CHESTER —- For Widener quarterback Colin Masterson, there is no place like home.
The freshman from Ridley may be the only Division III starting quarterback in the country who commutes to school. That wasn’t the original plan.
The 2009 Daily Times Player of the Year was at Wesley College in Dover, Del. a month ago, but a case of homesickness brought him back to Delaware County, with the help of Ridley coach Dennis Decker.
“I just didn’t feel comfortable down there,” Masterson said after he led the Pride to a 21-0 victory over Thiel Saturday at Quick Stadium. It wasn’t the school, the football program or Wolverines coach (and Penncrest grad) Mike Drass that made Masterson feel uncomfortable.
“Coach Drass was great,” Masterson said. “He’s a great guy and they have a great program. It just didn’t feel right.”
So Masterson asked for and received his release from Wesley and then called Decker to weigh his options. Decker called first-year Widener coach Isaac Collins to see if the Pride had any room for a quarterback who led his high school team to the District One Class AAAA title as a senior.
Collins, looking for all the help he can get, quickly said yes.
Two weeks later, Masterson was Widener’s starting quarterback.
“He’s a winner,” Collins said of Masterson. “He comes from a winning program so he knows how to win. And he has all the other intangibles you look for in a quarterback. He came in, learned the offense and won the job. My hat has to go off to the coaches at Ridley because they prepared him to come in and be able to do the job.”
Masterson did a much better job in his second collegiate start. He completed 11 of 21 yards for 134 yards and one touchdown in his home debut.
That calculates to a passer rating of 120.27, a far cry from the 60 rating Masterson posted in his first collegiate start, a 37-0 loss to Alfred last week. He also ran for a touchdown.
“It was our first game in a new system and we didn’t play well as a team,” Masterson said. “As the quarterback, I take the blame for that. I didn’t get us together as a team. This week we pulled together as a unit and played much better.”
It was a better, all-around performance for the Pride (1-1).
While Masterson engineered three scoring drives, with an assist from senior quarterback Drew Lagomarsino, the defense posted its first shutout since a 7-0 victory over Lycoming in 2004. It also was Widener’s first shutout in a nonconference game since a 14-0 triumph in the opening round of the 1994 NCAA Division III playoffs.
The Pride held Thiel to eight total yards in the first half and 137 overall. The Tomcats (0-2) crossed midfield once in the first half and that was with the help of a personal foul penalty.
Widener racked up six sacks, 12 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles.
“We learned a lot from that loss to Alfred,” said end Shane Szumski, who led the Pride with six tackles, including two sacks. He also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. “We really didn’t get after it. We had a tough week of practice and came out and played the way we’re capable of playing.”
It helped that the offense put some points on the board to take some of the heat off the defense.
Brendan Curran sprinted 23 yards in the first quarter to cap a 10-play, 71 yard march. Masterson scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. After Lagomarsino gained 23 yards on three consecutive runs, Masterson came in and threw a 37-yard scoring strike to Justin Horning for his first TD pass on the college level.
The Widener fans loved it and Masterson is glad to be home.
“Yeah,” Masterson said. “I’m happier at home.”
Widener 21, Thiel 0
Thiel 0 0 0 0 — 0
Widener 7 14 0 0 — 21
First Quarter
Wid–Curran 23 run (Breslin kick, 7:37
Second Quarter
Wid–Masterson 1 run (Breslin kick), 7:07
Wid–Horning 37 pass from Masterson (Breslin kick), 3:44
TEAM STATISTICS
TC WID
First Downs 12 16
Rushes-Yards 35-54 40-185
Passing Yards 83 132
Total Offense 137 317
Comp-Att-Int 18-32-0 12-22-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-1
Punts-Avg. 8-36.8 6-36.5
Penalties-Yards 6-55 12-108
Time of Possession 32:18 27:42
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Thiel: Soell 9-34, Wazalle 12-23, Culver 2-9, Petrovich 2-3, Gargano 3-(minus-3), An. Smith 7-(minus-12). Widener: Ad. Smith 12-73, Lagomarsino 8-55, Curran 3-39, Boima 6-19, Quattlebaum 1-11, Clayton 1-5, Masterson 8-1, Campbell 1-(minus-8).
PASSING — Thiel: Soell 17-29-0 83; An. Smith 1-3-0, 0. Widener: Masterson 11-21-1 134; Lagomarsino 1-1-0 (minus-2).
RECEIVING — Thiel: Culver 6-13, Turkalj 5-21, Brophy-Davis 4-22, DeJong 2-15, Wazelle 1-12. Widener: Clayton 3-48, Horning 2-49, Quattlebaum 2-5, Petrak 1-18, Penna 1-12, Ritter 1-6, Ad. Smith 1-(minus-2), Boima 1-(minus-4).
MISSED FIELD GOALS — Breslin, Widener, 32 (WL).
