DANBURY, Conn. - Sophomore wide receiver Julian Ferguson (Enfield, Conn.) recorded nine catches for 148 yards and hauled in three touchdowns to lead the Western Connecticut State University football team to a thrilling come-from-behind 38-35 victory over visiting Worcester State University at the Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Ferguson hooked up with sophomore quarterback Dennis Riordan (New City, N.J.) from 31, 31 and 16 yards, all in the second half, as the Wolves came back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter.  Riordan's final scoring hurl of the afternoon set up a successful two-point conversion to junior Shakespeare Rodriguez (Wallingford, Conn.).  Shake fought off the direct sunlight in his eyes and kept both feet in the back corner of the end zone to give the hosts the three-point advantage.

Riordan, making his second start for the winners, completed 17-of-29 passes for 233 yards and added an additional TD toss, to graduate student David Ross (Port Jervis, N.Y.) to open the game's scoring 2:45 into the battle with the Lancers.

WestConn, now 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, have now won four straight games and still remain alive for the coveted New England Bowl, which pits the second place team from four other area conferences.

The Wolves used a balanced offensive attack as senior running back Chad Blaszky (Seldon, N.Y.) carried the ball 36 times for 194 yards and passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark early in the first half.  He sits with 1,144 yards with one regular-season contest remaining next Saturday.  He and a large contingency of seniors and graduate students will be celebrating Senior Day at noon on November 5 when WestConn takes on Fitchburg State University.

With the Wolves down, 7-6 with 6:59 remaining before intermission, Myles Wilson (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) ran back a 50-yard interception of Aaron-Moses Williams.  After Anthony Weidtman's (Nesconset, N.Y.) point-after attempt sailed wide of the uprights, the two teams were deadlocked at 13-13.

Santiago Rodriguez-D'Atri booted a 29-yard field goal for the Lancers to give them a 16-13 advantage into the lock room.

Weidtman redeemed himself 11 seconds into the final stanza when he booted a 30-yard field goal through the same goal post that was not so kind earlier on.  That knotted the game again, this time at 23-23.

The Lancers, now 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the league re-took the lead when Williams connected with Brodie Jacques from 53 yards out to give the visitors a 29-23 advantage.

The teams exchanged scores and Worcester State held a 35-30 lead following a Dylan Hall 18-yard TD catch with 5:28 remaining in the final period.

Williams had a stellar performance behind center for the Lancers.  He completed 26-of-38 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns.

WestConn, Ferguson and Riordan used 4:15 of the clock before registering the winning score with 1:13 left on the scoreboard.

Defensively, Nosa Uzamere (Hempstead, N.Y.) and Ambrose Richards (Wall Township, N.J.) led all Wolves with nine tackles each.  Uzamere recorded three tackles for a loss of six yards and, along with Richards, eight solo take downs.

Worcester State's Sam Suah, Jr. led all defenders with 11 tackles in the loss.

The Lancers will play host to Westfield State University next Saturday.  A 12 noon kick off is scheduled in the Heart of the Commonwealth.