Football brings home win against Falcons
By Sarah Daponde
Editorial Staff
Framingham State’s Homecoming football game ended in a 24-12 victory against Fitchburg State Oct. 3. This builds upon their undefeated record, standing at 2-0 in the conference and 3-0 overall. Sophomore Michael Marcucella said the Homecoming game meant a lot to the team because it was their first home game of the season. “It’s always great playing at Bowditch with a good atmosphere from the fans. I think it was special having families there - it's always nice playing in front of loved ones,” he added. The Rams won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Freshman Brandon Snyder’s kickoff landed at the 60-yard line for the Falcons. Fitchburg began their drive, but received a false start penalty and was unsuccessful at reaching the goal. The Rams started strong in their possession with a pass from Marcucella to freshman Xavier Beauchamp. Beauchamp rushed the ball the remaining yards and scored the first touchdown of the game. Junior Ty Kelley kicked a successful extra point, bringing the score to 7-0. The Falcons’ gained 17 yards in their next possession before the ball was turned back over to Framingham. Last graph on A1 Start here! Sophomore Darren Duclas rushed the ball 12 yards in the first and second downs, yet the Rams were unable to make it to the end zone. Kelley kicked a field goal, securing 3 points for FSU. This brought the score to 10-0, which remained unchanged for the rest of the first quarter. Fitchburg began the second quarter with a failure to gain yardage and a delay-of-game penalty. During their fourth down, the Falcons punted the ball, which was caught by senior Mathias Fowler and returned 6 yards. Both Framingham and Fitchburg passed through their next possessions inconsequentially. With the ball back with the Rams, multiple passes from Marcucella, as well as rushes by Beauchamp, moved Framingham closer to the end zone. A final pass from Marcucella to junior Ezane Zemene secured another touchdown for the Rams. Followed with an extra point by Kelley, the score rose to 17-0. Fitchburg was unable to move down the field and made a punt in the fourth down. The ball landed out of bounds near the 20-yard line, which is where Framingham began their next possession. Following an incomplete pass from Marcucella to Kelley, Marcucella was sacked for a loss of 7 yards. Fitchburg took a timeout before Snyder punted the ball in the fourth down. The Falcons received the ball at the 50-yard line and were unable to score before the second quarter ended. At the start of the second half, Fitchburg kicked off to the 14-yard line, and junior Nureini Mohamed returned it 11 yards. Sophomore Ransford Adri and Beauchamp managed to gain some yardage, but a pass from Marcucella in the third down was intercepted by Fitchburg. The Falcons struggled to gain yardage and ended their fourth down with a downed punt. Duclas began the Rams’ possession with a rush of nine yards total, which Fitchburg followed with a timeout. The clock restarted with more yards gained by both Adri and Duclas. On the fourth down with 1 yard to go, Marcucella made a victorious pass to junior Adrian Sarrette for a touchdown. Kelley’s kick once again earned an extra point. The score remained 24-0 for the remainder of the third quarter. The Falcons began a halfhearted comeback in the fourth quarter with a touchdown scored on their first possession. This brought the points to 24-6. The Rams were unable to score and the ball landed back in the Falcons’ control. A completed pass scored Fitchburg another touchdown with no extra point. The Falcons were unable to catch up to the Rams in the remainder of the fourth quarter, and the score remained at 24-12. Zemene said there was a special importance to the game as many of the team’s families and friends were in attendance. “Homecoming and playing at Bowditch meant a lot. We have been on the road for away games all of September and finally got a home game. We have two away games after that, so we knew we had to get the home crowd going,” Zemene added. He said, “We have had high hopes coming into this season. Seeing that we lost our [NCAA] playoff game last year by 3 points, we have always kept a high standard for ourselves. We are preparing hard this week and we are looking to go 9-0!” Senior Mathias Fowler said the Rams are motivated to be even stronger this season than last, as MASCAC champions. “Winning the MASCAC championship showed us what we’re capable of as a team and raised our expectations for this season,” he added. He said forming a good relationship with quarterback Marcucella helps them create better scoring opportunities. Marcucella said the team has “high hopes” for the rest of the season. “We expect to win every week and we expect to win the conference.” The Rams travel to Bridgewater State for their next conference matchup Oct. 9.
