SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Endicott held a 7-6 advantage at halftime, but No. 21 nationally ranked Western New England University (WNEU) rallied in the second half to earn a hard-fought 19-13 victory over the Gulls.

Endicott struck first at the 2:18 mark of the opening quarter as sophomore quarterback Sam Ouellette (Rochester, N.H.) and Jacob Simons (Barrington, R.I.) connected for a nine-yard touchdown to complete a five-play, 86-yard drive (1:55).

Freshman running back Johari Johnson (Rockville, Md.) set up the scoring opportunity for the Gulls with a career-long 54-yard rushing attempt on the fourth play of the drive.

Defensively in the first half, the Gulls stymied the Golden Bears' offense for seven straight drives to start the contest before WNEU finally cracked the scoreboard at 2:26 to begin a string of three unanswered scores for the hosts.

Quarterback Tyler Ward (Wyckoff, N.J.) capped WNEU's first scoring drive (6 plays, 22 yards, 1:01 elapsed) with a three-yard touchdown pass to Andy St. Fleur (Norwalk, Conn.), but a failed PAT by the Golden Bears put the score at 7-6 at the break.

In the second half, sophomore Mark Dietrich (Cheshire, Conn.) gave the Golden Bears some added momentum with an 80-yard touchdown reception (12:04, third), while Ward found St. Fleur again for a score, this time with a 23-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter (12:25) to take a 19-7 lead late in the game.

The Gulls cut into the deficit at the 7:38 mark of the fourth as Ouellette and Simons found paydirt for the second time in the matchup with an eight-yard touchdown that wrapped up an eight-play 79-yard drive (4:38 elapsed).

WNEU then missed a 38-yard field goal on its ensuing drive with 4:10 remaining before holding off the Gulls down the stretch on their final drive, which consumed 2:51 off the clock, ten plays, and 36 yards.

ENDICOTT OFFENSE

• Endicott compiled 418 total yards on offense, its second highest total this season.
• Ouellette completed 22 of his 42 passing attempts, threw for two touchdowns (two interceptions), and 239 yards (six yards shy of his career high).
• Oullette registered at least one pass to seven wide receivers in the loss.
• On the ground, the Gulls registered 179 yards rushing, which was headlined by Lavante Wiggins' (Dalton, Mass.) team-high 76 yards.
• Johnsons finished second on the team with 72 yards rushing.
• Simons hauled in a single-game career-high two touchdowns on four receptions, and 56 yards (long 24).
• Simons has now scored in back-to-back games for the Gulls.
• Junior Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) caught four passes for a team-high 67 yards, while classmate Jake Pelletier (Trumbull, Conn.) had a team-high five receptions for 54 yards (long 37).

WNEU OFFENSE

• Ward finished the day going 15-for-31 passing with three touchdowns, and 233 yards.
• Ward also completed passes to seven different targets in the win.
• Nick Connell (East Marion, N.Y.) paced all rushers with 116 yards on 26 attempts.
• St. Fleur accumulated 61 yards receiving to go along with his pair of touchdown catches.
• Dietrich posted 146 yards receiving on a game-high six catches (one touchdown).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Despite the loss, Endicott holds a 7-6 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 2003.
• The Endicott defense held WNEU scoreless for the first 27:34 of action in the contest, which marks the longest drought the for the Golden Bears to open up a game this season.
• The Gulls' defensive unit also limited WNEU to a season-low 19 points. The Golden Bears had scored over 30 points in every game up until their matchup versus Endicott.
• WNEU is off to its best start in program history at 8-0 overall, 5-0 NEFC.
• The Golden Bears have been ranked No. 1 in New England Division III Sports Information Directors' Poll for six consecutive weeks.

BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

• Thomas Johnson (Pembroke, Mass.) led all student-athletes with a game-high 11 tackles (7 solo, 4 assisted, 2 sacks, 15 yards lost).
• Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) had nine tackles (6 solo, 3 assisted), and one sack.
• Christian Filonow (Nashua, N.H.), Brian Thompson (Billerica, Mass.), Connor McLaughlin (Canton, Mass.), and John Fortes (North Reading, Mass.) all finished with seven tackles apiece.
• Fortes also had a forced fumble and a recovery, while Thompson tallied one pass breakup.
• As a team, the Gulls collected five sacks and eight tackles for a loss.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (3-5, 3-2 NEFC) hosts Curry College on Saturday, November 7 at 5:30 p.m. WNEU (8-0, 5-0 NEFC) travels to New London, Conn.  to play Coast Guard Academy next Saturday at 1 p.m. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.