Endicott Football Earns Important League Win – 24-21 Over Western New England

BEVERLY – The No. 18/20 nationally ranked Endicott football team defeated Western New England, 24-21, on Homecoming and Family Weekend at Hempstead Stadium.

Yavier Cosme-Diaz (Stratford, Conn.), Anthony Caggianelli (Pelham, N.H.), and Markys Bridgewater (Lawrence) all found pay dirt, while Ryan Smith (Glastonbury, Conn.) buried a 24-yard field goal to account for the offense.

Trailing 14-10 at the break, the Gulls responded with a pair of scores from Caggiannelli (3rd, 11:20, 3-yards, 17-14) and Bridgewater (4th, 13:40, 34-yards, 24-14) in back-to-back quarters before relying on their defense to secure the victory.

Western New England answered Bridgewater’s electric 34-yard score at the 9:01 mark of the fourth by executing the “Philly Special” to put the game within reach at 24-21.

From there, Endicott stymied the Golden Bears’ final drive of the contest by forcing a 3-and-out prior to running down the final 4:57 off the scoreboard.

The Gulls produced two first downs on the game-clinching drive, including a key 4th-and-1 conversion by Caggianelli (3-yards) with 1:16 remaining at Western New England’s 30-yard line.

Game Leaders: Quarterback Clayton Merengi (Lynnfield) passed for 188 yards and rushed for another 133 yards. Receiver Shane Aylward Tewksbury picked up 126 yards

Additional Coverage –  Hear from Gull’s head coach Paul McGonagle Monday in his weekly podcast here on msonewsports.com. Video highlights below.

Beyond the Box Score

• The Gulls extended their winning streak to four games.
• Endicott is 11-9 all-time against Western New England (8-2 at home in the series).
• Mark Ingraffia (Kings Park, N.Y.) blocked his first career field goal (41-yard attempt) with two seconds remaining in the first half to keep the deficit at 14-10.
• Joseph Pagett (Newtown, Conn.) filled the stat sheet with a team-high-tying six tackles (3 solo), one interception (ninth career), and two pass breakups.
• Aylward produced his third straight 100-yard receiving game via seven catches for 126 yards.
• Caggianelli punched home his 19th career rushing TD (ranks second all-time in program history).
• Quinten Fox (Old Greenwich, Conn.) controlled the field-possession game by tying a season-high for punts inside the 20-yard line with three (4 punts total, 151 yards, 37.8 average, 49 long).

Next Week – No. 18/20 Endicott (5-1, 1-0 CCC) visits Nichols on Saturday, October 21 at 12 PM. Western New England (3-3, 0-1 CCC) hosts Husson next Saturday at 1 PM (Photo Credit – Tammy McManaway)