DANBURY, CONN. - Freshman wide receiver Julian Ferguson (Enfield, Conn.) caught 13 passes for 209 yards and scored a four-yard touchdown, but the Western Connecticut State University dropped a 22-20 decision to visiting Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Senior Day at the Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Ferguson caught 11 more passes than any other WestConn player as classmate John Giller (Massapequa Park, N.Y) targets the speedy wide out the majority of his 36 attempts.  Giller completed 21 of 36 passes for 319 yards, but was intercepted twice in the loss.

Graduate student George Lampros (Bridgewater, Mass.) booted a 46-yard game-winning field goal with 2:44 remaining in the game.  It was his fifth field goal of the afternoon as he navigated the uprights from 28, 42, 18 and 21 yards in the first 23 minutes of the game.  He finished with 16 of MMA's 22 points for the winners.

The Buccaneers, now 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, used a balanced rushing and passing attack on Saturday.  

The lead changed hands seven times, the first coming when sophomore Mack Driver (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) plowed in from one yard out to give WestConn a 7-6 advantage with 53 seconds remaining in the first stanza.  That followed a pair of field goals from Lampros (28 and 42 yards) in the first 5:05.

Back-to-back kicks from Lampros (18 and 21 yards) gave the visitors a 12-7 lead with 8:22 left in the first half and carried them into intermission with the five-point lead.

Ferguson's four yard touchdown grab, from Giller, put the hosts back in front, 13-12 with 3:55 elapsed in the third quarter.

Mass. Maritime re-took the lead when Colbe Andrews (Old Lyme, Conn.) trotted in from seven yards out, with 5:13 left in the third period.  Lampros nailed the point after and the Buccaneers led, 19-13.

Andrews, a freshman signal caller, completed 5-of-10 passes for 113 yards and smoothly alternated quarterback duties with Curtis Cann (Easton, Mass.) on Saturday.  Cann completed 10-of-15 passes for 93 yards.

On the ground, Jonah Mitchell (Sanford, Fla.) amassed 77 yards on 15 carries.  Forty-one of his yards came on back-to-back runs (27 and 14 yards) during the game-winning drive.

Driver capped off a 10-play, 51-yard drive with his second one-yard run at the 11:09 mark of the final quarter.  The extra point from Anthony Weidtman (Nesconset, N.Y.) gave WestConn a slim 20-19 advantage.

Weidtman attempted a potential game-winning field goal with 2:33 left in the game, but his 41-yard try sailed right of the goal post.

Chad Blaszky (Seldon, N.Y.) led WestConn runners with 48 yards on 11 carried.  Roy Penn-Consentino (Liberty, N.Y.) carried the ball six times for 34 yards.

Defensively, Jemeson Charlestin (Stamford, Conn.) led WestConn with seven tackles while Luke Pappalardo (Newington, Conn.) and Matt Forti (Bronx, N.Y.) added six take downs apiece.

Kyle Rogers (Abington, Mass.) and Cole Keefe (Merrimack N.H.) led the Buccaneers with seven and six tackles, respectively.

WestConn, now 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the league, hit the road for the final two games of the season.  It takes on Worcester State University next Saturday, October 30 at 12 noon.

Mass. Maritime plays host to league front-runner Framingham State University a week from today, also at 12 bells.