BEVERLY, Mass. – The Curry College football team suffered a tough 27-21 (4OT) loss at Endicott College in conference action on Saturday night at Hempstead Stadium.
Tied 21-21 in the fourth overtime session, Endicott junior wide receiver Jake Pelletier (Trumbull, Conn.) pushed the Gulls ahead 27-21 with a 14-yard touchdown catch in the right corner of the end zone. Freshman quarterback Michael Scherer (Middlefield, Conn.) lobbed a jump ball towards the pylon and Pelletier out-leaped his defender to haul in the go-ahead score. The Gulls, who were forced to go for two points per overtime rules, were stopped at the goal line on a quarterback sneak.
Endicott then went on to stymie Curry on its next possession as the Colonels went four-and-out, only producing one play worth positive yardage. Senior cornerback Tyler Calitri (West Hartford, Conn.) highlighted the final stop by the defense with a pass breakup in the middle of the end zone on the final play of the game.
Curry held a 21-14 advantage in the early stages of the overtime session thanks to a two-yard TD run by Mike O'Hearn (Billerica, Mass.). Scherer answered for the Gulls on their next possession with a one-yard TD plunge to set the stage for the multiple overtime game.
Both teams were deadlocked at 14-14 at halftime as the two squads produced one touchdown apiece in the first and second quarters, respectively. Pelletier opened up the scoring at the 11:03 mark of the first with a 34-yard touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Sam Ouellette (Rochester, N.H.). Ouellette and Pelletier have connected on four touchdowns this season. Pelletier leads the receivers group in touchdowns with six this season. Pelletier finished the day with a career-high 11 receptions/131 yards to go along with his two TD catches.
Endicott junior wide receiver Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) gave the Gulls their second lead of the contest with a 12-yard TD grab at 2:22 of the second quarter. Lipscomb compiled four catches for 55 yards in addition to placing three of his four punts inside the 20-yard line. Ouellette threw for 191 yards (16 completions, 29 attempts, two interceptions) and two touchdowns.
Sophomore fullback Lavante Wiggins (Dalton, Mass.) led the Gulls in rushing with 70 yards on 15 attempts. As a team, Endicott generated 353 yards of total offense (125 rushing, 228 passing). Endicott also went 8-for-18 on third down conversions, and won the time of possession matchup 42:20 to 32:40.
Jordan Shairs (Gloucester, Mass.) tied the game at 7-7 at the 8:45 mark of the first quarter with a four-yard touchdown run (drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 2:07 elapsed). Shairs led all student-athletes with 138 yards rushing on 37 attempts (3.7 average). Dean Anderson (Melrose, Mass.) evened the score for the second of three times in the contest with 13-seconds remaining in the first half on an eight-yard TD reception from Riley Cote (Bedford, N.H.).
Cote finished the game 12-for-23 passing with one touchdown, two interceptions, and 135 yards before giving way to O'Hearn at quarterback late in the matchup.
As a team, Curry registered 312 yards of total offense (161 rushing, 151 passing). The Colonels went 6-for-21 on third down conversions, 3-for-5 on fourth down, and 3-for-7 in the red zone.
Endicott (4-5, 4-2 NEFC) hosts Coast Guard next Saturday on Senior Day at Hempstead Stadium at 12 p.m. Curry (3-6, 2-4 NEFC) welcomes MIT to its campus next Saturday for a conference matchup at 1 p.m. (Recap courtesy of Endicott Sports Information)
