BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University football team lost the New England Bowl Game to Plymouth State 21-20 on Saturday afternoon at the John W. Winkin Sports Complex.

The Eagles (5-6) started off with a promising drive as they moved into Plymouth State (9-2) territory. The drive came to an abrupt end as junior quarterback Nic Visser tried to squeeze a pass in over the middle but was picked off by Panthers senior defensive back Luc Normandeau.

Husson's defense forced a turnover of its own on the ensuing drive for Plymouth State as senior linebacker Phoebus Floyd stripped the ball from Panthers senior running back Manny Sanchez and junior defensive back Parker LaFrance picked the loose ball up and ran 44 yards to the house to give the Eagles the early 7-0 lead.

After forcing Plymouth State to punt, the Husson offense struck. Visser completed four passes on the next drive for the Eagles and gained 38 yards and became the first quarterback in Husson football history to complete 200 passes in a season. While Visser got the Eagles deep into Panther's territory, it was sophomore running back Elijah Garnett who put the finishing touches on the scoring drive as he galloped down the right sideline for a 26-yard rushing touchdown to give Husson a two-touchdown lead.

Plymouth State would look to bounce back as they forced another Eagle turnover as Normandeau stripped the ball from freshman running back Jed Lober and senior Christian Paillet would pounce on the loose ball for the Panthers.

The ensuing drive looked to be a promising one for Plymouth State as they had a first and goal on the Husson four-yard line but were unable to get any points as a 24-yard field goal was missed by the Panthers.

After senior punter Aaron Paradis pinned Plymouth State deep in their own territory, LaFrance would come away with another turnover for the Eagles as he ripped the ball away from a Panther wide receiver to come away with an interception. Visser would then lead Husson into the end zone again as he ran in from five yards out and capped off a short, 6-play 21-yard drive to extend the Eagle's lead to 20-0.

The two teams would then trade turnovers as Plymouth State sophomore quarterback Braden Lynn would be intercepted for the second time during the half as junior defensive back Eli Simmonds would give Husson the ball back. Visser would turn the ball right back over to the Panthers just four plays later as Paillet would recover his second fumble of the opening 30 minutes. 

Plymouth State would capitalize on Visser's second giveaway as Lynn would rush for 41 yards to get the Panthers into Eagle's territory before the seven-play, 67-yard drive would be capped off by graduate student wide receiver Jake Donahue as he hauled in a pass from Lynn from four yards out to cut the lead down to 20-7 at the half.

Husson's defense would continue to shine at the start of the second half as Simmonds would come away with his second interception of the game on Plymouth State's opening drive of the half. Visser would hit Lober for a 34-yard gain to get the Eagles down to the Panthers nine-yard line but they were unable to come away with points on the drive as Paradis would miss a 22-yard field goal.

Plymouth State would cash in on its next drive as Lynn would lead the Panthers on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by a 38-yard catch by senior tight end Bryan Warren and was capped off by graduate student running back Thanos Boulukos, as he barreled in from one yard out to once again cut into the Husson lead.

The Eagle's next drive saw them take the ball deep into Plymouth State territory as they drove 70 yards on 13 plays but Garnett would fumble the ball on the Panther's one-yard line and it would be recovered in the end zone by junior defensive lineman Mike Terrazzano to give Plymouth State the ball back.

After back-to-back three and outs by both teams, the Panthers took their first lead of the game thanks to Sanchez, who was the workhorse back for Plymouth State as he gained 43 of the 53 yards on the touchdown drive, which he capped off with an eight-yard touchdown scamper, which proved to be the game-winner.

Husson was forced to punt on its next drive after going three and out and was unable to get the ball back as the Panthers would run the clock out and earn the New England Bowl Game victory.

Visser led the aerial attack for the Eagles as he racked up 227 yards on 24 completions and a 75% completion percentage while also running the ball nine times for 56 yards. With his 227 passing yards, Visser became the second quarterback in Husson football history to surpass 5,000 career passing yards.

Garnett led the Eagles on the ground with ten carries for 59 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Russ Walker hauled in 11 passes to lead all receivers, in addition to gaining a game-high 90 yards on those catches.

Junior linebacker Tucker Buzzell anchored the Husson defense with 16 total tackles, while fellow junior linebacker Adam Bertrand also recorded double-digit stops with 15, including one sack. Junior defensive lineman Tyrek Mann rounded out the double-digit tacklers for the Eagles as he tallied 11 tackles. Simmonds and LaFrance each totaled two turnovers for Husson, as Simmonds picked off two passes and LaFrance recorded one interception and one fumble recovery.

This concludes the season for Husson University football.