LEICESTER, MASS. – A balanced rushing attack and outstanding front-seven defensive play lead Becker College to a 27-7 win against visiting Anna Maria College in ECFC football action on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. It was the first time in the program's history that Becker has won three games as the Hawks run their record to 3-6 with a 2-4 conference record. The AMCATS of Anna Maria drop to 1-8 and 0-6 in the ECFC.
Becker junior quarterback Robert Baker (Monroe, Conn.) threw for three touchdowns and five Hawks carried the ball, netting 261 rushing yards. Anna Maria senior quarterback Santino Simone (Worcester, Mass.) went 21-of-37 for 178 yards but was harried for most of the day by a Hawk defense that sacked him 11 times on the day.
The game was a grind in the early going, as heavy winds resulted in both teams struggling on offense. After the Hawks were forced to punt on the opening drive, the AMCATS took over at their own 42. Becker junior linebacker Melvin Booker (Roxbury, Mass.) sacked Simone on third down and the Hawks took advantage of a broken play on the ensuing punt attempt, getting the ball back at the Anna Maria 37 yard line. The AMCATS defense held, however, and a 28 yard field goal attempt by the Hawks went wide. Anna Maria went three-and-out, and Becker again took over with good field position at the AMCATS 46. Once again, the Hawks were unable to score against the staunch defense of the defense, turning the ball over on a failed fourth down conversion. The Becker defense forced another three-and-out, as sophomore defensive backDominick Whitley (Springfield, Mass.) successfully defended against the pass on a third-and-five, giving the Hawks the ball back. Baker couldn't get the offense running, however, and the AMCATS took over on another failed fourth down attempt.
On first down, Anna Maria attempted a reverse play that was perfectly read by the Hawks, with senior linebacker Kenneth Quist (Winthrop, Mass.) tackling the runner for a loss of 13. Three plays later the AMCATS would punt it back to Becker. The first quarter would end on the ensuing Hawk drive, and the Hawks would turn it over on downs for the third time on the day. Simone pushed Anna Maria into Hawk territory, but Becker senior linebacker Edward Guerrere (Monroe, Conn.) tackled the runner for a loss of seven on third down, and a 49 yard AMCAT field goal attempt was well short.
The Hawks went three-and-out, but appeared to catch a break on the ensuing drive when Reyes intercepted a Simone pass, returning it for good yardage. But multiple Becker penalties negated the play, giving Anna Maria 30 yards and a first down at the Hawks' 35. The Becker defense still refused to give in, and a 34 yard field goal attempt bounced off the right upright. The game remained scoreless.
The Becker offense finally came alive on the following drive. Freshman running back Matthew Romasco(Port St. Lucie, Fla.) exploded for a 31 yard rush to the AMCATS 15. On the very next play, Baker found Sanchez over the middle for a 15 yard touchdown completion, as the hosts finally got on the board at 7-0.
Anna Maria attempted to answer on the ensuing drive, going 46 yards down the field. But Booker sacked Simone again for a loss of eight on third down, forcing the punt and bringing the first half to a conclusion.
As the second half got underway, Booker made another great play to prevent a catch on third down. On Becker's first play from scrimmage, freshman running backJoseph Geck (Loxahatchee, Fla.) ran for 47 yards, deep into AMCAT territory. Two plays later, sophomore running back Kyle Gregg (Charlotte, N.C.) burst up the middle for a 24 yard touchdown run, and the Hawks took a 14-0 lead.
Anna Maria was forced to punt on the following drive, but a roughing the kicker penalty against Becker gave them a new set of downs at midfield. Going for it on fourth-and-two, Simone converted and another penalty against the Hawks gave the AMCATS first down at the Becker 25. On a third-and-five from the six, Simone dived for the corner of the endzone to get Anna Maria on the board for the first time, despite taking a hard hit on the play. The AMCATS had cut the Hawk lead to 14-7.
Becker pounded the ball on the ensuing drive, as five different Hawks recorded rushing attempts on the 11 play, 75 yard drive. Baker capped it off with a nine yard touchdown pass to senior running back and team captain Johnattan Rivera (Dracut, Mass.), and the hosts would go up 20-7 after a blocked extra-point by AMCAT junior linebacker Jordan Koehler (West Warwick, R.I.).
With Anna Maria driving to open the fourth quarter, Becker sophomore linebacker Christopher McCarthy (Deer Park, N.Y.) sacked Simone for an 11 yard loss on third down, forcing another punt. After a Becker three-and-out, Anna Maria was soon forced to punt again when their passing attack sputtered.
Facing a second-and-19, Baker completed a 29 yard pass to Sanchez to midfield for a first down to continue the drive. On third-and-14, AMCAT freshman defensive back Nick Cruz (South Kingstown, R.I.) made a great defensive play on the ball to prevent a completion to Becker sophomore wide receiver Corinthian Bostic(Jacksonville, Fla.), but the Hawk special teamers were locked in, downing the ball at the Anna Maria two yard line. Simone completed a 25 yard pass to sophomore tight end and team captain Josh Sundquist (Windham, Maine) for a big first down to the AMCAT 37 to give the visitors breathing room, but on the very next play McCarthy would tally his second sack of Simone of the day, pushing Anna Maria back ten yards and ultimately leading to another punt. On a Becker third-and-five, AMCAT sophomore defensive lineman Keagan Gorman (Newburyport, Mass.) sacked Baker for a loss of seven, forcing Becker to punt it away.
With Anna Maria running out of time, the AMCATS tried to go to the air to get back in the game. But back-to-back sacks by on third and fourth downs by Becker freshman linebacker Michael Calafiore (Franklin, N.J.) ended the threat as the Hawks took over on downs with 3:32 left. With Becker facing a fourth-and-11 at the Anna Maria 36, Baker found Sanchez again over the middle for 24 yards and a first down to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Baker hit Sanchez in the endzone from four yards out for his second score of the day to give the Hawks a 27-7 lead. Anna Maria would turn it over on downs and Becker took a knee to run out the clock.
The Hawk front seven carried the team for most of the first half and totaled a team-record 18 tackles-for-loss on the day. The eleven sacks in a game were also a program record, shattering the previous record for six. Anna Maria was held to a new total of negative nine yards rushing on 42 attempts. McCarthy totaled 14 tackles with two sacks and three tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Booker showed of his versatility with 13 tackles, two sacks and a pass break-up. Calafiore had a team-high three sacks, while Guerrere had nine tackles including half a sack. Quist and a trio of freshmen, linebacker Josh Lawrence (Manhattan, N.Y.), defensive lineman Philip Dozier (Norwich, Conn.) and defensive end Devante Brister (Charlotte, N.C.). Whitley had five tackles to lead the secondary.
Baker finished 14-of-30 for 131 yards with his three scores, two of them going to Sanchez, who had seven catches for 96 yards, accounting for 73 percent of Becker's receiving yards. Junior wide receiver Shaun Llewellyn (Bloomfield, Conn.) and freshman wide receiver Carlos Deleon (Manchester, Conn.) each finished with two catches. Five Hawks had between 43 and 59 rushing yards with Gregg leading the way with 59 yards on six attempts and a score. Geck had 57 yards, while Rivera added 54. Romasco contributed 48 while Baker ran for 43.
Anna Maria junior running back Robert Small (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) finished with 22 yards on 11 carries with four catches while Simone scored the AMCATS lone touchdown on the ground. Sandquist had 75 receiving yards on seven catches with Concepcion and freshman receiver Chris Bettano (Tewksbury, Mass.) each catching five balls. Koehler and sophomore linebacker Kevin Card (Deer Park, N.Y.) led the defense with 11 tackles each, with three of Koehler's tackles coming behind the line of scrimmage. Sophomore defensive back William Bishop (Uxbridge, Mass.) had eight tackles, while Gorman had six with a sack.
Becker will wrap up their season next Saturday when they host Norwich University at 12:00 p.m. Anna Maria will complete their season hosting Husson University, also next Saturday at noon.
