Posted: Oct 15, 2011
BEVERLY, Mass. – On Endicott’s Homecoming Weekend, the Gulls football team turned in a 49-point offensive outburst while the defense held Plymouth State to 125 yards of total offense and zero points.
Endicott continued their record-setting start to the 2011 season by improving to 7-0 (4-0 NEFC Boyd). Plymouth State dropped to 4-3 (2-2 NEFC Boyd) following the loss. The Gulls move on to face NEFC Boyd Division opponent UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, September 22nd at 1:00 pm at Endicott Stadium. Plymouth State travels to division rival Western New England on the same day.
Senior running back Mike Lane (Medfield, Mass.) broke an Endicott record for touchdowns in a single game with four end zone scores against the Panthers. Lane’s 147-yard effort on the ground, his sixth straight game with at least 100 yards and a touchdown, was just part of Endicott’s 263 rushing yards.
The Blue and Green also saw junior Mike Wheeler (Hanover, Mass.) go for 60 yards and a 54-yard touchdown run and senior Topher Pochebit (Portland, Maine) add 48 yards on eight, fourth quarter touches.
On the defensive end, senior defensive end Kevin Eagan (West Hartford, Conn.) amassed 10 of his game-high 13 tackles in the first half while making two interceptions on quarterback hurries to give the Gulls possession. On his first interception, Eagan pressured the quarterback on a third and goal play deep in the Endicott zone. Eagan deflected Plymouth State quarterback Joey Avila’s (Gloucester, Mass.) pass and leapt in the air to intercept the ball. On the Panthers very next possession, Eagan made a diving pick after Gulls sophomore linebacker Andrew Holfinger (Sterling, Mass.) disrupted and deflected Avila’s pass attempt.
The Panthers offense was primarily conducted on the ground as Plymouth State totaled 50 rushes for 100 yards as a team. Senior tailback Chad Croteau (Weare, N.H.) made the biggest impact with 10 rushes for 44 yards while junior running back Andrew Foglia (Montauk, N.Y.) saw the most touches with 34 yards on 16 touches.
Plymouth State deferred to the second half after the coin toss and on Endicott’s first possession, the Gulls used a seven-play, 80-yard drive to get into the end zone. Endicott senior quarterback Phil Konopka (Shelton, Conn.) connected on 35-yard and 24-yard passing plays to Taylor Allen (Westboro, Mass.) and Mike Fimiani (Melrose, Mass.) to get the Gulls to the Plymouth State 16-yard line. Lane then ran on four straight plays, culminating in a four-yard TD run.
Later the first, the Panthers punted and a 26-yard return by junior Cameron Lett (Waltham, Mass.) set the Gulls up on the Plymouth State 36-yard line to start the drive. Lane rushed for 22 yards, then Konopka found Fimiani on a 14-yard route to the corner of the end zone to put Endicott up 14-0.
On Endicott’s first possession of the second quarter, the Blue and Green saw junior wide receiver Mike Murphy (Chelmsford, Mass.) earn a 19-yard catch and run followed by an 11-yard rush by Murphy out of the wildcat formation down to the three-yard line. Two plays later, Konopka succeeded on a QB sneak up the middle to make it 21-0.
After Eagan’s first interception, Konopka connected with senior receiver Ryan Carino (Stratford, Conn.) for 56-yards down to the Plymouth State 11-yard line before Lane ran it in on the next play. Endicott went up 28-0.
Eagan intercepted the ball again with 4:13 remaining in the opening half which put Endicott on the Panthers’ eight-yard line to start the drive. After an incomplete pass, Lane found the end zone from eight-yards out for his third touchdown of the game.
Endicott looked to add three points on the board midway through the third quarter as Dylan Rushe (Palos Verdes, Calif.) attempted a 24-yard field goal, but Plymouth State junior Ray Boulay (Keene, N.H.) blocked the kick which was recovered by Panthers sophomore Joel Youd (Shelton, Conn.).
Early in the fourth quarter, Lane tallied his final touchdown of the game on 10-play, 68-yard drive that saw Fimiani catch three balls for 34 yards with Lane finishing the drive off on a three-yard run.
Endicott scored their final points on Wheeler’s 54-yard touchdown right down the right sideline. Both plays on the drive were rushes by Wheeler who ran for six before the TD run.
Eagan led the Gulls defense with 13 tackles, two of which were for a loss of yards, but Peter Kallas (Beverly, Mass.), Chris Gogolos (Newburyport, Mass.) and Andrew Zani (Wnichester, Mass.) each contributed with eight, seven and seven tackles, respectively. Zani recorded Endicott’s lone sack on the day for a 12-yard loss.
Eagan had two of Endicott’s three interceptions. The third was a third quarter pick by sophomore linebacker Matt Schafer (Mansfield, Mass.).
Plymouth State was led defensively by senior defensive back Christian Mulcahy (Norwich, Conn.) who had a team-high eight tackles, five of which were solo. Mulcahy also forced an turnover with an interception on Konopka late in the first quarter. Mark Hennessey (Westford, Mass.) and Youd each had solid games with seven tackles apiece.
