Beverly, Mass. - Junior \#Mike Lane\#'s (Medfield, Mass.) workhorse performance at the running back position, junior \#Nick Scozzaro\#'s (Wellington, Fla.) key plays on the defensive side of the ball, and freshman \#Dylan Rushe\#'s (Palos Verdes, Calif.) flawless kicking game helped to give the Endicott football team a 23-15 victory over Western New England College this past weekend. For their efforts, the New England Football Conference named them Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.
Mike Lane rushed, caught, and returned kickoffs for the Gulls against WNEC and amassed 272 all-purpose yards. Lane rushed 47 times for 172 yards, caught three passes for 18 yards, and returned three kickoffs for 71 yards in a dominating offensive performance. His efforts on the ground helped set up the passing game with two touchdown receptions inside the 10 yard line. Lane's longest rush of the day was 20 yards, but had seven runs of over 10 yards. He now ranks fifth in the NEFC in rushing yards (858).
Nick Scozzaro came up with three crucial sacks and recorded an interception against the Golden Bears on Saturday. Scozzaro also tallied 10 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss of 36 yards. Seven of his 10 tackles were solo takedowns. One sack came on third down to force a punt and his final sack ended the game for WNEC on fourth down.
Dylan Rushe scored 11 points against the Golden Bears by going 3-of-3 on field goal attempts and 2-of-2 on extra points. The freshman hit crucial field attempts of 30, 38, and 23 yards to keep the Gulls in the lead. It was the second time this season Rushe had made all three field goal attempts he took. He previously accomplished the feat in Endicott's victory over Salve Regina back on September 25. Rushe leads the conference in points with 62 on 12 field goals and 26 extra points.
The Blue and Green are now 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the NEFC. They took over first place in the conference following their victory over WNEC and will play their final regular season game on Saturday, November 6 against MIT at 5:00 pm at Endicott Stadium.