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26
Winner Saint Anselm STA 2-2
20
American Int'l AIC 1-3
Winner
Saint Anselm STA
2-2
26
Final
20
American Int'l AIC
1-3
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
STA Saint Anselm 0 2 7 17 26
AIC American Int'l 6 14 0 0 20

Game Recap: Football |

Football Scores 24 Unanswered to Defeat AIC for First Time Since 1941

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore DL Eddie Matovu (Tewksbury, Mass.) recovered a fumble and ran it back 27 yards with 4:00 remaining in the fourth quarter to complete an 18-point comeback and lift the Saint Anselm College football team to Saturday afternoon's 26-20 victory against American International College at Abdow Field.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

  • Senior LB Joel Jorgensen (Eldersburg, Md.) tallied nine tackles (seven solo), two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
  • Junior LB Josh Garrett (Riviera Beach, Fla.) registered a team-high 10 tackles to go along with a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
  • Senior DB Carroll Bailey (Clinton, Mass.) totaled nine tackles and picked off a pair of passes.
  • Senior RB Elad Covaliu (Rockville, Md.) amassed 200 all-purpose yards as he ran 23 times for 92 yards and a touchdown, caught a team-best six passes for 43 yards and returned three kicks for 65 yards.
  • Third-string freshman QB Eric Fairweather (Londonderry, N.H.) carried 11 times for 65 yards and a touchdown, while completing 7 of 9 passes for 47 yards and an interception.

For the foes…

  • Maurice Easterling rushed 24 times for 170 yards and a touchdown.
  • Jerrod Shelby racked up a game-high 16 tackles and recovered a fumble.
  • Demetrius Steed recorded 14 tackles and forced a fumble.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Following senior DB Elijah Thomas' (Gaithersburg, Md.) team-leading second interception of the season in the end zone, the Saint Anselm offense converted on a pair of third downs and moved the ball deep into AIC territory before turning it over on fourth down.
  • The Yellow Jackets would then put together a nine-play, 74-yard drive that was capped by an Easterling 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal that made it 6-0 with 1:58 on the clock in the first quarter. The extra point was blocked Bailey and nearly returned for two points by fellow senior DB Tyler Lindsay (Temple Hills, Md.), but he was chased down from behind and tackled at the AIC 1-yard line.
  • After a pair of recovered fumbles in the second quarter by Jorgensen and Garrett led to Saint Anselm drives that ended in punts, the Hawks would eventually get those two points when the Yellow Jackets snapped the ball through the back of their own end zone for a safety that cut it to 6-2 with 3:29 left in the opening half. The safety was set up by a pooch punt that was downed at the 1-yard line by senior QB Cam McLevedge (Weymouth, Mass.).
  • Things would not go well for Saint Anselm, which owned a 3-0 turnover margin at that point, over that final 3:29 as it lost three fumbles that led to a pair of AIC touchdowns in a span of 32 seconds. The Yellow Jackets would go into the break with a 20-2 advantage.
  • Saint Anselm scored its first touchdown of the game as Fairweather capped an eight-play, 57-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring run that trimmed the deficit to 20-9 with 11:50 on the clock in the third.
  • The game went to the fourth quarter that way when senior K/P Shane Grayson (Ormond Beach, Fla.) drilled a 22-yard field goal that made it a one-possession game at 20-12 with 11:10 to play.
  • Following a Lindsay interception on the ensuing drive – the third Hawks' pick of AIC in the end zone on the day – Saint Anselm moved 80 yards in 12 plays with Covaliu's 12-yard run putting the finishing touches on the drive. The two-point conversion try failed and the Hawks were within 20-18 with 4:09 on the clock.
  • Saint Anselm went ahead for the first time all afternoon just nine seconds later as Matovu scooped and scored on AIC's first play of its drive. Fairweather ran in the two-point attempt to make it 26-20.
  • The Yellow Jackets moved the ball down the field before Bailey intercepted the ball at Saint Anselm 4-yard line and returned it 74 yards to seal the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • AIC outgained Saint Anselm, 319-264, including 207-164 on the ground.
  • The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over seven times, including four in the second half, while the Hawks turned it over four times and just once after halftime.
  • The Saint Anselm defense held AIC to just 4-for-13 on third down and sacked the Yellow Jackets four times. The Hawks' offense was 9 of 17 on third down and was not sacked on 24 dropbacks.

NOTES

  • The win was the first against AIC since a 13-0 victory Oct. 11, 1941 and snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Yellow Jackets.
  • The seven takeaways for the Saint Anselm defense match a program record that was set against Bentley on Oct. 25, 2008 and last equaled at Merrimack on Oct. 4, 2014.

UP NEXT

  • The Hawks return to the gridiron Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon when they play host to Assumption College in a Homecoming tilt at Grappone Stadium.

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