Box Score EASTON, Mass. – For the second week in a row, the Southern Connecticut State University jumped out to a double-digit halftime lead. Tonight, thanks to four forced fumbles, seven sacks and four touchdown passes from quarterback
Robert Nittolo (Hillsborough, N.J.), the Owls handed Stonehill its first loss of the year with a 28-17 triumph.
The Owls are now 1-4 and 1-3 in Northeast-10 Conference play. Stonehill dropped to 4-1 and 3-1.
Kayjuan Bynum (Springfield, Mass.) paced the defense with team-highs of seven tackles, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, the latter of two which were both career-highs. He became the first Owl in seven years to notch at least three sacks in a game, with the last being Andrew Pratt against AIC in 2008. In addition, no Owl had forced multiple fumbles in a game since Daniel Allen accomplished the feat against Pace in 2010.
Nittolo finished 17-of-26 for 193 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those strikes went to
Devante Jenkins (Carson, Calif.) who had seven catches for 61 yards, both team-highs.
Seimou Smith (Concord, N.H.) and
Austin Jones (Hartsdale, N.Y.) both posted identical receiving lines of three catches, 43 yards and a touchdown.
Stonehill took the opening kickoff and marched into the Owls' red zone, but had to settle for a 34-yard field goal from Steve Grzywacz and a 3-0 lead.
The Owls went ahead for good later in the opening quarter. Jones hauled in a 22-yard pass from Nittolo to conclude a 10-play, 64-yard drive.
Mike McNally (Bristol, Conn.) added the PAT for a 7-3 lead.
Bynum had a sack and a forced fumble, one that was picked up by
Brandon Pelzer (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) on the ensuing Stonehill drive. The Owls started their drive at the Stonehill 31 and needed only one play for Nittolo and Jenkins to connect for a score. McNally's PAT gave the Owls a 14-3 lead after the opening quarter.
Southern extended its lead to 21-3 early in the second quarter. A 38-yard run by Nittolo was the big play of the drive, giving the Owls the ball at the Stonehill 2. Two plays later, Nittolo found Jenkins from a yard out for a 21-3 cushion after the PAT.
The Skyhawks scored a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half to cut the deficit to 21-10.
Both teams traded second half touchdowns. The Owls restored their 18-point lead when Nittolo hit Smith on a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 28-10 advantage after the PAT. Stonehill scored in the final seconds of the third quarter to make it 28-17, but that would be all of the scoring for the evening.
The Owls are back in action next Saturday for a home game against Pace.
