by Zack Downing, Staff Writer
The average football fan would tell you that the quarterback is the most essential piece to a football team. He brings the team a lot of its yards, and he’s integral to most plays the offense runs.
However, on Saturday the Corsairs didn’t use their quarterback as much as usual. Instead they plowed through the Framingham State defense with a killer rushing attack.
The Framingham State Rams were visiting UMass Dartmouth on Saturday during alumni weekend, where the crowd was as big and loud as it will get all season.
The Corsairs were looking to impress the home crowd by continuing their impressive offensive momentum; in 3 of the last 4 games they’ve scored 40 points and accumulated 500 yards of offense.
As the first quarter started it was looking to be another high-scoring rout from the Corsairs.
Senior Stephen Roy scored rushing touchdowns on their first two drives, one with helpful field position following a fumble by the Rams.
The first quarter ended with a 13-0 advantage for the Corsairs, but Framingham State stifled their momentum in the second quarter.
Following halftime, the Corsairs scored two more rushing touchdowns, this time courtesy of senior Michael Slaughter. He began the fourth quarter with a 92 yard sprint to score from the other end of the field.
Slaughter led UMass Dartmouth with 150 rushing yards on the night, proving his stats can be as intimidating as his name.
With a 27-7 lead and only 10 minutes left in the game, the Corsairs felt pretty good about how the game was going. However, Framingham State wasn’t done yet.
The Rams came back to score two touchdowns on quick drives, and at the same time holding the Corsairs from adding to their lead. The score was 20-27 with 10 seconds remaining, and UMass Dartmouth was set up to punt.
As long as Framingham State didn’t return the punt successfully, the Corsairs would win for their home crowd.
With 10 seconds left the ball was punted, and with a Michigan State-esque twist, Framingham’s Napoleon Miller took the ball and returned it 90 yards to tie the game at 27 for overtime.
Continuing their momentum, the Rams won the coin flip and drove down the field to score a touchdown. What had just recently been a 27-7 lead for the Corsairs had suddenly become a 34-27 deficit.
Because of overtime rules, the Corsairs had one more chance to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to win.
Just as they had done all game, their offense pushed down the field led by the running game and approached the end zone.
Quarterback Cory Burnham finally showed off his chops by completing a 24 yard touchdown pass to Abbi Bamgbose, to make the score 33-34.
The Corsairs needed to score an extra two points, and they did with one more rushing play to beat the Rams 35-34.
This was their first victory against Framingham State in almost 20 years, albeit they don’t face each other on the gridiron very often.
“The whole team was overwhelmed with happiness,” said Burnham. “As great as that win was, Framingham is just another team in our way of our ultimate goal of a league championship.”
The Corsairs put up an enormous 436 yards rushing, which is a number that takes some NFL teams five total games to reach. This victory brings their record up to 3-2, and continues the trend of 500 yard offensive matches.
UMass Dartmouth’s next matchup is at Bridgewater State on Friday, October 7 at 7 p.m.