March 28, 2024
COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Mariners triumph to clinch divisional title

CASTINE – Junior fullback Jim Bower rushed for 229 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns, spearheading Maine Maritime Academy to a 66-32 victory over the Fitchburg State Falcons to clinch the New England Football Conference Bogan Division championship.

Maine Maritime Academy (7-3, 6-1 Bogan) will play host to Boyd Division winner Plymouth State in Saturday’s conference championship game at Ritchie Field. The winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

MMA broke school records for rushing touchdowns (8) and total yards (572) while rolling past Fitchburg State (4-6, 4-3). Bower ran for TDs of 15, 2 and 16 yards for the Mariners, who piled up 44 first-half points.

Todd Murphy netted 105 yards on three carries, while backup quarterback Matthew Rende, filling in for Tyler Angell, gained 80 yards on 10 attempts with scoring runs of 6 and 52 yards. Nick Bourassa picked up 62 yards on four carries, including a 56-yard TD jaunt.

Cody Andrews made nine tackles while Wade Mondoux (two interceptions) and Travis Fergola (one INT) each made eight each for the Mariners.

Fitchburg State 7 13 0 12 – 32

MMA 24 20 22 0 – 66

MMA – Farrin 27 run (Rende rush)

FSC – Thornton 75 kickoff return (Georgopoulos kick)

MMA – Rende 6 run (Bower rush)

MMA – Bower 15 run (Bower rush)

FSC – Miller 1 run (Georgopoulos kick)

MMA – Bourassa 56 run (rush failed)

FSC – Russell 78 pass from Miller (pass failed)

MMA – Murphy 56 run (rush failed)

MMA – Bower 2 run (Rende rush)

MMA – Bower 16 run (Bower rush)

MMA – Chadbourne 68 interception return (Brennan kick)

MMA – Rende 52 run (Brennan kick)

FSC – Jennings 16 pass from Cannava (rush failed)

FSC – De La Rosa 12 pass from Cannava (pass failed)

Husson 48, Becker 13

At Leicester, Mass., the tailback tandem of Julius Williams and Winslow’s Justin Lindiecombined for 406 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns as the Eagles ended their regular season with a resounding victory over the Hawks.

Husson appears to be a strong candidate for an ECAC bowl bid and may have an outside shot at earning an NCAA Division III at-large bid.

Williams rolled up 193 yards on 19 carries, including scoring runs of 1 and 27 yards. Lindie picked up 105 yards on 11 tries, turning in touchdown scampers of 46, 3 and 20 yards. He also returned a punt 51 yards for a score.

Quarterback James McCandless ran for a 19-yard TD and also completed 6 of 11 passes for 94 yards. Husson finished with 500 yards of total offense.

Darius Charlton was in on eight tackles for the Eagles, while Cory Smith made six hits, including a sack.

Husson (7-2) 6 28 14 0 – 48

Becker (2-7) 0 6 7 0 – 13

H – Lindie 46 run (kick blocked)

H – Williams 1 run (Gauthier kick)

H – Williams 27 run (Gauthier kick)

H – Lindie 51 punt return (Gauthier kick)

B – Faublas 45 pass from Prophet (kick failed)

H – McCandless 19 run (Gauthier kick)

H – Lindie 3 run (Gauthier kick)

B – Johnson 10 pass from Prophet (DiNardi kick)

H – Lindie 20 run (Gauthier kick)

Bowdoin 20, Colby 6

At Seaverns Field in Waterville, the Polar Bears scored 20 unanswered points en route to winning their third consecutive Colby-Bates-Bowdoin series title.

Bowdoin (4-4) 0 10 0 10 – 20

Colby (3-5) 6 0 0 0 – 6

C – Prunier 29 run (kick failed)

B – McNair 34 field goal

B – Welsh 4 pass from Kell (McNair kick)

B – Kell 6 run (McNair kick)

B – McNair 31 field goal

Bates 23, Hamilton 22

At Lewiston, the Bobcats scored on a 20-yard pass from Ryan Katon to Tom Beaton with 1:15 left to win their season finale.

Hamilton (2-6) 7 0 7 8 – 22

Bates (2-6) 0 9 6 8 – 23

H – Kleinklaus 20 pass from Eck (Taylor kick)

B – Katon 1 run (kick failed)

B -Segall-Abrams 38 field goal

H – Foster 20 pass from Eck (Taylor kick)

B – Beaton 19 pass from Katon (pass failed)

H – Isenberg 4 run (pass failed)

B – Beaton 20 pass from Katon (Smith pass from Katon)

H – Safety


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