After two losses this season, the Nor’easters were excited to celebrate a big win against Dean College. This year’s homecoming game had 2,142 fans packed into the stadium, including Alumni, families, and staff.
“This is the biggest homecoming yet. Each year, they’ve gotten bigger, and this one exponentially went off the charts in terms of how many people are here. The level of enthusiasm with the crowds is just amazing,” said University President James Herbert.
The Nor’easters scored 22 points in the first quarter and 23 in the second, going into halftime with a score of 45-0.
I like to come here [for the homecoming game] every year. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful place,” said Robert Occhialini, who graduated from UNE in 1966 while it was still St. Francis College. In the early 90s, he began serving as a UNE board member, which he did for 15 years. “I bleed blue,” Occhialini said.
Fans cheered in the stands as the Nor’easters ended the game with a score of 68-0. “Oh my gosh, this is all so fun and exciting. I love it,” said Kami Rheault, a sophomore medical biology major and cheerleader.
Halftime included a performance from the UNE Dance team and the UNE cheerleaders. ” I am filled with pride every time I look out and see them [the cheerleaders] on the field and performing for their hometown crew,” said Alison Bromski, the head coach of UNE’s cheer team. “It’s really nice to be able to share in the school spirit.”
“The halftime show was great, and we’ve scored so much,” said Huy Ha, a sophomore medical biology major.
The defense was led by defensive line player Levens Louis, a junior criminology major, who totaled five tackles. Defensive players Bobby Cielakie, a senior medical biology major, and punter Bernie Mulcahy, a senior business major, both had quarterback sacks.
“They couldn’t really tackle well, so we just had to be us,” said running back Damien Jones, a sophomore business major. “I wanted 70 points; [68 is] not enough,” he joked.
The offense was led by Jones and sophomore quarterback Chris Lang, a sports leadership and management major.
“My expectations were, whatever happens, just blow them out, nothing else,” said Lang. “For the most part, it was easy, but there were a couple of plays we could have fixed.”
Jones contributed 39 rushing yards. He started the first quarter with a five-yard reception on a pass from Lang, who averages around 213 passing yards per game. Lang totaled another 210 passing yards and 14 completed passes. By the end of the game, he had three touchdowns.
Lang scored two touchdown passes; one was a 21-yard pass to running back Nathan Delgado, and the second was a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Jakob Rivers with four seconds left in the second quarter.
Wide receiver John Germano also finished the game with 47 receiving yards, a record for the team.
The Nor’easters finished the game with two touchdowns in the last quarter, bringing the score to 68-0. The first touchdown came when Will Ledbetter, a junior applied exercise science major, threw Ty Lablond, a senior sports leadership and management major, a nine-yard reception. The team totaled a score of 433 yards on offense.
“We had a really good week of practice, and I don’t think we had a second thought about the game, from the point it started to the point it ended,” said wide receiver Shane Laporte, a senior elementary education major.
“We relied on what we knew and hammered down all our plays this week, so it was a pretty easygoing game,” he said.
The next home game will be against Endicott on October 19th at 1 pm. Go Nor’easters!
Mikayla • Oct 9, 2024 at 6:03 pm
Amazing photography work!!!