BEVERLY, Mass. — The No. 22/23 nationally ranked Endicott football team fell to Springfield, 17-14, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium.
Shane Aylward (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Jaeden Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) both found paydirt through the air in the third (12:54, 53 yards, 7-7) and fourth (2:00, 27 yards, 17-14) quarters, respectively, to account for the Gulls' offense.
Springfield opened up the scoring with a two-yard plunge at the 6:31 mark of the first quarter following a 50-yard completion on 3-and-7 from their own 48-yard line.
Both defenses took over the contest after the score displaying brute physicality on each side until Aylward broke through for his ninth career reception TD (fourth this season) in the third quarter.
From there, the Pride added a 7-yard rushing touchdown on the ensuing drive (13 plays, 83 yards, 6:26) to regain momentum and added a 33-yard field goal in the fourth (17-7) to hold off the Gulls.
Endicott produced a gritty defensive performance holding Springfield to its third-lowest scoring total of the season despite facing a season-high 65 rushing attempts.
Tyler Davis (Bethel, Conn.) highlighted the group with a career-high 16 tackles, including six solo stops (previous high 11). His performance also ranks tied for the eighth most tackles in a single game in program history.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
- Jackson DeAngelo (North Reading, Mass.) compiled a career-high 12 tackles (4 solo).
- Zachariah Twardosky (Merrimack, N.H.) tied his personal-best output in stops with 10 total (4 solo).
- Endicott's 2022 season included many milestones, highlighted by the first undefeated regular season in program history and the CCC era along with this year's squad earning the program's first-ever national ranking.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 22/23 Endicott sees its season come to a close at 10-1 overall. Springfield (9-2) will face No. 9/10 Ithaca in the second round of the NCAA Tournament next Saturday (time/place TBD).
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(Photo Credit - Jonny Ratner '24)
