By Jose Carrasquillo
On Oct. 21, Framingham hosted Westfield in a closely contested MASCAC matchup. Westfield State and the Rams both went three-and-out to get the game started.
On the ensuing drive, the Owls used a rushing attack for seven consecutive plays for 28 yards. Following an incompletion and a sack on Jake Cassidy, he picked up 22 yards on the ground for a fourth-down conversion. Travon Holder rushed on back-to-back plays for four yards ,moving the ball into the red zone. Cassidy 6nished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown strike to Tyler Bevan.
The Rams attempted to respond with three consecutive rushes to begin their drive. Their momentum came to an end due to a Zakery Walker interception.
The Owls couldn’t capitalize off the turnover, as they threw an interception on the second play of the drive. Thomas Burns returned the interception 32 yards to the Westfield State eight-yard line.
To open the drive, Quron Wright rushed on back-to-back plays for six yards. From third-and-goal, Sebastian Robert finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush.
The Owls struggled on offense, as they allowed a sack following a pass interference call against Framingham which forced a third-and-long situation. Following a short two-yard completion, Cody Cleveland punted the ball to the Rams. The Rams’ Napoleon Miller fumbled the punt giving the ball back to the Owls.
Cassidy was sacked to begin the Owls’ drive. After a Holder loss of two on the ground, the Rams’ defense performed a scoop-and-score caused by Campbell Marchant, who strip-sacked Cassidy. Jack Sullivan returned the fumble for a touchdown. Framingham failed to convert the two-point conversion to keep the lead at 13-7.
Westfield State opened the next drive with back-to-back rushes from Holder for 24 yards. On the 23-yard rush, Framingham was called for a pass interference penalty to advance the ball to the 50-yard line. Following a Phil Cohen loss of five yards due to fumbling the ball, he threw an interception that was returned 50 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Nate Fleming. Framingham failed another two-point conversion, making the lead to 19-7.
The Owls tried regaining momentum through the air after a one-yard rush from Holder to open the drive. Cassidy connected with Bailey Raymond for 56 yards, which moved the ball to the Framingham 23-yard line. On first-and-20, Bevan gained one yard, but the Owls were called for unsportsmanlike conduct. From there the offense stalled and had to punt the ball after three plays.
On the next drive, Adam Wojenski threw an interception to William Tejeda for a 16-yard touchdown. The touchdown cut the de6cit to 19-14 for Westfield State.
Framingham began the drive with back-to-back rushes from Wright for gains of six and eight yards, respectively. Wojenski connected with Nasir Thomas for a gain of 11 yards. Wright gained 14 yards on three consecutive rushes to keep the chains moving. Wojenski then scrambled for six yards to convert on third down. Wright failed to gain any yards on the rush, but Framingham was called for a holding penalty. Framingham failed to keep the momentum going, by ending their drive with two incompletions and no gain on the rush attempt. Ryan Clifford’s 34-yard 6eld goal attempt missed wide right ending the Rams’ drive with no points gained.
The Owls couldn’t capitalize as they went three-and-out before the half ended with a score of 19-14.
The Rams began the drive with rushes from Stephen Beahn and Wojenski for six yards combined. Following a Wojenski completion for four yards, Wright rushed for two yards. On second-and-long, Wojenski connected with Khaneil Bruce for nine yards. Following a short gain of two from Wright, Wojenski connected with Wright for a gain of 39 yards. After the huge gain, Wojenski tried targeting Miller, but the Rams were called for a holding penalty. Before the Rams could run another play, they were called for a false start penalty, moving the ball back another five yards. Wojenski connected with Thomas for five yards, forcing a third-and-long situation. Wojenski completed a 21-yard touchdown pass, but it was brought back due to an illegal forward pass penalty. Clifford capped the drive off with a 40-yard field goal, extending the lead to 22-14.
West6eld’s offensive struggles continued, as they ran two plays before Cassidy threw an interception to Cody Wlasuk.
After a Wojenski incompletion, Wright gained a yard on the ground forcing third down. Wojenski finished the drive off with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Bruce, extending the lead to 29-14.
Framingham and West6eld State continued trading field positions through interceptions and punts throughout the 6nal quarter. Both sides failed to score ending the game with a final score of 29-14.
With the win, Framingham extended their undefeated record at home to 3-0. Wright and Robert led the way for the Rams with 32 combined carries for 140 yards.