By Thomas Martin Jr., Staff Writer
The Western New England University Football Team is ready to get back into the swing of things, as it is that time of year for college football. The Golden Bears have already gotten off to a good start, going 2-2 over the first few weeks of the season and looking to continue their highest level of play. They traveled to Maryland and played the fourteenth ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls last Saturday, but fell 40-14.
This year, the Golden Bears are being coached by Jason Lebeau. This will be Lebeau’s second year coaching the team, having led the team to an 8-3 record in his debut season. The team’s winning percentage with Lebeau as coach is 71.43%, the highest of any coach all-time for the Golden Bears.
The roster for the Golden Bears is filled with talent and veterans as Quarterback Bryce Karstetter leads the way. Karstetter is a Junior who is majoring in Health Studies at Western New England University, originally from Cromwell, Connecticut.
Karstetter was a backup for the Golden Bears in 2019, only throwing a total of six times, but now he is the full-time starter. Over the last three games, Karstetter has thrown 48 completions for over 540 total yards, thrown six touchdowns while only throwing one interception, and rushed for a little under 40 yards.
The first game of the season was a huge 24-13 win against Springfield College, which featured Karstetter throwing for 182 yards. Dillon Kohl, Karstetter, and Ej Dudley combined for 103 rushing yards while getting support from Ryan Carlson, Ryan Smith, and Tyler Millerick. Adam Razza, Steven Fedorchak, Matt Eylander, Connor Dunn, and Nate Rosa combined for 182 yards on receiving — Razza and Fedorchak also caught one touchdown each.
On defense, Aaron Lamar intercepted a pass from Chris Keefe in the fourth quarter; Erich Keutmann, Brine Wotherspoon, and Tom Satkowski each had a sack; Keutmann, Bailey Devine-Scott, and Ricky Montalvo had the most tackles for the game with 12, 9, and 9. Overall, the game was a good start to a season that will hopefully go far.
The second game against Westfield State University was a big confidence and motivation boost for the Golden Bears as they went on to win 48-0. Karstetter connected on 12 out of 27 passes, throwing for a total 126 yards, while Millerick went 3 for 5 in completions for 43 yards.
Kohl, Carlson, Millerick, Ian, Dudley, and Smith combined for 197 rushing yards. Ryan Larson, Eylander, and Fedorchak combined for 144 yards receiving while Eylander and Razza both caught one touchdown.
For the defense, Jerry Woodard got two interceptions while Fedorchak intercepted one. Jake Chiasson, Wotherspoon, and Brandon Myers each recorded a Sack while Dalton Franco, Joshua Salem, Satkowski, and Collin Ryan each recorded a half-sack. Overall, this game was everything that the Golden Bears wanted to execute when stepping onto the field. Both the offense and defense were at the top of their games with few mistakes and no turnovers.
The third game against Utica College was a 28-37 loss, which was the Golden Bears’ first loss of the season. Karstetter threw for 240 yards, had three touchdowns, and one interception. The running game was heavily impacted as Dudley ran for 137 yards in 20 carries.
Fedorchak and Razza combined for 152 receiving yards while receivers Dunn and Jamaurie James provided support with 19 yards and 18 yards, respectively. For the defense, Montalvo had the only interception on the team and 10 tackles, which was the most on the team; Keutmann Devine-Scott and Salem each had eight tackles.
This game was back-and-forth as the last five minutes in the fourth quarter decided the game. No team was ever up by two or more touchdowns at any point during the game. Every team will lose games, and this game was not a blowout.
Overall, the Golden Bears are expecting to go far this season as they have six more games left on their schedule. With leaders like Coach Lebeau and Karstetter, the team can rely on the people who will lead them to victory. Everyone at Western New England University will be rooting the team on as they continue in their quest for glory.
