PAXTON, Mass.—The Norwich University football team scored two second-half touchdowns to break open a 14-14 tie and win 28-20 against the AMCATS of Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action.
With the win, the Cadets improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in ECFC play, while the AMCATS remain winless on the season.
Leading the offensive effort for the Cadets was Zach Allen (Boston, Mass.), who totaled 140 receiving yards and caught two touchdown passes in the win.
Backup quarterback Joshua Woodward (Dayton, Maine) completed four of six pass attempts for 111 yards with a long of 74 and two touchdowns. Starting quarterback Keyen Foley (Hemet, Calif.) completed two of 14 passes and threw two interceptions, along with a touchdown pass before Woodward took over in the second quarter.
The AMCAT defense shut down Norwich's Al Georgio (East Greenwich, R.I.), the back-to-back ECFC Offensive Player of the Week, allowing him just 65 yards on 24 carries after he had two-straight weeks of over 100 yards per game.
Leading the defensive effort for the AMCATS was junior linebacker Victor Sambola (Worcester, Mass.) who finished with a team-high 12 tackles. Classmate Mike Sinto (Long Island, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 tackles, including two tackles-for-loss, while Joe Colao (Westerly, R.I.) and Juan Palacio (Lowell, Mass.) teamed up for two sacks.
Junior Nate Goncalo (New Bedford, Mass.) recorded an interception and returned it 62 yards for the AMCATS' second touchdown of the day to open the third quarter. Freshman defensive back Charles Dickerson (Randallstown, Md.) also had two interceptions on the day.
Offensively, the AMCATS were paced by junior running back Chris Bettano (Tewksbury, Mass.) with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown. In his first start of 2014 at quarterback, sophomore Daniel Faison (Bowie, Md.) completed 11 of 18 pass attempts for 148 yards and threw just one pick. He also rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
Faison's passes were distributed fairly evenly amongst six different receivers. Ryan McCarthy (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Steven Azor (New Bedford, Mass.) both has three catches for 49 and 16 yards, respectively. Bettano had two catches for 34 yards, while Will Ricard (Billerica, Mass.), Kolin Matthews (Seymour, Conn.) and Trai Weaver (Waterbury, Conn.) had one catch apiece.
The Cadets started the game with the ball and Foley threw a pick on the opening play, but the Cadets' defense forced the AMCATS into three unsuccessful plays in the red zone, and forced the hosts to punt. The two teams would then trade three three-and-out drives. With 8:38 on the clock, the AMCATS fumbled at their own 49-yard line, and Norwich's Austin Roberts (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scooped up the ball and returned in 36 yards to the nine-yard line.
Georgio rushed for the nine-yard touchdown score on the next play and sophomore place kicker Wesley Medeiros (Gilford, N.H.) drilled the extra-point to put the Cadets up 7-0. Medeiros was flawless on the day, hitting all four of his extra-point attempts.
The AMCATS would score on the ensuing drive, as they used nine plays to travel 64 yards to set up Bettano for the 10-yard touchdown run. Bettano totaled 32 rushing yards on the drive. The AMCATS' extra-point attempt was blocked by Norwich's Dane Pallotto (Westbrook, Conn.).
Norwich opened the ensuing drive with a 15-yard rush to their own 45-yard line. Georgio rushed for a loss of two yards to push them back to their 43-yard line, where Foley found Allen for a 57-yard touchdown pass on second-down. The Cadets carried the 14-6 lead into the second quarter.
After a scoreless second quarter, the AMCATS elected to receive in the second half, but fumbled on the return and handed the ball back to Norwich. The Cadets had a scoreless drive and the AMCATS went three-and-out on their next drive. On Norwich's third-and-eight on the Anna Maria 37-yard line, Foley threw his second pick of the day to set up Goncalo for the 67-yard touchdown return. The AMCATS elected to go for two extra-points, and Bettano's rush attempt was good to tie the score at 14-14 with 10:45 left to play in the quarter.
With 3:25 on the clock, Norwich started a drive on the AMCATS' 41-yard line and used three short plays for a first down. After a two-yard rush and a five-yard pass completion, the Cadts found a defensive hole and Woodward completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Noel (Manchester, N.H.) for the seven-point lead.
The Cadets would take a 28-14 lead on their first drive of the fourth quarter as Woodward found Allen for a 74-yard touchdown pass, but the AMCATS would answer on their next drive, using nine plays to travel 71 yards which culminated in a three-yard touchdown run by Faison. The AMCATS again went for two, but Faison's pass attempt was unsuccessful.
The AMCAT defense forced Norwich into three quick plays and a punt to give the offense a chance to chip at Norwich's eight-point lead, but Anna Maria also went three-and-out and gave the ball back to Norwich, who rushed 12-straight times to wind down the clock.
The Norwich defense totaled 763 tackles on the day, including nine by Matt LeFevre (Milford, N.J.). Michael Finney (Killeen, Texas) chipped in with six, while Pallotto and Matthew Ulufanua (Brick, N.J.) finished with five apiece.
Anna Maria will be on the road next Saturday as they travel to Husson for a 12:30 p.m. ECFC matchup. The Cadets will host Gallaudet at noon next weekend.