|
| Senior wideout Chris Palmer hauled in five catches for 63 yards and a pair of scored in Stonehill's 28-24 loss at Pace. |
Skyhawks Upended By Pace, 28-24
Pleasantville, N.Y. - Pace graduate student Pat Olcholvy hauled in a 21-yard touchdown grab in between two Stonehill defenders with one second left, catapulting the host Setters to a dramatic 28-24 win over the Skyhawks, capping a wild fourth quarter that saw the two teams score 31 points, including 14 in the final 34 seconds on Saturday afternoon on Pace Field.
Down 21-17 with a little less than four minutes to go, Stonehill embarked on a 12-play, 89-yard drive, as Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill, Calif.) found junior Cory Wright (Manchester, N.H.) twice and scrambled for a total of 20 yards to get the Skyhawks to the Setters' 21. A fumbled snap was initially given to Pace but an official overruled his call and returned the ball to Stonehill, making it 2nd and 18 from the 29. After two incomplete passes to Chris Palmer (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Parsons and the senior wideout finally connected on 4th and 18 for the go-ahead score with 38 seconds left.
Pace took advantage of a short kickoff and started their final drive at their own 44 yard line. A few completions later, the Setters had the ball at the 21 with six seconds left when Ray Gregg and Olcholvy hooked up for Gregg's fourth touchdown strike of the day.
The game opened in fine fashion for Stonehill as freshman Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass.) return the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, giving the Skyhawks an early 7-0 lead.
Pace answered back immediately, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown catch by Eric Ortega, capping an 8-play, 61-yard drive.
The Skyhawks regained the lead at 14-7 in the opening moments of the second quarter on a 15-yard Parsons-to-Palmer hookup in the back of the endzone.
It looked like Stonehill was going to take command on its next possession after sophomore Anthony Tomasz (Hopkinton, Mass.) intercepted a Gregg pass and returned it 49 yards to the Setter 19. The Skyhawks failed to get a score, however, and actually moved backwards following back-to-back sacks forced a turnover on downs.
The lead increased to 17-7 after Brendan Gorey (West Islip, N.Y.) connected on a 23-yard field goal less than a minute into the fourth stanza.
Then on consecutive drives, Pace engineered touchdowns with Gregg first connecting with Jadiel Javier on a four-yard score and then finding Rick Southard from 16 yards out, giving the Setters their 21-17 lead.
Pace outscored Stonehill 21-10 in the fourth quarter, led by Gregg, who went 10-for-12 for 147 yards and three touchdowns in the frame alone. For the day, he finished 25-of-36 for 269 and the aforementioned four scores.
Neither team rushed the ball well on the sloppy turf, as both averaged less than 2.5 yards a rush.
For the Skyhawks, Parsons was 14-for-26 for 163 yards and two touchdowns and Palmer had five grabs for 63 yards and both scores.
Defensively, George Whetstone (Norwood, Mass.) had eight tackles, two sacks, three and a half tackles for loss and a pass breakup.
Tomasz, meanwhile, had eight tackles and his first career interception and Clark Leger (Waltham, Mass.) chipped in with six tackles and a fumble recovery.
Now 1-1 overall and 0-1 in Northeast-10 action, Stonehill returns to action on Friday evening when it hosts Southern Connecticut at 7 p.m. at W.B. Mason Stadium.