Seahawks lose thriller in New Jersey

WAYNE, N.J. – New Jersey native and Salve Regina quarterback Steven Wilken (Ringwood, N.J.) had his final pass intended for Mitch Graziano (Kingston, Mass.) fall incomplete in the end zone as time expired allowing William Paterson to walk away with a thrilling 36-32 victory on its homecoming.

In was an impressive outing for Wilken who stuffed the stat sheet racking up 389 yards passing, a new Salve Regina record, on 27-45 passing, also a record for completions in a game by a Seahawks quarterback. Wilken passed for three touchdowns and also added two more on the ground. Wilken could not connect on this final attempt however and the Seahawks leave the Garden State with a loss.

"It was a hard tested contest with both teams offenses breaking out in the fourth quarter with the lead changing five times," said Salve Regina head coach Kevin Gilmartin. "Those are the heart breakers and are usually tough to come back from, and that is going to test out mental toughness going into conference play".

With the Seahawks leading by three at 32-29 with just 2:11 remaining, senior Pioneer running back Matt Deiana (Somers, N.Y.) picked up 11 yards on third-and-10, and after a false start penalty, he connected with quarterback Austin Fellows (Pennington, N.J.) for a 13-yard pass play on first-and-15 to get the Pioneers to midfield. Another false start penalty pushed the Pioneers back five yards and made it second down and seven at the Pioneer-46. Fellows hit Anthony DiMarsico (Stony Point, N.Y.) in stride as he streaked across the field, and DiMarsico turned up the left sideline for a 42-yard gain to make it first-and-10 at the SRU-12.
 
On the next snap, Fellows lobbed it up for junior running back Dwaine Dabney, Jr. (Summit, N.J./Summit), who elevated and snatched the ball out of the air just inside the right pylon for the 12-yard touchdown and a 35-32 lead. Senior Robert Sinegra's (Wharton, N.J./Morris Knolls) PAT was good, pushing the margin to four with 41 seconds to play.
 
Following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Seahawks drove to the Pioneer 43-yard line, but Kell'E Gallimore (Plainfield, N.J.)  came up with the pass breakup in the end zone as time expired to seal the victory for the Pioneers.

Salve Regina took the opening drive of the game 54 yards, capped off by a 28-yard touchdown pass from senior Steve Wilken to classmate Matthew Traynor (Secaucus, N.J.). Gallimore blocked David Gelormini's (New Providence, N.J.) extra-point attempt, and the Seahawks owned a 6-0 lead 2:11 into the contest.
 
The Pioneers took their first lead of the day 11 minutes later when DiMarsico's delayed handoff opened up a hole and he scampered 10 yards into the end zone. Sinegra's PAT made it a 7-6 contest with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Wilken found Traynor again, this time for an 18-yard TD at the 9:08 mark of the second quarter. Salve Regina elected to go for two, but holder Mitch Graziano was dropped short of the goal line, leaving it a 12-7 margin.
 
William Paterson answered with a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was finished by a Deiana one-yard touchdown. Sinegra's kick was good, and the Pioneers jumped back ahead by a 14-12 count with 5:49 on the clock.
 
Wilken again led the Seahawk offense down the field, carrying one yard for a touchdown and then finding Derrick Sarfo-Darko (East Hartford, Conn.) for the two-point conversion, for a 20-14 SRU advantage with 1:58 remaining in the first half.
 
William Paterson punted to open the second half, and Matt Caputo (Stony Point, N.Y.) ended the Seahawks' next possession with an interception at the Pioneer 23-yard line. Caputo came up with his second pick of the day, this one inside the WP-30, to open the fourth quarter.
 
The Pioneers converted the turnover into points when Fellows and DiMarsico hooked up for a 33-yard TD, and Sinegra tacked on the extra point to nudge William Paterson ahead by a 21-20 count with 11:07 to play.
 
Wilken and Traynor connected again, this time for a 28-yard score, and when the two-point attempt failed Salve Regina found itself ahead, 26-21, with 7:49 left.
 
A leaping 32-yard grab by junior running back Darius Kersey (Dover, N.J./Dover) and a concurrent roughing the passer penalty set the Pioneers up at the SRU-13. Deiana immediately made the defense pay with his touchdown run on the next snap. DiMarsico lined up behind center for the two-point attempt and scrambled to his right, buying time and finding junior wide receiver Nick Burke(Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) to make it a 29-26 Pioneer lead with 6:08 on the clock.
 
Wilken's keeper resulted in a 16-yard touchdown at the 2:19 mark, but Gelormini's PAT kick was no good, and the Seahawks were again in the lead at 32-29 before the Pioneers' game-winning touchdown drive.
 
Kersey caught five passes for 119 yards for WP, and senior defensive back Elijah DeGuzman (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken)and junior linebacker Carlo Caponetta (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) each made seven tackles.
 
Wilken finished 27-for-45 for 384 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior Dan Buonocore (Mahwah, N.J.) led the Seahawk ground game with 14 carries for 71 yards. Traynor hauled in 10 passes for 195 yards and three scores.
 
Junior linebacker Danny Ives (Madison, Conn.) led the Salve Regina defense with 12 tackles (three solo, 2.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks), and senior linebacker Matt Conroy had 10 stops (three solo).
 
Salve Regina next travels to MIT to begin NEFC play next Saturday at 1 p.m.