Golden Bears Squeak Past Gulls
Oct. 21, 2006
Springfield, MA - Western New England College sophomore place-kicker James Farrell (East Longmeadow, MA) carried the Golden Bears to a 3-0 victory over the Gulls on Saturday.
Farrell, who earlier missed two field-goal attempts, hooked a 24-yard field goal through the middle of the uprights with 4:41 remaining in the game to give Western New England College a hard-earned 3-0 Homecoming victory over visiting Endicott in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division contest before 2,417 fans at windy Golden Bear Stadium.
The victory was the first ever for Western New England College over Endicott in four meetings and gave the Golden Bears a 4-3 record (2-3 Boyd)that surpassed last year's win total of three. The Gulls fall to 4-4 and 3-2.
This also tied as the lowest scoring game in Western New England College's 26-year history. The Golden Bears lost to Maine Maritime (1984) and Bridgewater (1985) by identical 3-0 scores. The fewest points scored by WNEC in a win were against Nichols (6-0 in1995).
It was a record-setting day for Western New England College junior Kevin Miculcy (Greenwich, CT) who caught six passes for 88 yards to become the school's all-time leader with 129 receptions, breaking the old mark of 124 set by Keith Fagan from 1985-88. Miculcy had a 37-yarder on his next-to-last catch of the day from freshman quarterback Justin Walz (Groton, CT) to the Gulls' 12 that set up the winning score. Walz was 20-for-40 for 219 yards and no interceptions in only his second career start.
Following Farrell's field goal, his fourth of the season, Endicott moved from its own 23 to the Golden Bears' 46, but senior corner back Brent Dube (Lewiston, ME) intercepted a pass form freshman quarterback Tyler Connelly (North Grafton, MA/Cushing Academy) at the WNEC 33 to seal the victory.
Western New England College missed three scoring opportunities in the opening half. The first came in the opening quarter when, following a blocked punt, the Golden Bears lost the ball on downs at the Endicott six. In the second stanza Farrell missed a 41-yard field goal at the 10:30 mark. The Gulls, though, missed a scoring chance of their own when senior place-kicker Adam Maher (Athol, MA/Athol) was just right on a 39-yard field goal attempt with 4:02 left before half-time.
Endicott forced WNEC to punt on the next possession and the Golden Bears recovered a fumbled punt return at the Gulls' 11. WNEC came up empty again when sophomore running back Jordan Capitanio (Torrington, CT) had a six-yard touchdown run called back because of a penalty. Farrell then narrowly missed a 23-yard field goal to the right with five seconds left in the half.
Western New England College out-gained Endicott by a 327 to 150 margin with junior running back Mike Bishop (Belchertown, MA) picking up a game-high 65 yards on 16 carries. Senior wide receiver Justin Varga (Colonia, NJ) had the best day of his career with eight receptions for 62 yards.
Senior running back Gerard Festa (Revere, MA/St. Mary's) led the Gulls with 60 yards on 12 carries.
Endicott will next play host to NEFC Boyd Division rivals UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday October, 28 at noon.