By Riley Crowell Asst. Sports Editor The Framingham State Rams defeated the Worcester State Lancers 30-20 in a thrilling MASCAC matchup at Bowditch Field Nov. 16. This game was both the season finale and Senior Day for Framingham. The Rams’ seniors were celebrated before the game and given a happy send-off by getting back in the win column in their final game. With the victory, Framingham concluded their season with an overall record of 3-7 and a conference record of 3-6. Worcester received the opening kickoff and returned it to their own 34-yard line, where they would begin their first offensive drive. On the first play of the drive, Lancers’ quarterback Cam Ayotte completed a pass to a wide-open Lance Williams in the middle of the field, who outran the Rams’ defenders to the endzone for a 66-yard touchdown, giving Worcester a 6-0 advantage in the blink of an eye. The next four drives were scoreless for both teams. Framingham’s two drives ended in a turnover on downs and a punt. Worcester’s two drives ended in an interception and a punt. On fourth-and-goal of the Rams’ next offensive drive, they attempted a trick play in which the ball was handed off to senior offensive lineman Bryant Bowman, but he was turned back by the Worcester defense at the goal line to preserve the Lancers’ 6-0 lead. Although Framingham turned the ball over on downs, it left Worcester in a tough spot. The Lancers had to begin their next drive from their own 1-yard line. The disadvantageous field position immediately hurt Worcester. Ayotte attempted to sneak through the Rams’ defensive line, but was tackled in his own end zone by freshman defensive back Tyrell Fuller, resulting in a safety and cutting the Lancers’ lead to 6-2. The following offensive drive for the Rams was productive, but ended in an interception. The Lancers regained possession with 10:08 to play in the second quarter, but it wouldn’t last for long. After picking up a first down due to a Framingham holding penalty, Worcester attempted to run the ball on first-and-10. Freshman safety James Wilder ripped the ball out of the arms of the Lancers’ running back, forcing a fumble that was also recovered by Wilder to quickly give possession back to the Rams. Framingham started their next drive at the Worcester 41-yard line with 9:01 remaining in the second quarter. On first-and-10, senior quarterback EJ Nichols looked to pass and was given all day to throw by his offensive line. Nichols spotted sophomore wide receiver Stephen Gallant running down the sideline and completed a 35-yard pass to him, setting the Rams up for first-and-goal at the Worcester 6-yard line. After two 2-yard runs by senior running back BiBi Ramos, Nichols ran the ball into the end zone for a Framingham touchdown and gave the Rams an 8-6 advantage over the Lancers. Nichols said rushing the ball as a quarterback is one of his biggest strengths and he enjoys improvising on the fly. Senior kicker Matt Farley converted the extra point to extend Framingham’s lead to 9-6 with 7:02 remaining in the second quarter. Worcester’s next drive resulted in a punt, giving the ball back to Framingham at their own 30-yard line with 3:35 to play in the second quarter. After an 8-yard completion by Nichols to sophomore wide receiver Ayden Ramirez, junior running back Camari Glasgow received the handoff on second down and explosively ran up the middle for a 24-yard gain, requiring the efforts of five Lancers’ defenders to bring him down. Nichols then completed passes to sophomore wide receiver Noah Demoranville, Glasgow, and sophomore wide receiver Alex Maia to advance the Rams to the Worcester 17-yard line. On third-and-1, Glasgow received the handoff, dodged an attempted tackle at the line of scrimmage, then shifted left and weaved his way through the defense to reach the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown rush. Farley once again booted the ball through the uprights for the extra point, extending the Rams’ lead to 16-6 with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter. On Worcester’s next drive, two sacks by freshman defensive lineman Mitchell Purter and one by junior defensive end Kymauny Roland shut down the Lancers’ attempt to score before the half ended and sent the Rams into halftime up 16-6. Framingham received the ball to begin the second half and immediately got to work. A 10-play, 74-yard drive filled with productive runs by Nichols and Ramos was capped off when Nichols completed a pass with pinpoint accuracy over the middle of the field to Ramirez, who ran the ball into the endzone for a 28-yard completion and Rams touchdown. Farley’s extra point gave Framingham a 23-6 lead with 10:19 remaining in the third quarter. On Worcester’s fifth play of their next drive, Ayotte fumbled the snap. The ball was immediately dived on by freshman defensive lineman Korrey Barron to give possession back to the Rams. Both offenses would fall flat over the following five possessions. Drives ending in interceptions, turnovers on downs, and a punt held the score at 23-6 Framingham with 10:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. Following the offensive lull from both teams, Worcester began to mount a comeback. The Lancers found themselves in excellent field position following an interception and 41-yard return by linebacker John McMasters that allowed them to begin their drive at the Framingham 15-yard line. A 14-yard run by Drew von Klock and a 1-yard run by Nico Holmes led to a touchdown for Worcester. The extra point by kicker Manuel Freitas cut the Rams’ lead to 23-13 with 10:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. Framingham received the ensuing kickoff and picked up two first downs on their next drive, but turned the ball over on downs when Nichols was turned back by the Worcester defense at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-2. The Lancers regained possession of the ball with 3:39 remaining in the fourth quarter and began the drive from their own 32-yard line. Worcester marched the ball down the field thanks to consecutive pass completions of 14, 37, and 16 yards, which set up a first-and-goal at the Framingham 1-yard line. Holmes received the handoff from Ayotte with an open path to the endzone and took it in for another Lancers touchdown. Freitas’ extra point cut the Rams’ lead to 23-20 with just 2:17 remaining in the game. On the following kickoff, chaos would ensue as Worcester attempted an onside kick. The Lancers recovered the onside kick, but the referees ruled that the ball had only traveled nine yards before being recovered, one yard short of the required 10. Worcester players and coaches pleaded with the referees to change the call, but to no avail. Framingham regained possession of the ball at the Worcester 44-yard line. On first-and-10, Glasgow received the handoff from Nichols and ran right, before cutting to his left and finding a gap that allowed him to run the ball 39 yards to the Lancers’ 5-yard line. Following two Worcester penalties, the Rams were set up for first-and-goal at the Worcester 1-yard line. Nichols received the snap and ran the ball into the end zone for a Framingham touchdown. Farley’s extra point gave the Rams a 30-20 advantage with 1:37 remaining in the game. On the Lancers’ final drive of the game, Ayotte attempted a pass that was intercepted by senior cornerback Bryce Williams to cement Framingham’s win over Worcester. After a season filled with growing pains and struggles, the Rams shared how good it feels to end the season with a win. Nichols said, “It feels great. … That was the ultimate goal coming in.” Roland said, “It always feels good. You can never take that away.” Glasgow said, “There’s no better feeling. Giving it your all for everybody who sacrificed from camp to now - there’s no better feeling than going out with a win.” Head Coach Thomas Kelley said, “I told the team before the game that I was proud of them. When I met with them after the game, I reiterated how proud I was. I’m so happy for the seniors. “I asked them to dig down, it was one of those seasons where they could have packed it in at any time, but they didn't. They kept on coming to work and hard work paid off,” he added. Framingham’s 30 points in the victory is the most they’ve scored in a game this season. Their 354 rushing yards is the most they’ve had in a game since 2021, when they had 358 rushing yards in their matchup with Worcester. Glasgow entered the game with 98 rushing yards this season and more than doubled his season total with his 137 rushing yards against Worcester. He said the keys to success were “trusting my offensive line, trusting coach’s play calls, and just staying true to my game.” Kelley said, “We’ve been decimated with injuries. … We needed to run the ball today. BiBi Ramos was back [from injury], so we spread it out a little bit. I just think it was some great effort, not only by Glasgow, but the entire offensive line.” Nichols finished the game with 196 passing yards and one passing touchdown, along with 77 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Kelley said, “He stepped up. If that wasn’t a character game for anybody else, it certainly was for him. He just showed his leadership and what kind of athlete he is. He did what it took to win this football game.” Upon concluding his career with the Rams, Nichols said his biggest takeaways from his experience at FSU are “family connections and coach reiterating responding to adversity. We always get knocked down and get back up. We always figure it out. … That’s really what I have to take into life.” The superb efforts of Nichols, Bowman, Barron, and freshman punter Makoto Uchikawa earned them MASCAC Second Team All-Conference honors this season. Looking ahead to the 2025 season, there is a sense of optimism regarding the future of the FSU football program. Roland said the community can expect more wins in his senior campaign next season. Kelley said, “We’re in stage one of a total rebuild. … If these guys stick with the program and what we’ve got them doing, this is going to be a special group.” Glasgow said, “Expect me to be back. Expect me to come back better. Expect the RB [running back] room to be better. Expect the team to be better. We’re coming for everything next year.”