WESTFIELD – Junior quarterback Phil Cohen (Valley/Old Lyme/Old Lyme, Conn.) plunged in from one-yard out in overtime and freshman kicker Norman Carroll (Central/Springfield, Mass.) added the extra point to give Westfield State University a hard-fought, 14-13 overtime win over previously unbeaten Plymouth State to give a homecoming crowd its money’s worth at Alumni Field on a drizzly Saturday afternoon.
The dramatic finish belied a game that lacked in offense for the first half. The two teams combined for just 151 yards and seven punts in the first 30 minutes. Plymouth State scored the only points of the first half when Zach Ziemba (West/Manchester, NH) rushed in from the left side to block John Ollari’s punt, and Prince Gbaley recovered the block in the back of the end zone to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead after Jeff Madden connected on the extra point.
Westfield State football players hoist freshman kicker Norman Carroll onto their shoulders in celebration as his extra point in overtime gave Westfield a 14-13 win over previously unbeaten Plymouth State at Westfield 2016 homecoming game. (Kiley Berube photo)
Westfield lost starting quarterback Justin Beck (Billerica, Mass.) and reserve Shawn Brathwaite (Kurt Hahn/Brooklyn, NY) to injury during the game. Cohen came in in relief and lofted a 52- yard touchdown pass to freshman wideout Evan Garvey (Wachonah/Dalton, Mass.) down the right side of the field to tie the game at 7-7 after the Carroll extra point try.
Westfield missed a chance grab the lead with a minute left in regulation time, recovering a fumble and driving to the Plymouth State nine-yard line, but Carroll’s field goal try was wide right under heavy pressure from the Plymouth State rush.
The Panthers (4-1, 2-1 MASCAC) converted on their first possession in the overtime, scoring on three yard touchdown run from Mitch Banuskevich (Milford, NH), but the extra point try sailed wide.
Westfield (2-2, 1-1 MASCAC) answered on its first overtime possession, with Cohen connecting with running back Travon Holder (Cheney Tech/Hartford, Conn.) on a swing pass for 10 yards, and a roughing the passer penalty gave Westfield State a first-down at the Plymouth 7-yard line. Holder came up inches short on the next play, a nice cut back run to the right side. Cohen finished the job on the next play, plunging in from a yard out. Carroll booted the extra point to seal the win for Westfield.
Cohen finished 8-12 passing for 92 yards and TD. Holder finished with 41 yards rushing on 18 carries, and Garvey caught six passes for 85 yards for Westfield. Zach Howard (David Prouty/Spencer, Mass.) led the Owls defense with 14 tackles. Shawn Grant (Manchester, Conn.) added 10 stops, while Don Murphy (Holliston/Newton, Mass.) had a big game with eight tackles, half a sack and a fumble recovery.
Plymouth quarterback Zack Edwards (Tantasqua/Brookfield, Mass.) completed 11 of 19 passes for 88 yards. David Hamilton (West Deptford/Westville, NJ) was the Panthers leading rusher with 37 yards on 13 carries as Westfield held Plymouth to 154 yards of total offense.
Ziemba finished with 12 tackles for Plymouth including 2.5 tackles for losses. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
