LEICESTER, Mass. (September 5, 2014) – The Fitchburg State football team opened its 2014 season this evening, posting 360 yards of total offense and four touchdowns en-route to a 28-6 victory over Becker College at a packed Alumni Field..
Fitchburg State opened with the scoring on their opening possession, embarking on an eight-play, 63 yard drive as sophomore quarterback Garrett Delllechiaie (Leominster, Mass.) hit Ty Spencer (Foxboro, Mass.) with a three yard TD swing pass to the right side for the 7-0 advantage.
The Falcons doubled their lead (14-0) with 4:55 remaining in the first quarter when Dellachiaie connected with sophomore Devin Summiel (Tewksbury, Mass.) down the middle of field for a 67 yd TD pass in just two plays, 0:49 seconds before making it 21-0 on a Dellechiaie to Phillip Saint Juste (New Rochelle, N.Y.) 31 yd TD reception.
The Green and Gold capped the scoring in the first half as Spencer found the end zone for the second time on a 31 yd catch and run up the left side following an interception by junior Asante Easter (Taunton, Mass.) at the Becker 31 yard line to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.
Following intermission, both teams proceeded to trade possessions throughout the half, until Becker broke its scoring silence with just eight ticks remaining in the contest as freshman Nasir Sinkfield-Shelton (New Rochelle, N.Y.) capped a seven-play, 55 yard drive with a one yard touchdown rush, resulting in the 28-6 final.
Dellechiaie led the Falcons offensively, going 14-21 through the air with 237 yards and four touchdowns on the evening, while Spencer finished with six catches for 79 yards and a pair of TD's. Junior Kendall Perry (Central Falls, R.I.) was also solid on the rrushing end with 11 carries for 63 yards, while senior Talib Barksdale (Hudson, N.Y) finished with a team-best ninen tackles (5 solo, 4 assists) and one interception.
The Hawks were led offensively by Sinkfield-Shelton, who went 5-for-10 through the air and 39 yards as well as 47 yards on the ground and one score, while junior Nicholas Sherman (Hartford, Conn.) finished with three grabs for 68 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Anthony Kaplan (Yorktown Height, N.Y.) finished the evening with a team-best 11 tackles (6 solo, 5 assists) as well as three sacks.
Fitchburg State (1-0, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action next Friday as it hosts the Colonels of Curry College at 7 p.m. Becker (0-1, 0-0 ECFC) will visit MIT on Saturday at 1 p.m.
