Fitchburg, Ma- the Plymouth State Football team failed to win their final game to Fitchburg State by a score of 41-30. The game put Plymouth’s record at 2-8 and it was written in stone. With the win Fitchburg State increased its final record to 6-4, still missing the playoffs.
In a game that featured 71 combined points, the Panthers opened up their own personal scoring with an 11 play 67 yard drive that ended with a two yard run. Junior kicker Rob Giles (Derry, NH) connected on the extra point and put Plymouth on top early 7-0.
On the following drive Fitchburg State’s quarterback Garrett Dellechiaie threw the first of his five total touchdowns, and helped tie the game at 7-7. The five touchdowns put Dellechiaie on top of school history for the single season touchdown mark, as only a freshman.
PSU would come right back with a 26 yard field goal by Giles, but shortly after was countered by 44 yard touchdown pass by Dellechiaie. At the end of the first quarter the score stood at 14-10 in favor of Fitchburg State.
The second quarter would fair in favor of FSU as well, as they would complete yet another touchdown pass. The extra point was not complete so the touchdown put Fitchburg State up by ten, which was cut down by another Giles field goal of 37 yards. Going into halftime, Fitchburg State led Plymouth State 20-13.
The third quarter started a bit slow but PSU was able to inch closer to FSU when the Panthers were able to get another field goal of 28 yards. The 10 play 29 yard drive made the game 20-16 with momentum going Plymouth’s way.
Although Plymouth State kept the game close, Fitchburg State took control in the final quarter of play. Dellechiaie added two more td strikes for FSU and managed to grab a 34-16 lead with 6:45 left on the clock. The game started to look more out of hand for Plymouth State.
Drew Bolton (Concord, NH) was able to put more points on the board for the Panthers with a six yard run and a 16 yard touchdown pass to senior Jason Stefano (Fryeburg, Maine), but Fitchburg State was still able to win 41-30. Plymouth State looks to get right back on track next year and make the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) playoffs.
Plymouth’s Zac Iovanella (North Andover, Ma) had a nice day hauling in two catches for 105 yards while Junior Back Mark Hennessy (Westford, Ma) plowed for 82 yards on the ground on 20 touches. On defense Senior Josh Morgan (Foster, RI) and Freshman Bubba Kaplan (Truro, Ma) had nine total tackles while Senior defensive back Jake Matthews (Windham, NH) had five tackles and four pass breakups.