p>PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State College ran out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and never looked back Saturday, going on to pound an undermanned Mount Ida squad, 47-8, in non-conference football action at Currier Field.
The Panthers got touchdowns from seven different players and improved to 4-5 overall. The Mustangs, which suited up only 22 players, scored its first points in five games but dropped to 0-7.
Sophomore QB Matt Simpson (Auburn, Maine) tossed two touchdown passes and junior HB Russ Massahos (Windham, NH) scored a TD and a two-point conversion to lead the Panthers. Simpson’s TD passes were to senior WR Andy Gale (Boxford, Mass) and junior TE John Walters (Wells, Maine), while sophomore RB Jason Bordas (Elmore, Vt.) and Duane Godfrey (Peru, NY) added first half rushing scores to give PSC an insurmountable 34-0 lead.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do,” said PSC head coach Chris Rorke. “We got our starters out early when the game was in hand, everyone played and we got the win.”
PSC extended its lead to 41-0 on a third-quarter touchdown run by reserve RB Mike Madore (Randolph, Maine), and made it 47-0 midway through the fourth quarter when junior Tim Hersey (Bedford, NH/West H.S.) returned a block punt 19 yards into the end zone.
Mount Ida broke the shutout with 35 seconds remaining in the game with an eight-yard TD pass from Nicholas McName to Cleveland Morrow.
“I thought Mount Ida played well, considering the circumstance,” said Rorke. “They played hard and didn’t concede anything, and that was evident by the fact that they got a score at the end of the game. They have some good players; they just didn’t have enough kids to compete with us.”
Plymouth State wraps up the regular season next Saturday at Currier Field with a Freedom Football Contest against WPI.
“This was good for us because it gives a shot to get to .500 and an opportunity to finish strong,” said Rorke. “I was pleased that some of the players that don’t normally get a chance to play got in today. We should be well rested and healthy going into our final game against WPI.”
Partly Cloudy. Temperature: 53; Wind: Calm; Conditions as of Sat May 18 at 10:00 PM EDT