Oct. 11, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Plymouth State University ran the ball 36 times for 395 yards and five touchdowns as the Panthers downed Endicott College, 36-14, in an NEFC Boyd contest in Beverly, Massachusetts. Senior running back Jeff Mack (Milford, N.H.) accounted for 22 of the carries and 228 yards with three scores. The Panthers only attempted three passes in the win.
Mack and the PSU offense wasted no time getting on the board as the Panther defense forced a three and out, and then the offense quickly covered 61 yards on seven plays for a score. Senior quarterback John DeMarco (Milford, N.H.) capped off the drive as he called his own number on the goal line with a keeper, plunging across the plane for the score. Chris Dopp (Epson, N.H.) would go on to miss the PAT to keep the game 6-0.
Plymouth State and Endicott traded the next two possessions as each team sputtered offensively. With 5:43 left in the opening quarter, Endicott's Christopher Brennan (East Longmeadow, Mass.) came on to punt, however mishandled the snap and was quickly dragged down on his own eight yard line where the Panthers took over first and goal. It took just two plays, both rushes by Mack, for PSU to double its advantage to 12-0. Dopp's point after successfully sailed through the uprights for 13-0 lead.
The Plymouth State offense wasn't done in the first quarter as the Panthers continued with its steady dose of Mack. The senior running back bounced around the outside and charged his way into the endzone with just 41 seconds left in the first for the 20-0 lead. A stalemate of a second quarter eventually came to a close with a 19 yard field goal from Dopp to give Plymouth a 23-0 lead at the break. The PSU special teams were able to race in from the sideline, lineup, and boot the three-points in a span of 15 seconds to close out the frame.
Plymouth State stuck to the game plan and continued its ground assault in the third quarter. Jeff Mack put the Panthers up 30-0 as he took a handoff and raced off tackle to scamper down the sideline for a 59 yard score. Plymouth State would lead by the same margin entering the fourth.
The visitors made it a 36 point game just 4:09 into the final stanza as backup quarterback J.J. Brooks (Seabrook, N.H.) bootlegged to his right for a six yard rushing score. Despite the insurmountable deficit, Endicott fired back as it got on the board with a 12 play, 69 yard drive capped off with a five yard rush from quarterback Phil Konopka (Shelton, Conn.).
After a Panthers' punt on the next possession, Endicott went into its hurry-up offense and proceeded to march down the field with a Mike Lane (Medfield, Mass.) 22 yard run and back-to-back 15 yard completions by Matt DeOliveira (Malden, Mass.). Freshman Mike Fimiani (Melrose, Mass.) rushed nine yards to the left side to end the scoring at 36-14.
Jeff Mack ended the day with 228 yards on 22 carries for three touchdowns. Mack averaged 10.3 yards per carry in the win. Quarterback John DeMarco, who only attempted three passes and completed none of them, ran 16 times for 80 yards and a score. The Panthers offense called 65 plays, 62 of the rushing variety, and rattled off 395 yards on Saturday.
Endicott's offense was led by Mike Lane's 29 yards on eight carries. Phil Konopka was 12-of-23 for 90 yards. The Gulls could only muster 159 total yards on 51 plays.
Plymouth State was led by Jim Sestito (Foxborough, Mass.) who had 3.5 total tackles, two sacks and a total of 20 yards lost on takedowns. Mike Lannon (Sharon, Mass.) had two solo and four assisted tackles for 4.0 total. Endicott's Kevin Eagan (West Hartford, Conn.) had six solo and 10 assisted for 11.0 total tackles and a loss of two yards.
Plymouth State (5-1, 3-0 NEFC Boyd) returns to action at Nichols College on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Endicott (2-4, 1-2 NEFC Boyd) looks to knock off Curry College on homecoming weekend beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in Beverly.
