Box Score
EASTON, Mass. - The Southern Connecticut State University football team outscored Stonehill by a 32-0 margin in the second half and cruised to a 45-21 win over the Skyhawks on Saturday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium. The Owls trailed 21-13 at halftime, but used a 25-point third quarter to seize control of the contest.
SCSU improved to 4-4, 4-2 in Northeast-10 play with the win. Stonehill is now 3-4, 1-4.
Trailing 21-13 at the break, the Owls took the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a six-play, 68-yard drive that concluded with a two-yard plunge from John Wiechman (Buxton, Maine). The PAT was no good, which kept the score at 21-19.
The Owls' defense quickly forced a punt and the visitors wasted no time in taking the lead for good. Quarterback Kevin Lynch (Medfield, Mass.) connected with Nick Mandich (Miami, Fla.) on a 17-yard score to give SCSU its first lead of the day at 25-21.
Leading by four later in the frame, the visitors came through with another key defensive play when Gavin Nelson (Cambridge, Mass.) scooped up a fumble and returned it to the Stonehill 1. Wiechman found the end zone on the next play to extend the lead to 32-21 after a successful PAT from Christopher Hazelton (Bristol, Conn.).
The scoring barrage continued once more in the third quarter when Patrick Collins (Manchester, Conn.) finished off a five-play, 46-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run.
Lynch hit Jerome Cunningham (Waterbury, Conn.) for a 30-yard touchdown for the only fourth quarter scoring.
It was an interesting start to the contest, as the first three touchdowns of the game were not registered by either offense.
Stonehill's Stephan Neville returned the game's opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 after the PAT. The Owls countered midway through the opening quarter when Josh McWilliams (Paterson, N.J.) corralled an airborne football and took it 24 yards the other way for a tying score.
The Skyhawks went back in front in the final minute of the opening quarter when Neville stripped an Owls' wide receiver and went 35 yards for a touchdown.
SCSU cut it to 14-13 in the second quarter when Collins scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 1-yard run. However, Stonehill added a score on its next drive to extend its lead to 21-13 at halftime.
However, that would be the final scoring for the hosts on the day, and the Owls took over in the second half.
Lynch finished 15-of-27 for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Wiechman posted a season-high 133 yards on 24 carries and scored twice, while Collins also found the end zone on two occasions. Andre Privott (Middletown, Conn.) led the receivers with seven catches for 110 yards.
The SCSU defense merited just one offensive score – that coming after a successful fake punt gave Stonehill the ball at the Owls' 8 – and held Eddie Vachon, the Northeast-10's leading rusher to just 24
yards on 17 carries.
The Owls have a bye next week and return to action on Oct. 6 for a road game at Merrimack.
