WORCESTER, Mass. --- Senior Tony Tokarz piled up 249 yards of total offense ad five touchdowns to lead Worcester State past Maine Maritime 39-22 in New England Football Conference Bogan Division action. The Lancers (5-0, 2-0) snapped a two-game skid against the Mariners (3-1, 1-1) to maintain their series lead, 12-10.
Tokarz was 13-of-25 with two interceptions and 209 passing yards. He rushed in for a pair as well, including a three-yard scamper in the second quarter that put Worcester ahead for good. Kenny Russell and freshman Casey Hippert both hauled in five passes and each posted 92 yards. The pair accounted for all three of Tokarz's scores through the air, with Russell scoring twice.
Lancers' senior Marcus Price posted his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game as he finished with 148 yards on 33 carries with one touchdown.
Mariners' quarterback, Matt Rende (Augusta, Maine) rushed 22 times for 135 yards and two scores, while sophomore Ian Champeon (Dover-Foxcroft, Maine) added 75 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, Cameron Jones was at the tip of the spear for the Lancers recording a game-best 13 tackles (eight solo) with a forced fumble. PJ Robinson registered 12 tackles (seven solo), 2.5 for a loss and one pass break-up. Freshman Justin Sundara finished his afternoon with six tackles, three for a loss and one fumble recovery.
For the Mariners senior Chris Brawn (Winslow, Maine) had a team-high eight-tackles (seven solo) as he put up totals of 1.5 tackles for a loss and the contest's only sack. Sophomore John Regis (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) ended the game with four solo tackles and two tackles for a loss, while Joel Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) notched six tackles (five solo), picked off one pass and recovered one fumble.
Maine Maritime opened the game's scoring with a six play, 69-yard drive capped off by a Rende 28-yard touchdown burst at the 11:57 mark in the first quarter. The Lancers responded with a 10-yard jaunt by Price with six minutes later on their third series of the contest. Bill Wetherbee (Veazie, Maine) blocked the extra point. It was his fourth block of the season
After the Mariners went three and out, MMA forced Tokarz to throw an interception to close out the opening quarter.
On the first play of the second, Andrew Tokarz forced a Maine Maritime fumble to set-up a three-yard score by Tony Tokarz for the 12-7 advantage at the 11:10 mark.
The two squads traded possessions before the Mariners marched 73-yards into Lancer territory, threatening from the seven yard-line. The hosts made an impressive goalline stand, forcing an incompletion on fourth and long.
After Tokarz was picked off on third-down in his own territory, Maine Maritime again found itself in prime position on the WSU seven. Worcester State's defense, however, used the dwindling time in the first half to help itself out with another stop – including a pair of incomplete passes.
Maine Maritime broke through late in the third quarter on Rende's second touchdown of the afternoon. The Mariners bumped the score to the 39-22 final when Champeon rumbled into the end zone on a four-yard carry late in the fourth.
The Lancers had a balanced attack with 192 yards on the ground and 192 yards passing. The Mariners rushed for 337 yards. Maine Maritime was limited to 5-of-15 on third downs and 1-of-3 on fourth downs. The Lancers converted half of their 16 third downs in the game.
Both team return to their respective Bogan Division schedules next Saturday on the road. Worcester State heads to Mass Maritime for a 12 PM game while the Mariners will play Westfield State at 1 o'clock.
| Score by Quarters |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Score |
|
| Maine Maritime |
7 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
22 |
Record: (3-1,1-1) |
| Worcester State |
6 |
6 |
20 |
7 |
39 |
Record: (5-0,2-0) |
| 1st |
11:57 |
MEM |
Matthew Rende 28 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 6-69 3:03, MEM 7 - WOR 0 |
| |
06:34 |
WOR |
Marcus Price 10 yd run (Derek Muccini kick blockd), 5-50 1:55, MEM 7 - WOR 6 |
| 2nd |
11:10 |
WOR |
Tony Tokarz 3 yd run (Derek Muccini kick failed), 8-30 3:37, MEM 7 - WOR 12 |
| 3rd |
12:08 |
WOR |
Casey Hippert 12 yd pass from Tony Tokarz (Marcus Price rush failed), 7-53 2:43, MEM 7 - WOR 18 |
| |
08:42 |
WOR |
Kenny Russell 33 yd pass from Tony Tokarz (Derek Muccini kick), 6-56 1:46, MEM 7 - WOR 25 |
| |
03:16 |
WOR |
Tony Tokarz 11 yd run (Derek Muccini kick), 7-42 3:32, MEM 7 - WOR 32 |
| |
01:01 |
MEM |
Matthew Rende 10 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 5-70 2:08, MEM 14 - WOR 32 |
| 4th |
08:55 |
WOR |
Kenny Russell 35 yd pass from Tony Tokarz (Derek Muccini kick), 5-57 2:33, MEM 14 - WOR 39 |
| |
05:44 |
MEM |
Ian Champeon 4 yd run (Ian Champeon rush), 7-57 2:07, MEM 22 - WOR 39 |
| |
MEM |
WOR |
| FIRST DOWNS |
16 |
19 |
| RUSHES-YARDS (NET) |
55-337 |
45-192 |
| PASSING YDS (NET) |
42 |
209 |
| Passes Att-Comp-Int |
13-3-0 |
25-13-2 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS |
68-379 |
70-401 |
| Fumble Returns-Yards |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Punt Returns-Yards |
1-3 |
2-20 |
| Kickoff Returns-Yards |
7-89 |
3-118 |
| Interception Returns-Yards |
2-14 |
0-0 |
| Punts (Number-Avg) |
6-31.0 |
3-35.7 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
5-2 |
1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards |
2-25 |
6-61 |
| Possession Time |
29:56 |
30:04 |
| Third-Down Conversions |
5 of 15 |
8 of 16 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions |
1 of 3 |
1 of 2 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances |
2-4 |
4-5 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards |
1-6 |
0-0 |
RUSHING: Maine Maritime-Matthew Rende 22-135; Bill Wetherbee 9-82; Ian Champeon 13-75; Nick Bourassa 8-27; Chase Hutchinso 1-16; TEAM 2-2. Worcester State-Marcus Price 33-148; Tony Tokarz 7-40; Kemani Jones 2-7; TEAM 3-minus 3.
PASSING: Maine Maritime-Matthew Rende 3-13-0-42. Worcester State-Tony Tokarz 13-25-2-209.
RECEIVING: Maine Maritime-Nate Duford 2-25; Nick Bourassa 1-17. Worcester State-Kenny Russell 5-92; Casey Hippert 5-92; AJ Scerra 3-25.
INTERCEPTIONS: Maine Maritime-Joel Chadbourne 1-14; Ryan Williams 1-0. Worcester State-None.
FUMBLES: Maine Maritime-TEAM 2-1; Matthew Rende 1-0; Ian Champeon 1-1; Nate Duford 1-0. Worcester State-Kemani Jones 1-1.
SACKS (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Chris Brawn 1-0. Worcester State-None.
TACKLES (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Chris Brawn 7-1; Joel Chadbourne 5-1; Ryan Williams 4-2; Frank True 3-2; John Regis 4-0; Wade Severance 4-0; Brock Lawrence 4-0; Michael Burgess 3-1; Nick Cawood 3-0; Alex Hermes 3-0; Andrew Hammond 2-1; Matthew Ball 2-0; Michael Brennan 1-0; C. Hale 1-0; Evan Sinclair 1-0; Ryan O'Neal 1-0. Worcester State-Cameron Jones 8-5; PJ Robinson 7-5; Andrew Tokarz 5-2; Justin Sundara 4-2; C. Oratokhai 4-1; Ray St. Laurent 4-1; Graham Asum 2-2; T. Omoegbekuse 3-0; Marlon Webb 3-0; Steve Hennessey 2-1; Tyler Asam 1-1; Josh Key 1-1; Taylor Santos 1-0; Richie Dube 1-0; Nick Garnett 1-0; Marcus Price 1-0; Raquale Burnett 1-0; Teddy Ferreira 0-1.
