The Springfield College football team racked up 605 yards of offense and raced out to a 45-0 second-quarter lead as it rolled past Norwich, 69-20, on Saturday afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play.
Springfield has now won its last three games and stands at 4-2, 2-0 in conference play, while the Cadets dipped to 2-5, 1-2. It marked the most points for Springfield since the Pride bested Salve Regina, 69-0, in its 2002 season opener, while the 605 yards of offense is the most since 2019 when the Pride totaled 621 at Maine Maritime.
The Pride, which entered the contest as the top rushing offense in all of college football, totaled 468 rushing yards and averaged just under seven yards per carry as it totaled 36 first downs in the contest. Springfield held the ball for 39:34 in the game as David Wells (Huntington, Conn.) ran for 135 yards and three scores on 15 carries. A total of 15 student-athletes would carry the ball in the game, with Joseph Cannizzaro (Lincoln Park, N.J. ) and Armando Torres (San Juan, Puerto Rico) each finding the end zone twice.
For Norwich, Tykell Stewart had three receptions, all of which went for touchdowns, as he finished the game with 219 yards. Matthew Christe has a team-best 12 tackles and forced a fumble, while both Ethan Amburn and Patrick Keefe had 10 stops for the visitors.
The Pride had the opening possession of the game and marched right down the field, going 68 yards in 10 plays before Wells scored from a yard out at the 10:49 mark. On the first offensive play of the game for Norwich, Bryan Feliciano (Clifton, N.J.) made a sensational diving interception for the Pride, which Springfield turned into a 39-yard field goal from Christian Hutra (Holmes, N.Y.) with 6:42 on the clock. Springfield forced a three-and-out, and following a 45-yard run from Wells, Nicholas Raneri (North Attleboro, Mass.) muscled his way in from a yard out to make it 17-0 at 4:17. Three incompletions from the Cadets on their next drive allowed the Pride to get the ball back, and Cannizzaro scored from four yards out after Wells connected with Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) for a 39-yard strike as the lead ballooned to 24-0 after one quarter of play.
Two more touchdowns by Wells from inside the five-yard line sandwich a bruising 26-yard score by Cannizzaro as Springfield's lead grew to 45-0 with 6:31 to play, only to have Stewart haul in a 69-yard strike for the visitors first score of the game. Springfield would conclude the first-half scoring on Hutra's second field goal of the game, this one from 29 yards out with under a minute to play, as the hosts owned a 48-6 cushion heading into the locker room.
The Pride would punch in the first score of the second half when Dante Vasquez (Rockland, Mass.) got free on the right end for a three-yard score on fourth down with 9:32 on the clock. Stewart would again break free for a 74 yard catch and score on the next play of the game, and later deliver a 76 yard touchdown grab as the Cadets pulled with 55-20 with 3:30 remaining in the third. The Pride would answer with a one-yard score from Torres with 14 seconds left in the quarter before completing the scoring with a 12-yard Torres run that capped off a 71-yard drive with 5:28 left in regulation.
The Pride will now focus on its upcoming clash with WPI next Saturday at 3:30 pm