PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Southern Connecticut football team lost to Pace, 18-16, in a Northeast 10 Conference matchup in Pleasantville, N.Y. With the loss, the Owls drop to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the NE10 while Pace improves to 3-7 overall and 3-5 in conference play.

Tylon Papallo (Meriden, Conn.) led the Owls offense with 175 total yards on offensive. The first-year Owl's day was highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat while also adding a 33-yard touchdown catch. He totaled 42 yards on three carries and 150 yards on five catches. Diante Wilson (Union, N.Y.) ran for 89 yards on 21 carries while Marc Reali (Biddeford, Me.) was 13-for-25 for 202 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Kwadir Delgado-McIntyre (Hamden, Conn.) led the Owls with eight tackles and also intercepted a pass on Pace's last play of the first half. He also broke-up a Hail Mary bid by the Setters. Cameron Kelly (Norwalk, Conn.) had a team-leading two sacks in the game, while Harrison Smith (Rochester, Mass.) and Sidney Jones (Hartford, Conn.) also had sacks. Mitch McDunnah (Columbia, Conn.) matched Delgado-McIntyre's tackle total with eight of his own.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Szymon Gawlick put the Owls on the board with his 10^th field of the season from 25 yards to cap an eight-play 51-yard Southern Connecticut drive.
• Early in the second quarter, Papallo gave the Owls a 9-0 lead with his keeper out of the Wildcat formation, steering through the Setters' defense for a 47-yard touchdown.
• Coming out of the half, Pace got on the board on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Sean Kehley to Ramir Tann-Davis to cut Southern's lead to 9-7.
• Pace took control of the lead two possessions later. With the Owls driving, the Setters picked up a fumble and returned it 99 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The two point conversion made it 16-9 in favor of the Setters.
• Ben Franchino then converted on a 31-yard field goal to make it a two possession game.
• The highlight of the day came during the Owl's comeback bid. After a 34-yard kick-off return by Shawn Martin, Reali ran for 11 yards to get into Pace territory. He then spied Papallo for a 20-yard pick-up and then ran for three more yards. Reali then found Izaiah Sanders in traffic, who reeled in a catch between three defenders, and pitched the ball to Papallo who took it the rest of the way for the touchdown. The ensuing on-side kick was recovered by the Setters who ran-out the clock.

NOTES

• Gawlick's first field goal attempt made him the fourth Owls' kicker in program history, joining Dale Goodknight (11), Chris Hazelton & Charles Gallagher (10).
• Gawlick missed his second attempt of the game, which would have tied Goodknight for the program's single-season record. It was also Gawlick's first missed field goal attempt of the season.
• Papallo has now compiled 412 yards on offense with six touchdowns in his last three games.
• Papallo also becomes the first player in program history with a rushing touchdown and a touchdown catch in back-to-back games.
• Shawn Martin had a pair of big returns for the Owls, including a season-best 60-yard kickoff return with one man to beat between him and the end zone. He also added a 30-yard return in the fourth quarter.
• Martin's 28 kick-off returns are the third most in program history while his 658 total kickoff return yards is the second-most in program history, passing Kendall Thomas' 637 yards in 2016. John Moscatel holds the record with 820 return yards in 2013.
• With Kwadir Delgado-McIntyre's second-quarter interception, the Owls have now picked off a pass in five-straight games and have totaled 11 for the year. It's the most in a season for the Owls' defense since 2017.
• Diante Wilson also added 23 yards on two receptions, including a 19-yard catch from the backfield.

UP NEXT
Southern will host Stonehill on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 12 p.m. at Jess Dow Field for its final regular-season game of the 2021 season with Senior Day Festivities set for the start of the game.