Manchester, N.H. (November 10) -- Led by
a six-touchdown performance from senior
quarterback Steve Armstrong (Nutley, N.J.),
Southern Connecticut defeated Saint Anselm by a 54-14 final on
Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 football action.
Prior to the start of the game, the Saint Anselm football
program honored 12 seniors who were playing in their final home
game at Grappone Stadium. In addition, senior wide receiver
Corey Williams (Billerica, Mass.) was honored for
a number of Saint Anselm single-season and career records he has
set with the Hawks.
The Owls got on the board with 11:29 left in the first quarter
when Chris Bergeski (Mountainside, N.J.) recovered
a Jonathan Lee (Norwalk, Conn.) fumble in the end
zone for the 6-0 lead. The drive was keyed by a 31-yard completion
from Armstrong to Lee on the previous play. The extra-point
attempt was blocked by Saint Anselm defensive back Mark
Colantonio (Londonderry, N.H.). Southern Connecticut
scored again with 2:43 left in the opening quarter on a 10-yard TD
pass from Armstrong to Bergeski to cap off an eight-play, 80-yard
drive for the 13-0 lead. The Owls added another score in the
opening minutes of the second period when Jerrell Milligan
(Inwood, N.Y.) pulled down a 29-yard pass from Armstrong.
SCSU again missed the extra point and the lead stood at 19-7.
Saint Anselm answered back with another impressive drive as the
Hawks capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive with a 13-yard TD pass from
Nick Barese (Braintree, Mass.) to
Mike Wojtas (Dracut, Mass.) to cut the lead to
19-14. The Owls continued a high-scoring first half though with a
six-play, 61-yard scoring drive capped by a 13-yard rushing score
from sophomore Jerom Freeman (Peekskill, N.Y.).
After the ensuing Saint Anselm drive stalled inside the red zone,
the Owls took the ball in the closing minutes and scored on a
three-yard pass from Armstrong to Brandon Toles
(Washington, Md.) for the 33-14 lead. The touchdown was
set up by a 72-yard Bergeski reception down the near sideline.
Armstrong came out firing in the third quarter again and with
two touchdown passes, tied the SCSU single-game record to push the
lead to 40-14 with 6:35 remaining. On the ensuing possession,
Martin Mason, Jr. (Bloomfield, Conn.) picked off
Barese's pass and took it back 68 yards for a score and a 54-14
lead.
For the Hawks, Barese completed 22-of-41 passes for 204
yards. On the ground, junior Conor Cahill (Salem,
Mass.) finished with 42 yards on 17 carries as the
Hawks gained over 100 yards on the ground as a team.
Wojtas pulled down six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in
his final game at Saint Anselm. Saint Anselm All-American
Casey Larson (Pascoag, R.I.) picked up two tackles
for a loss in the game and tied the career school record with 60
tackles for a loss during his career.
For SCSU, Armstrong was 19-of-23 for 363 yards and six
touchdowns to lead the passing game. Bergeski and Lee both
surpassed the 100-yard mark as they finished with 147 and 144 yards
each, respectively, and combined for three touchdowns. Toles led
the way with 96 rushing yards for the Owls.
At halftime, the Saint Anselm football program and head
coach Ken Knapczyk presented a check to the Shriners
Hospital, which the Hawks visited in Springfield, Mass., last
Friday afternoon prior to the team's game at American International
the following day. This afternoon's game is also the Third Annual
Shrine Game, an event that the Saint Anselm football program has
looked forward to each season.
In addition, the Hawks, in conjunction with the Gridiron
Club, also made a donation at halftime to the family of
Consolada Suero, who has three children and who has been diagnosed
with terminal cancer. That was also presented at halftime by coach
Knapczyk and Gridiron Club president Al Barese.
The Hawks end the season at 0-10 overall and 0-9 in league play.
Southern Connecticut improves to 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the
Northeast-10 and will await the NCAA Tournament pairings
announcement.
