By MIKE JOHNSON
SPRINGFIELD ? Western New England University won its first New England Football Conference regular-season crown Saturday afternoon with a wild 40-37 victory over visiting Endicott College.
Mike Graham was the player of the day, returning two kickoff returns for touchdowns and nearly breaking free for a third with 8:06 remaining in the game.
The conditions were frigid, with gargantuan snowflakes falling for the better part of three quarters. But that didn?t faze the WNE crowd as it brought the noise all afternoon long.
Bryce Brown, per usual, was a double threat. The Golden Bears senior quarterback completed nine of 17 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and also got it done on the ground, rushing 16 times for 45 yards to balance the attack.
The Endicott offense came as advertised, outgaining the Golden Bears 505 yards to 255. Phil Konopka could not be contained as he went 38 for 53 for 407 yards and three touchdowns.
Mike Murphy led the Gulls with six grabs for 131 yards. Not far behind was Mike Fimiani with 12 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Endicott got it done on the ground as well; senior running back Mike Lane carried the ball 29 times for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Western New England defensive end James Georges came up big in the win with 10 tackles and three sacks. Endicott senior and co-captain Kevin Eagan had 11 tackles and one sack.
Special teams made the difference in this one as Graham demoralized the Gulls with return after return. The senior from Norwalk, Conn., thwarted an Endicott comeback to end both the second and third quarters, capturing the momentum for the Golden Bears.
After each of WNE?s touchdowns, snowballs rocketed into the air.
Endicott trailed 33-23 entering the fourth quarter, but made quick work of getting back on the board with a three-play, 46-yard drive, capped by a Ryan Carino 20-yard touchdown reception.
Once again, WNE refused to have its party spoiled, scoring on the next play from scrimmage as Brown found Andrew Walz wide open in the middle of the field for a 39-yard score. Walz finished the day as the Golden Bears? top receiver, notching three receptions for 82 yards.
Endicott scored another touchdown, Carino?s second of the afternoon, this time from 19 yards out. But neither team notched a score for the remaining 8:16 of the game.
Western New England successfully ran down the clock and secured its first ever regular season conference championship. The Golden Bears will look to carry that momentum into the NEFC playoffs and win their first championship game in school history as well.
Source: http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/10/western_new_england_wins_first.html
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