Felder and Kearns, Jr. combine for 280 yards to power Skyhawks in opener

Felder rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with over 200 all-purpose (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens)

EASTON, Mass. (September 4, 2021) – Stonehill College racked up 430 yards of total offense, including a punishing 289 on the ground, keyed by a pair of 100-yard carriers, in posting a 35-13 season-opening victory over Bloomsburg (Pa.) University in non-conference football action on Timothy J. Coughlin, '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.

Senior All-American Justin Felder and fifth-year Brian Kearns, Jr. each surpassed 100 yards on the day, combining for 280 of Stonehill's 289 rushing yards. 

Leaders

Stonehill
Felder, Senior, Running Back: 204 total yards, 177 rushing on 31 carries and three touchdowns, adding 27 yards on two receptions.
Kearns, Jr., 5^th year, Running Back: 15 carries for 103 yards.
Anton Stoneking 5^th Year, Quarterback: 9-for-15 for 141 yards and two touchdowns passing.
Chris Domercant Freshman, Wide Receiver: Three receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Nate Bresson, 5^th Year, DL: Six tackles (five solo), 2.0 sacks for a loss of five yards.
Garrett McCarthy, Senior, Linebacker: Career-high nine tackles (five solo), 2.0 tackles for a loss of six yards. 

Bloomsburg
Logan Leiby, Junior, Quarterback: 18-for-29 passing for 213 yards. 38 yards on 11 carries.
Ricky Cope, Senior, Wide Receiver: Three receptions for 67 yards.
Quentin Gaskill, Junior, Defensive Back: 13 tackles (six solo), including 1.5 tackles for a loss of five yards, and a fumble recovery.
Adam Burkhart, Sophomore, Linebacker: 10 tackles (five solo), including 1.0 for a loss of three yards, 0.5 sacks for a loss of two.
Ron Long, Sophomore, Defensive Back: Two interceptions. 

Kearns, Jr. added another 103 yards on the ground for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

How it Happened

• Stonehill scored on its first two possessions after being handed a short field on both to stake out an early lead less than ten minutes into the contest. Felder capped a five play, 44-yard scoring drive after Bloomsburg turned the ball over on downs near midfield, with a nine yard touchdown scamper 4:19 into the contest.
• Stoneking connected with sophomore Cameron Alves for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 6:30 left in the opening quarter to close out a seven play, 54-yard drive.
• Bloomsburg closed out the opening quarter with a 27-yard field goal by senior Jaco Sattamini to get on the scoreboard.
• Neither team scored in the second quarter and Stonehill stretched its lead out 6:22 into the second half with Stoneking hitting freshman Chris Domercant for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
• Bloomsburg added its second field goal of the afternoon, with a 30-yard conversion, with 5:35 to play in the third quarter.
• Stonehill sealed the win with a pair of Felder touchdowns late in third and early in the fourth quarter. His first, the second of his afternoon, with a five-yard run with 3:06 left in the third quarter, before adding a 20-yard touchdown run 4:05 into the fourth.
• Bloomsburg got into the end zone with 2:47 to play as sophomore John Ayres scored from four yards out to cap the scoring on the afternoon.

Bresson paced the defensive effort with two sacks (PHOTO BY Saylor Murphy)

Noteworthy

• Felder, named a D2Football.com preseason All-American after boasting the honors and being Stonehill's first Harlon Hill Trophy candidate as a sophomore, surpassed 100 yards rushing for the fifth-straight game dating back to 2019, and eighth time in his career, overall. It also marks his fourth game with three touchdowns.
• Kearns, Jr. posted his sixth career 100-yard game, returning to the Stonehill lineup after a season-ending injury in week two of 2019.
• Felder's three touchdown day finished one shy of Stonehill's single-game record.
• Alves and Domercant each collected touchdown catches in the collegiate debuts for Stonehill.
• Kearns, Jr. moved into fourth place on Stonehill's career rushing yards list with 2,170 yards in 31 career games played.
• Stoneking moved into Stonehill career top ten passing yardage list today, now ranking eighth in program history with 2,091 passing yards in 11 career games played.
• Stonehill has now won two straight season-openers against Bloomsburg over the last three years, and three of the last four dating back to 2016, picking up its first win at W.B. Mason Stadium over the Huskies.

Up Next:

Stonehill (1-0, 0-0 NE10) returns to action here at W.B. Mason Stadium next Saturday night to host Southern Connecticut State University for a non-conference clash at 6 p.m. Bloomsburg (0-1, 0-0 PSAC) visits Seton Hill University next Saturday at 6 p.m.

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