By Riley Crowell Asst. Sports Editor The Framingham State Rams defeated the Fitchburg State Falcons 25-22 in an exhilarating back-and-forth battle at Bowditch Field Oct. 5. The victory brings Framingham’s overall record to 1-4 and their conference record to 1-3. After a slow start, Framingham unveiled some trickery on the first play of their third drive. Sophomore quarterback Tanner Leo threw a backward pass to senior wide receiver EJ Nichols, who flung the ball downfield to sophomore wide receiver Alex Maia for a 44-yard completion. Head Coach Thomas Kelley said they practiced the trick play a lot this week. “We try to make it fun for the guys, and EJ is probably our best all-around athlete, so we try to get him involved as much as we can.” Nichols is listed as a wide receiver, but started seven games at quarterback for the Rams during the 2023 season, making him a versatile asset for the Framingham offense. Nichols said, “That was my first position. I’ve been a quarterback since I was 6. … I definitely have it in my back pocket.” Both defenses showed their prowess in the first quarter. Between the two sides, offensive drives resulted in five punts, an interception, and a turnover on downs. The first quarter came to a close with the Rams and Falcons deadlocked at 0-0. On the first drive of the second quarter, an errant Framingham snap flew over the head of Leo, who recovered the ball in the Rams’ endzone, resulting in a safety for Fitchburg. The Falcons, now leading 2-0, took that momentum and ran with it, putting together a 54-yard drive capped off by a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rocky Marchitelli to wide receiver Sahir Gomez, extending the Fitchburg lead to 8-0. Following the touchdown, Marchitelli and Gomez connected on the 2-point conversion, giving the Falcons a 10-0 advantage over the Rams. After scoreless drives from both teams, the Rams regained possession with 6:07 to play in the second quarter and wasted no time in finally putting points on the board. On third down, Leo completed a short pass to Nichols, who masterfully evaded the Fitchburg defense and was left with nothing but open field between him and the endzone. The 51-yard play between Leo and Nichols resulted in a touchdown for Framingham, cutting the Falcons’ lead to 10-6. Following the touchdown, Rams’ senior kicker Matt Farley converted the extra point to bring the score to 10-7. After a scoreless remainder of the half, the score stood at 10-7. The Rams received the ball to begin the third quarter. Following a penalty-ridden drive on both sides of the ball, a snap was fumbled by Leo and recovered by Fitchburg’s Cameron Monette at the 50-yard line, giving possession back to the Falcons. Fitchburg did not take advantage of the good field position gifted to them by Framingham and were forced to punt for the sixth time. Searching for solutions to their offensive woes, the Rams turned to graduate student quarterback Luke Thompson, hoping the experienced left-hander could help lead Framingham to their first win of the season. Thompson, nicknamed “Mr. Skywalker” by his teammates, is the fourth quarterback Framingham has utilized this season. He previously played at Pomona-Pitzer College in Claremont, California. Thompson is a newcomer to the program and had only played at non-quarterback positions in prior games. Thompson was unsure if he would have the opportunity to play against Fitchburg, but stayed prepared. He said, "I was just sitting there ready to go.” “We had a few complications on offense and coach told me to start taking some snaps, get some throws in, and try to be ready to go,” he added. Spoiler alert, he was ready to go. In his first drive at quarterback for the Rams, Thompson launched a ball over the heads of the Fitchburg defenders, finding an open Maia for a 61-yard completion, putting the Rams in excellent position to score. From there, Thompson dropped back to pass and connected with Nichols in the endzone on a perfectly placed throw for a 15-yard completion and Framingham touchdown. This touchdown gave the Rams a 13-10 lead, which was then extended to 14-10 when Farley converted the extra point with 6:47 to play in the third quarter. Fitchburg would respond quickly, moving steadily down the field on their following offensive drive and ultimately finding the endzone on a 10-yard rush by running back Matthew Aguirre, putting the Falcons back in front 16-14. On the extra point attempt, Framingham junior defensive end Kymauny Roland broke through the Falcons’ offensive line in time to throw his arms up and block the kick, keeping the score at 16-14. Roland said, “I just wanted to shout out my fellow teammate AP [Arlingcove Paul] - he helped create the gap.” This was part of a stellar defensive game from Roland, who finished the game with six tackles, a sack, a pass break up, and the aforementioned blocked kick. Roland’s defensive effort earned him MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week Oct. 7. Roland said, “It’s a privilege, honestly. I fought through a lot of obstacles and injuries in the beginning of the season that I felt slowed me down. To get back to feeling like myself feels great.” Framingham’s next drive resulted in a punt, giving possession back to the Falcons. On Fitchburg’s second play of the drive, a pass from Marchitelli was deflected high up into the air, falling perfectly into the arms of Framingham freshman defensive lineman Mitchell Purter for an interception. The interception placed the Rams at the Fitchburg 14-yard line, in prime position to score as the game entered the fourth quarter. Although Framingham wouldn’t find the endzone, they would take a 17-16 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Farley with 14:51 to play in the fourth quarter. The Rams would hold on to their 1-point lead for the next 8 minutes, but fell behind again when Fitchburg capped off a 60-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Marchitelli to Gomez, giving the Falcons a 22-17 lead with 6:20 left to play in the game. Framingham began the following offensive drive at their own 44-yard line. A 1-yard rush, followed by a 10-yard holding penalty and an incomplete pass set the Rams up for a daunting third-and-19 from their own 35-yard line. On third down, Thompson dropped back to pass and was pressured by three Fitchburg defenders, but quickly got the ball away and delivered a pass with pinpoint accuracy to Maia along the sideline. Maia broke free from an attempted Fitchburg tackle and sprinted down the field, running past the rest of the Falcons’ defense and into the endzone for a 65-yard touchdown, electrifying the Rams’ crowd and putting Framingham back in front 23-22. The Rams made use of the multitalented Nichols once again on the 2-point conversion when he completed a pass to sophomore running back Jarvin Simon to boost the Framingham lead to 25-22. Fitchburg received the ensuing kickoff with 4:51 on the clock. Following an 18-yard run by Aguirre, a brilliant defensive stand from the Rams set up a fourth-and-4 for the Falcons with the game on the line. An attempted pass by Marchitelli was batted down by Purter, resulting in a turnover on downs for Fitchburg and giving possession back to Framingham with 2:32 remaining. The Rams ran for one more first down, then entered victory formation and had Thompson take a knee to run the clock out, securing a 25-22 win for Framingham. Nichols said, “It feels so good. I’m more excited for the young guys, because we have a lot of freshmen. It’s their first taste of victory in a collegiate game.” Roland said, “This is exactly what we needed! I wanted these young guys to get a feel of what winning around Framingham is all about.” Kelley said, “I’m proud of each and every one of the guys that participated.” Thompson said, “I absolutely think [the win] is going to bring momentum. We have a bye week coming. We have a lot of guys hurt. We’re going to get a lot of guys back.” “We’re going to be bigger, better, stronger,” he added. The Rams are back in action when they travel to Westfield State for a MASCAC matchup Oct. 19, following their bye week. Kelley said, “Next week is a bye week, so it’ll be interesting to see how we handle it, especially since we’re such a young team.” Roland said the key to carrying over momentum to future games will be staying focused in practice. He said, “Treat every practice like it’s a game day and keep the same intensity.” Nichols said, “Focus is going to be huge in the two weeks, just taking this momentum and trying to keep it for a longer time than normal, but I think that we can do it.” “We have a big game against Westfield after the bye week. We’ll be ready, well-rested, and prepared for that,” he added. Thompson said, “We have half of the season left - let’s go get some more wins.”