Niamkey Runs Kickoff Back 90 Yards For Touchdown, Delaney Records 12 Total Tackles As Football Drops 24-7 Non-League Decision At Division I-AA Iona

September 30, 2006

STONEHILL FOOTBALL

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Mazzella Field, New Rochelle, N.Y.

FINAL: IONA 24, STONEHILL 7

1 2 3 4 Total

Stonehill (0-5) 0 0 0 7 - 7

Iona (1-4) 0 14 7 3 - 24

SCORING SUMMARY

ION: Dane Samuels 5 yd run (Chris Lofrese kick) 11:51 2nd

ION: Greg Asplint 70 yd pass from Dustin Croick (Lofrese kick) 2:26 2nd

ION: Juan Chamba 25 yd pass from Croick (Lofrese kick) 3:30 3rd

ION: Lofrese 26 yd FG 12:05 4th

STO: J.J. Niamkey 90 yd kickoff return (Sean Donahue kick) 11:48 4th

Attendance: 1,112

TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS TO FOLLOW

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.-- Junior quarterback Dustin Croick (Agoura Hills, Calif.) threw for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while fellow junior Dane Samuels (New City, N.Y.) added 145 rushing yards and a score to lead Iona to a 24-7 non-league college football victory over Stonehill Saturday afternoon at Mazzella Field.

Samuels gave the host Gaels (1-4), a member of the Division I-AA Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, a 7-0 edge early in the second quarter when he scored on a five-yard run, and Croick hooked up with senior Greg Asplint (Allendale, N.J.) on a 70-yard touchdown pass with 2:26 to play in the half to stake Iona to a 14-0 lead at the break. Croick then found senior Juan Chamba (Port Chester, N.Y.) on a 25-yard scoring pass with 3:30 to play in the third stanza to extend the hosts' lead to 21-0, and senior Chris Lofrese's (Middletown, N.Y.) 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter closed out the Gaels' scoring. Junior J.J. Niamkey (Quincy, Mass.) provided the lone touchdown of the day for the visiting Skyhawks (0-5) in exciting fashion following Lofrese's field goal, and he returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score, the third longest such play in school history as well as his second career kickoff return for a touchdown.

Croick completed 12-of-20 passes in the win for Iona, which amassed 428 yards of total offense and ran 74 plays compared to 40 for Stonehill, which collected 105 yards of total offense. Asplint hauled in five receptions for 117 yards for the Gaels, who also received 43 rushing yards from senior Rudy Arcara (Harrison, N.Y.). Sophomore quarterback Jon Kaloyanides (Cranston, R.I.) threw for 50 yards for the Skyhawks, who received 26 rushing yards from senior Kevin Avitabile (Bridgewater, Mass.).

Senior Nick Zaffarese (Wayne, N.J.) led the defensive effort for Iona with nine total tackles and 1.5 sacks, while senior Vincent Delaney (Baltimore, Md.) recorded 12 total tackles for Stonehill, which also received eight tackles and a sack from sophomore George Whetstone (Westwood, Mass.).

Stonehill travels to Manchester, N.H. next Saturday afternoon to take on Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up that begins at 1:00 p.m., while Iona will head to New York City to battle Columbia in a non-league outing next Saturday afternoon that also kicks off at 1:00 p.m.