Parsons Ties School Record With Six Touchdown Passes, Plichta Sets School Mark With Five Scoring Receptions As Football Celebrates Happy Homecoming With 41-7 Northeast-10 Victory Over Saint Anselm

October 1, 2005

STONEHILL FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 1, 2005

W.B. Mason Stadium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL: STONEHILL 41, SAINT ANSELM 7

1 2 3 4 Total

Saint Anselm (1-4, 0-4 Northeast-10) 7 0 0 0 - 7

Stonehill (3-2, 3-1 Northeast-10) 7 20 7 7 - 41

SCORING SUMMARY

STO: Wes Dauer 17 yd pass from Cruz Parsons (Sean Donahue kick) 11:23 1st

STA: Pat Turner 51 yd pass from Shane Dinagen (Michael Garcarz kick) 3:36 1st

STO: Mike Plichta 41 yd pass from Parsons (kick failed) 14:53 2nd

STO: Plichta 18 yd pass from Parsons (Donahue kick) 6:52 2nd

STO: Plichta 16 yd pass from Parsons (Donahue kick) 0:32 2nd

STO: Plichta 15 yd pass from Parsons (Donahue kick) 10:33 3rd

STO: Plichta 6 yd pass from Parsons (Donahue kick) 9:01 4th

Attendance: 1,733

TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS TO FOLLOW

EASTON, Mass.-- Freshman quarterback Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill, Calif.) threw for 275 yards and tied a school-record with six touchdown passes, including a school-record five to senior Mike Plichta (Milford, Mass.), in leading Stonehill to a 41-7 Northeast-10 Conference football victory over Saint Anselm Saturday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium.

In just his second collegiate start, Parsons tied the school record of six scoring passes set by former Stonehill standout Tony DelloIacono against M.I.T. nearly 11 years to the day (October 2, 1994), as his first touchdown pass of the day came on a 17-yard hookup with fellow freshman Wes Dauer (Plymouth, N.H.) that came after a blocked punt to give the host Skyhawks (3-2, 3-1 Northeast-10) an early 7-0 lead with just 3:37 gone in the contest. The visiting Hawks (1-4, 0-4 Northeast-10) evened matters late in the opening stanza when senior quarterback Shane Dinagen (Harrisville, R.I.) found junior Pat Turner (North Andover, Mass.) on a 51-yard scoring strike, but Parsons hooked up with Plichta on a 41-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the second quarter to give Stonehill the lead for good at 13-7.

Plichta, who broke the Stonehill single-game touchdown reception mark of four previously held by three individuals, hauled in two more scoring passes in the second stanza of 18 and 16 yards, respectively, to give the Skyhawks a 27-7 cushion at the break. Plichta’s four touchdown reception of the afternoon came on the first Stonehill drive of the second half, a 15-yard strike from Parsons, for a 34-7 advantage, and he closed out the scoring with his record-setting catch from six yards out with just over nine minutes remaining to account for the final score.

Parsons completed 25-of-33 attempts for his 275 yards on the afternoon for the Skyhawks, as Plichta hauled in a career-high 12 receptions for 179 yards. Parsons also rushed for 41 yards on 12 carries to amass 316 of Stonehill’s 325 yards of total offense for the afternoon. The Skyhawks forced four Saint Anselm turnovers and recorded five sacks of Dinagen on the day, as sophomore Jabari Prince (Mendon, Mass.) paced the hosts defensively with a career-high 13 total tackles (eight solo) to go with an interception.

Dinagen finished the day 18-of-42 for 215 yards and a score in the setback for the Hawks, who received 85 rushing yards from freshman Drew Lyons (Clinton, Mass.) as part of 251 yards of total offense on the afternoon. Sophomore Corey Williams (Billerica, Mass.) hauled in seven receptions for 76 yards for the visitors, while sophomore Nate Munzing (Gardiner, Maine) added seven total tackles on defense for Saint Anselm.

Stonehill travels to Smithfield, R.I. next Saturday afternoon to take on Bryant in a Northeast-10 outing that begins at 1:00 p.m., while Saint Anselm travels to North Andover, Mass. next Saturday to square off with Merrimack in a Northeast-10 contest at 1:00 p.m.

SKYHAWK TALK: The win was Stonehill’s second over Saint Anselm in the last three meetings dating back to 2003…Plichta entered the game with three touchdown receptions in the Skyhawks’ first four games…Sophomore Dana Burris (Boston, Mass.) joined Prince with an interception for the hosts…Stonehill has already posted its highest Northeast-10 win total in four seasons…The last time the Skyhawks reached the 41 point plateau came in a 41-7 win over Assumption in 2002…Parsons has thrown seven touchdown passes in two games, including a strike to Dauer in last Saturday’s contest against Division I-AA Iona.