SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Southern Connecticut football won an overtime thriller in Springfield, Mass. with a 23-22 victory at American International. With the overtime win against the Yellowjackets, the Owls improve to 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the NE10 conference.
Marc Reali (Biddeford, Me.) scored the Owls' game-winning touchdown in overtime to cap an incredible performance for Southern Connecticut. Reali finished the day 19-for-24 for 227 yards with two touchdown passes while also rushing for 18 yards and a touchdown.
Ryan Soules (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and
Shawn Martin (Scotch Plains, N>J.) both had touchdown catches in the Owls' win. Martin had four catches for 39 yards and also carried the ball 13 times for 35 yards and a 23-yard kick-off return.
On defense,
Harrison Smith (Rochester, Mass.) blocked an point-after after and returned it 92-yards for two points for the Owls.
Hasan Dominick (Jersey City, N.J.) led the Owls with 10 tackles while
Jahlil Watson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and
Joe DiGello (Orange, Conn.) both had eight tackles.
Matt Ansell (Red Bank, N.J.) broke up three passes while also finishing with seven tackles for the Owls while
Ja'Kai Young (Stamford, Conn.) also broke up two passes.
AIC took a 7-0 lead after Sidiki Kone capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Early in the second quarter, Reali hooked up with Martin out of the Owls' backfield for a 13-yard screen pass to tie the game at 7-7.
Coming out of the half, the Yellowjackets pushed their lead to 13-7 on a 39-yard touchdown by Dahvey Hicks before Smith made an incredible play on the extra point attempt. Leaping through the middle of the line, Smith caught the extra-point attempt and won a race down field to cut AIC's lead to 13-9.
Minutes later, and after another Owls' defensive stop, Reali took the Owls downfield on a seven-play, 71-yard drive before hitting Soules over the middle for a 41-yard touchdown reception that gave the Owls a 16-13 lead.
After AIC's Josh Hamel connected on a 22-yard field goal to tie the game, the Owls had an opportunity to win, but a 44-yard field goal attempt by
Szymon Gawlick was off-line.
In overtime, Reali converted on the Owls' first possession, maneuvering through the AIC defense to give Southern a 23-16 lead, following Gawlick's extra-point. AIC was then given the ball with a chance to answer. Yellowjacket quarterback Brandon Robinson found Deven Arthur on a fade route in the back-right corner to pull within in a point of the Owls, which is as far as they would go before Hamel missed the extra-point attempt to give Southern the victory on the road.
Southern has now won two of its last three games heading into its final non-conference matchup of the year when it hosts Post on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 12 p.m. at Jess Dow Field.
