Felder rushed for three touchdowns in the first quarter to lead the Skyhawks to the win (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Skyhawks take 16th-straight win over Hawks in Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk
MANCHESTER, N.H. (September 21, 2019) – Sophomore running back Justin Felder rushed for three touchdowns in the opening quarter to spur Stonehill College to a 38-14 triumph over Saint Anselm College to retain the Ol' Bronze Hawk Trophy for the 16th-straight year in the Northeast-10 Conference football opener for both at Grappone Stadium tonight.
Felder went over 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career, posting career-highs for rushing attempts, yards and nearly matching a program record for touchdowns in a game to lead Stonehill to a 21-0 lead after just a quarter of play. Senior Andrew Jamiel broke two program career records on one play with his 51-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter that broke the game open. Stonehill finished with 383 yards of total offense, with 195 rushing and 188 through the air, taking advantage of great field position all night.
Felder finished with 139 yards on 27 carries and the three touchdowns, all in the first quarter, when he racked up 76 yards on 11 attempts, as Stonehill's first three possessions started inside Saint Anselm territory. His three touchdowns fell just one shy of the program's single game mark accomplished four times, most recently by Jermetrius Troy, '13 in 2011. Jamiel finished with four receptions for 81 yards and the one touchdown, breaking Nate Robitaille, '15, career program records for receiving yards and touchdowns on the same play. Jamiel now holds Stonehill career marks for receptions (248), receiving yards (2,815) and touchdown receptions (26), while moving up to a tie for second all-time at Stonehill for total touchdowns (26) and ranking fourth for career all-purpose yards (3,228).
Junior Anton Stoneking went the distance at quarterback for Stonehill and completed 15-of-24 passes for a career-best 188 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with 205 total yards. Senior Casey Gervais chipped in with three receptions for 24 yards and his first career touchdown.
Jamiel broke two program career records during his 51-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
Junior Casey Earle led a Stonehill defense that limited Saint Anselm to less than 100 total yards in the first half, with a career and game-high 14 tackles (eight solo), including 2.5 for a loss of 13 yards, a pass breakup and two QB hurries. Classmate Nate Bresson was in the backfield all night, finishing with four tackles (two solo), including 2.0 for a loss of eight yards, 1.0 sacks for a loss of seven, two fumble recoveries, a blocked extra point and incredible seven QB hurries. The two tackles for loss give him 26.0 for his career – just 1.0 shy of cracking the program's career top ten.
Senior Eric Fairweather posted 235 total yards to pace the Saint Anselm offense, completing 21-of-39 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown, while adding 67 yards on 13 carries. Sophomore Christian Matthews-Byrd added seven carries for 80 yards and a score, nearly all of which came on a 79-yard touchdown run on the Hawks first offensive play of the second half. Junior Franklin Holgate scored the Hawks other touchdown and finished with eight receptions for 57 yards.
Senior CJ Miller led the Saint Anselm defense with 11 tackles (three solo), including 0.5 sacks for a loss of three yards and two QB hurries. Junior Ryan Sullivan added nine stops (five solo) and a hurry.
Bresson posted 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a blocked extra point (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
Felder found the end zone on three of Stonehill's first four possessions in the first quarter, with the Skyhawks taking advantage of excellent field position over the opening 15-minutes. He scored his first touchdown of the season with a seven yard run just two plays after Bresson recovered a fumble by junior Phillip Tran at the Saint Anselm 15, on the first play from scrimmage of the game, putting Stonehill in front for good just 38-seconds into the game. Felder also added an eight-yard run on the first play for the Skyhawks.
Felder capped a five-play, 35-yard drive on Stonehill's third possession of the game, with an eight-yard score with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter. He finished off his first quarter hat trick with an 11-yard score at the end of a seven play, 67-yard drive on the Skyhawks next possession, totaling 49 yards rushing in all during the drive.
Neither team scored in the second quarter and Saint Anselm looked to get back in the game after forcing Stonehill to punt on the opening possession of the second half, when Matthews-Byrd scored on a 79-yard touchdown run 1:44 into the third. Bresson got a hand on the extra point to hold the Hawks to just the six points and then Stoneking connected with Jamiel on the Skyhawks ensuing possession for the 51-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes later.
Stonehill extended its lead to 35-6 with Gervais' first career touchdown, a three-yard toss from Stoneking, with 3:22 remaining in the half Senior Matt Haite capped the Skyhawks scoring on the night when he drilled a career-best 51-yard field goal less than five minutes into the fourth quarter. It bested his previous career-long by two yards and was just one yard shy of the program-record 52-yard field goal by Joe Crowley, '04 against Bryant University in 2003. Saint Anselm capped the scoring with Fairweather's five-yard touchdown toss to Holgate at the end of a 17-play, 85-yard drive with 5:11 remaining, and Fairweather adding the two-point conversion rush.
Stonehill now holds a 17-5 advantage in the all-time series with Saint Anselm that dates back to 1999. The Skyhawks have won the last 16 in the series since 2003, including all 15 since the first time the Ol' Bronze Hawk was put on the line between the two programs in 2006.
Stonehill (2-1, 1-0 NE10) will enjoy a bye week next Saturday, before it returns home to host American International College at W.B. Mason Stadium on Saturday, October 5, at 1 p.m. Saint Anselm College (0-3, 0-1 NE10) visits Pace University next Saturday at noon.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.