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| Sophomore Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass.) had three catches for a career-high 95 yards in the 24-10 loss at American International. |
Yellow Jackets Fly By Skyhawks, 24-10
Springfield, Mass. - Behind a defense that registered 10 sacks and held Stonehill to -43 yards rushing, American International won its 12 th straight game, improving to 6-0 this season with a 24-10 win over the visiting Skyhawks at John Homer Miller Field Saturday afternoon.
Yellow Jacket senior defensive tackle Jean Simeon was a thorn in the side for Stonehill all day long, posting 13 tackles, six for loss and three and a half sacks.
For Stonehill, it was their fifth straight defeat, sending the Skyhawks to 1-5 on the season and 0-4 in Northeast-10 action.
Things looked promising for Stonehill once the game began with Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill, Calif.) and Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass.) hooking up for a 57-yard gain on the second play from scrimmage, setting the Skyhawks up deep in Yellow Jacket territory. As it would all day however, the Stonehill offense sputtered inside the redzone, turning the ball over on downs.
After a pair of punts, American International drove 55 yards in five plays, the final 12 yards coming on a Rob Parent to Travis Poole touchdown strike.
Freshman Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass.), who provided a spark all game with his excellent returns, set the Skyhawks up at the Yellow Jacket 35 following a 65 yarder.
Stonehill got to within the one-yard line following a third and 22 completion from Parsons to Chris Palmer (Santa Barbara, Calif.), but the American International defense stood tall, forcing a 21-yard field goal from Brendan Gorey (West Islip, N.Y.).
Yellow Jacket kicker Marek Prezbylek booted a 42 yard field goal early in the second quarter, and the game remained that way until Mike Mayo accounted for all 60 yards on a third quarter touchdown scoring drive which he capped from a yard out to make it 17-3 American International.
Another Parent to Poole connection with under 10 minutes to go in the fourth, upped the Yellow Jacket advantage to 24-3, before Parsons fired a dart to Palmer in the back of the endzone on fourth and four with less than four minutes to go, trimming the lead to 24-10.
Stonehill recovered the onside kick, but three straight sacks from American International ended any hopes of a miracle comeback.
Mayo rushed for 134 yards, but coughed up the ball three times, and Parent was an efficient 17-for-25 for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Vachon paced the Skyhawk offensive attack with 34 yards on the ground and 95 yards receiving. Neville had 143 yards on three kickoff returns and added 23 on a fumble return.
Greg Sanzari (Centerport, N.Y.) had a game-high 15 tackles, including two for loss and Jon Kilborn (North Dartmouth, Mass.) added 12 stops and a forced fumble.
Stonehill returns to action next Saturday when they host Assumption on Alumni Weekend. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.