November 3, 2007
Football Falls In Season Finale To Westfield, 7-0

Worcester, MA --- Westfield State College sophomore running back Drew Lyons (Clinton, MA) took off on a 28 yard touchdown run with 5:44 remaining in the 3^rd quarter to account for all the scoring Saturday afternoon in the Owl’s, 7-0, win over the host Worcester State College Lancers on a rainy and windy senior day at Coughlin Field.

With the weather playing a prominent role in the game it was a battle of running games with the passing game of both teams ineffective due to the slick and windy conditions.  The teams were a combined 2 for 27 with 4 interceptions in the air with each team completing just one pass in the game.  There were no completions in the first half.

The Westfield scoring drive came after the Owl defense stopped the Lancers on a 4^th and 1 situation and took over on downs.  After a quarterback Dan Cohen (Wilbraham, MA) three yard rush and a Worcester State personal foul penalty put the ball on the Westfield State 41 yard line, Lyons went to work carrying three times for 9, 15 and 7 yards, respectively, before popping the 28 yard touchdown run.

Lyons produced a tremendous workmanlike effort carrying 41 times on the afternoon for 146 yards.

Worcester State got a strong ground effort from freshman Mike Chamberlain (Athol, MA) who rushed for a career high 97 yards on 31 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, Worcester State senior linebacker Tim Bartucca (N. Attleboro, MA) closed out his career in style.  Bartucca had a game high 16 tackles (9 solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss.  Bartucca, who also handles the punting chores for the Lancers, was involved in two of the more interesting plays on the game.  On the second play of the 4^th quarter, Bartucca had a punt tipped by a Westfield State defender that caused the kick to travel just one yard, but the receiver fumbled the return and Bartucca ended up recovering the fumble.  Two possessions later Bartucca reset the Lancer record book when a poor snap forced him to sidestep a defensive pursuer and he got off a 77 yard punt resetting the previous record of 66 yards.

Westfield State’s Jay Fielding (Methuen, MA) led the Owls defense with 12 tackles (8 solo) and senior Ricky Angus (Foxboro, MA) had a pair of interceptions.

The game marked the end of the 2007 season for the Lancers who finish with a record of 4-6 (3-4 NEFC Bogan). Westfield State finishes at 5-4 (4-3 NEFC Bogan).

Box Score