Western New England racks up 424 yards rushing, led by Coleman (114) & Schenck (106)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 20, 2018) – The Western New England University football team scored 49 first half points en route to a dominant 70-13 victory over the University of New England on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Football action at Golden Bear Stadium.
Top Performers
Junior quarterback Alec Coleman (Arlington, Mass.) fueled the Golden Bears with 285 yards of total offense and six touchdowns. He did the majority of his damage on the ground, rushing for 114 yards on nine carries (12.7 avg.) with four scores, while also completing 9-of-18 pass attempts for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior running back Ryan Schenck (Farmingdale, N.Y.) also topped the 100-yard mark with a career-high 106 yards on eight carries (13.3 avg.) with two touchdowns.
Freshman wide receiver AJ Hall (Norwalk, Conn.) made a pair of big plays, as he scored on an 80-yard punt return and later hauled in a 52-yard touchdown reception.
Defensively, junior linebacker Jake Salera (Rehoboth, Mass.) paced the Golden Bears with a team-high nine tackles.
UNE freshman running back Devon Charles (Vernon, Conn.) totaled 81 rushing yards and one touchdown, while sophomore wide receiver Ryan Gaboury (Cumberland, R.I.) caught six passes for 105 yards and one score.
Freshman linebacker Keegan Stanton-Meas (Portland, Maine) led the Nor'easters defensively with a team-high seven tackles.
Game Review
The Golden Bears got off to a slow start offensively, as their first possession resulted in a punt and the second ended with an interception.
A big defensive play led to Western New England's first score of the game, as senior Sean Stergas (Cambridge, Vt.) intercepted UNE sophomore quarterback Brian Peters (Darien, Conn.) at the Nor'easters eight-yard line midway through the opening quarter. On the very next play, Coleman found the end zone on an eight-yard run to give the Golden Bears a 7-0 lead.
UNE responded on their ensuing possession, as Peters connected with Gaboury for a 51-yard touchdown, but the Nor'easters failed to convert the extra point.
Western New England took a 14-6 lead with 2:50 left in the first quarter when Coleman capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, and Hall made it 21-6 with 1:10 on the clock as he returned sophomore Kevin Heintz's (Brewster, N.Y.) punt 80 yards for another touchdown.
The Golden Bears continued to pour it on in the second quarter led by Coleman, who scored on runs of 16 and 29 yards, while also throwing touchdown passes of 24 and 52 yards to junior Byron Jones (West Hartford, Conn.) and Hall, respectively.
All three of Western New England's second half touchdowns came on the ground. Junior Jamyre Soberanis (Dorchester, Mass.) found the end zone on a 27-yard rush to increase the Golden Bears' lead to 56-6, before Schenck punched in a pair of touchdowns to cap the scoring for the home team.
UNE added a late touchdown on a five-yard run by Charles as the Nor'easters cut the final margin to 57.
Notes
• Western New England's 70 points are its most since September 27, 2014, when the Golden Bears put a program record 80 points on the board in a win at Maine Maritime.
• The Golden Bears picked up 32 first downs and gained 616 yards of total offense while limiting UNE to 15 first downs and 312 yards.
• Western New England has won six straight games since its season-opening loss to Springfield College.
• Saturday's contest was the first ever meeting between Western New England and UNE, which is in its first year as an NCAA varsity program.
Up Next
Western New England (6-1, 3-0 CCC Football) will be on the road for its next two games, beginning with next Saturday's matchup at Nichols College. UNE (1-5, 1-3 CCC) returns home to face Salve Regina next Saturday.