up front to the wide receivers blocking like crazy down field," Cornell stated. Then, when asked about the mindset Cornell had when entering the game after halftime, he answered with, "Going into halftime i knew i had to calm myself down, take in the moment, and Listen to coaches feedback." Then, Cornell finished his interview by speaking about how this win feels going into conference play next week. Cornell responded with, "This week was exactly what the team needed going into conference play and i couldn't be more excited to go compete and play my role."
Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England football opens Conference of New England play on the road next weekend, heading to the University of New England (3-0) on Saturday, September 27, for a 1:00 PM kickoff.