Easton, Mass. (November 9, 2002)-The Saint Anselm College football team benefited from five Stonehill College turnovers and 420 yards of offense en route to a convincing 33-14 win in a Northeast-10 Conference game Saturday played in Easton, Mass.
Saint Anselm, which has won four of its last five games, improves its record to 4-5 both overall and in the conference with the win, while Stonehill falls to 2-8 overall, 1-7 in NE-10 play.
Saint Anselm scored 16 points in the first quarter and never looked back. The Hawks started things midway through the opening session on a two-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Derek DiMartino (Amherst, N.H./ UMass Amherst). The run capped an eight-play, 40-yard drive. The Hawks tried running for a two-point conversion but the attempt was not successful.
Saint Anselm immediately took control, recovering an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and proceeded to go 41 yards on four plays with Keith Comeau (Marblehead, Mass./ Marblehead) finishing the drive by tossing a nine-yard catch and run touchdown to Travis Pelletier (Deerfield, N.H./ Central).
The Hawks then recovered a fumble on their own 33-yardline and drove 60 yards before the drive staled and All-New England kicker Erol Senel (S. Euclid, Ohio/ Benedictine) was called on for a 27-yard field goal, which he sent through the uprights.
Saint Anselm took the 16-0 lead into the third quarter before Senel converted his second field goal of the day, this time hitting a 22-yarder to put the visitors ahead, 19-0. The Chieftains fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Saint Anselm recovered on the 31-yardline. The Hawks needed just four plays before DiMartino banged home his second scoring run of the day, a bruising 11-yard run to put the visitors ahead, 26-0.
Stonehill added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns sandwiched between a beautiful 44-yard scoring strike from Comeau to Jason Case (Attleboro, Mass./ Salisbury) for the final margin.
DiMartino ran for 157 yards and two TDs on 22 carries while Comeau completed 15 of 26 passes for 217 yards and two scores. Pelletier led all receivers with five catches for 48 yards and one TD.
For the game, Saint Anselm totaled 420 yards of offense with 217 coming through the air and 203 on the ground. Stonehill totaled 345 yards but was undone by five turnovers. The Chieftains were led by Rob Olivar, who ran eight times for 70 yards and scored both Stonehill touchdowns.
The Saint Anselm defense was led by linebackers Matt Horgan (Salem, Mass./ Salem) and James Ward (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) who each recorded 12 tackles and half a sack. Horgan also recovered two fumbles, one of them forced by Ward. All-New England defensive lineman Lance Flagg (Simsbury, Conn./ Bridgton Acad.) had a monster day as well, totaling nine tackles (seven solo), one sack, five tackles for a loss and three quarterback hurries.
Saint Anselm returns to action November 16 when the Hawks close out their season with a home game against Southern Connecticut State at Manchester's Grappone Stadium. Kickoff is at 12:00 PM.
