Foltz Passes Football Past AIC on Senior Day, 38-27


Foltz broke the program's single-season yardage record and engineered a balanced offensive effort for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

Foltz breaks single-season passing record as Skyhawks balanced in first ever win over Yellow Jackets

EASTON, Mass. (November 11, 2017) – Stonehill College sent its 19 seniors out on a winning note, notching its first win over American International College in program history, with a 38-27 decision in Northeast-10 Conference football action on Senior Day at Timothy J. Coughlin '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.

Stonehill finishes the season with a 6-4 record overall, marking its third finish above .500 over the last five years, including a 5-4 mark in the NE10, with its fourth winning season in Conference play over the last six years. Today's win marks the Skyhawks first against American International in 22 tries; with the Yellow Jackets finishing with a 2-8 record overall, including 2-7 in the NE10.

Senior quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pennsylvania/The Hill School) capped his record-breaking Stonehill career by engineering an offense that compiled 426 total yards as he completed 29-of-40 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown, while adding another touchdown on the ground. The 29 completions are the sixth-highest single-game total in program history and he finished the season with 2,458 yards, breaking Logan Meyer '14's single-season program record of 2,266 yards in 2013, while also finishing off the program's career record with a 61.8-percent completion percentage and ending up with a program-best 7,300 career yards.

Sophomore Andrew Jamiel (Yarmouth, Massachusetts/Dennis-Yarmouth) caught 11 of those passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while classmate Brian Kearns, Jr. (North Arlington, New Jersey/Saint Joseph Regional) rushed the ball 16 times for 90 yards and two scores. Senior Malachi Baugh (Stoughton, Massachusetts/Stoughton) contributed 58 yards on 14 carries, with a touchdown, while classmate Kevin Dick (Tewksbury, Massachusetts/Tewksbury Memorial) chipped in 87 yards on eight catches.

Senior cornerback Donovan Phanor (Portsmouth, New Hampshire/Portsmouth) led a Stonehill defense that forced four turnovers with a career-high matching nine tackles (seven solo), with an interception and fumble recovery. Classmate Nick Bona (Peabody, Massachusetts/Bishop Fenwick) also tallied nine stops (five solo), while sophomore Malik Wiggins (Long Branch, New Jersey/Monmouth Regional) added eight tackles (five solo), with an interception in the Skyhawks end zone, that he returned to the 35, and led to a touchdown. Senior Jermel Wright (Dorchester, Massachusetts/Newton North) chipped in with three tackles (two solo), including 2.0 for a loss of nine yards, with a sack for a loss of eight.


Kearns, Jr. rushed for a pair of touchdowns for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Freshman Jordan Hiscoe (Milford, New Hampshire/Bishop Guertin) was among three quarterbacks to see time for AIC on the afternoon, completing 13-of-21 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, but was interception twice, while senior Adam Salvadori (Lido Beach, New York/Long Beach) rushed the ball ten times under center for 64 yards and two scores. Sophomore Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Massachusetts/Central) had four receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets.

Sophomore linebacker Cyriacus Ibezim (Union, New Jersey/Columbia) totaled a game-high ten tackles (seven solo) for AIC, including 0.5 for a loss of two. Senior Lorenzo Melchiorre (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania/East Stroudsburg) added nine tackles (seven solo) and a pass breakup, while Anthony Appleton (Brooklyn, New York/Sheepshead Bay) registered five tackles (two solo), including 1.5 for a loss of ten, with 1.0 sacks for a loss of nine and a forced fumble.


Phanor led the defense with nine tackles, an interception and fumble recovery. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

Stonehill marched 66 yards in ten plays on the opening drive of the game for a five-yard keeper by Foltz to open the scoring three minutes into the game. The touchdown run is the 14th in Foltz's career – good for seventh on the program's career list. AIC knotted the score with 1:03 remaining in the opening quarter with Hiscoe connecting with Williams for a 27-yard touchdown pass. The Yellow Jackets took the lead (14-7) four minutes into the second quarter when Salvadori pushed the ball in from a yard out at the end of a six-play, 68-yard drive.

Stonehill closed out the half with 17-straight points to carry a ten-point lead into halftime, scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes. Sophomore Matthew Haite (Kingston, Massachusetts/Silver Lake Regional) closed the gap to four points (14-10) with a 22-yard field goal with 7:54 remaining in the half. Kearns, Jr. capped an 11-play, 86-yard Stonehill drive with a four-yard touchdown run with 3:04 left in the half to push the Skyhawks back in front.

AIC drove to the Stonehill 28 on its next possession, when Wiggins picked off Hiscoe in the end zone and returned the ball to the Skyhawks 35. Foltz drove the Skyhawks the length of the field in four plays, connecting with Jamiel for a seven-yard touchdown toss with ten-seconds on the clock. The touchdown is the 13th of the season for Jamiel, matching the program's single-season record set by Mike Plichta '06 in 2005 and matched by Nate Robitaille '15 in 2013.

AIC took the opening possession of the second half 70-yards in ten plays for a one-yard Salvadori score less than five minutes in. Stonehill resumed control, however, with Kearns, Jr. adding his second touchdown of the day off Phanor's interception with 7:29 remaining in the third. Baugh's five-yard touchdown run with 9:20 left in the contest closed out a 14-play, 83-yard drive and gave the Skyhawks a 38-21 lead before the Yellow Jackets grabbed a late consolation touchdown with 1:20 remaining to close out the scoring.

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