Hulme named MOP as Seahawks win in final minute, 42-39

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Salve Regina University senior wide receiver Alex Hulme (Hopkinton, Mass.) had 11 catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 58 seconds left in the fourth quarter, to lead the Seahawks to a 42-39 victory over the Eagles of Husson University in the inaugural Clayton Chapman Bowl Championship at Arute Field.

Salve Regina (8-2) and Husson (7-3) kicked off the six-game series of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championships on the Central Connecticut State University football stadium.

The Seahawks outscored the Eagles, 21-6, in the second half to post their second-consecutive ECAC Bowl Championship triumph.

Salve Regina 42, Husson 39
New Britain, Conn. – Arute Field
ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl Championship
Friday, November 20, 2015

Series and Streaks
Salve Regina improves to 2-0 in the all-time series with Husson, which began in 2004. Salve Regina raises its record in ECAC championship games to 4-3, and has won two in a row.

Three Stars of the Game
1 – Salve Regina senior Alex Hulme (Hopkinton, Mass.) - compiled a school record 342 all-purpose yards (155 receiving, 170 kick return, 17 punt return) and caught three touchdown passes including the game-winner in the final minute.
2 – Salve Regina junior Brandan Basil (Northford, Conn.) - completed 25 of 49 passes for school-record 421 yards and five touchdowns.
3 – Husson sophomore John Smith (Fayetteville, Ga.) - responsible for four of six Eagles' touchdowns on the day along with a single-game school-record 276 rushing yards.

Scoring drives
HUS | 1st | 14:10 | John Smith 65 yd run | S. Freudenberge kick | 2-67 | 0:50 | 7-0
SRU | 1st | 05:32 | Alex Hulme 21 yd pass from Brandan Basil | Andrew Verre kick | 3-25 | 1:28 | 7-7
HUS | 1st | 03:06 | John Smith 7 yd run | S. Freudenberge kick blockd | 5-42 | 2:17 | 13-7
SRU | 1st | 02:16 | D. Sarfo-Darko 56 yd pass from Brandan Basil | Andrew Verre kick | 3-60 | 0:41 | 13-14
HUS | 2nd | 13:43 | John Smith 3 yd run | R. Saintard rush failed | 8-67 | 3:26 | 19-14
HUS | 2nd | 08:12 | Logan Steward 9 yd pass from Cory Brandon | S. Freudenberge kick blockd | 8-49 | 3:43 | 25-14
SRU | 2nd | 07:20 | James Dawson 63 yd pass from Brandan Basil | Andrew Verre kick | 2-63 | 0:43 | 25-21
HUS | 2nd | 00:40 | John Smith 23 yd pass from Cory Brandon | DJ Allen pass | 2-23 | 0:16 | 33-21
SRU | 3rd | 13:43 | Sam Pascale 1 yd run | Andrew Verre kick | 4-64 | 1:10 | 33-28
HUS | 3rd | 12:16 | Kadeem Edge 64 yd pass from Cory Brandon | Cory Brandon rush failed | 3-80 | 1:21 | 39-28
SRU | 3rd | 09:21 | Alex Hulme 1 yd pass from Brandan Basil | Andrew Verre kick | 7-69 | 2:48 | 39-35
SRU | 4th | 00:58 | Alex Hulme 10 yd pass from Brandan Basil | Andrew Verre kick | 9-46 | 1:43 | 39-42

Key Stat of the Game
Both teams scored six touchdowns, and combined for four scoring plays of 56 yards or longer. Salve Regina's Andrew Verre (Wethersfield, Conn.) went six-for-six on PAT kicks, while the Seahawks blocked two of three Eagles' PAT kicks. Husson failed on two of three two-point conversions.

Turning Point
For the second straight drive late in the fourth quarter, Salve Regina had first-and-goal. On the game-winning drive facing fourth-and-goal from the eight-yard line, Basil lofted an incomplete pass to Hulme, but a yellow flag was also thrown for holding on the defense - a new set of downs for Salve Regina now from the four-yard line. Pascale was hit for a six-yard loss on a first-down rush before Basil connected with Hulme in the endzone with 58 seconds left. 

Quick Hits

• Husson totaled 453 yards of total offense in the defeat with 286 coming on the ground and 167 in the air. The Seahawks were unable to move the ball on the ground as the Eagle defensive held them to 34 yards however Salve Regina was able to produce 421 yards through the air for 455 yards of total offense in the win.
• Derrick Sarfo-Darko added seven catches for 188 yards for one touchdown and James Dawson caught two passes for 63 yards for one touchdown.
• Ellis Throckmorton paced the Eagle defense with ten tackles and a half of a tackle for loss, while Quan Soyini, Bryant Wade and Ian Palmer each added nine tackles. Luke Washburn and Elvin Suazo each recorded a sack and Soyini and Jean Gabriel each had an interception.
• The Seahawks defense was led by Ethan Gambale with his game-high 16 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. Danny Ives added 13 tackles, while Joe Cuccia had 10. Johnston recorded one sack and Connor Russo had an interception.

Quotes
"I didn't have to get them amped up, this team was ready from the start. Throughout this entire season, this team has displayed heart more than any other I've been a part of. I knew we were going to come back; I knew we were going to keep fighting. (On the last play) had to go to the money man, no doubt - no thoughts whatsoever, they came over and I said, 'What do we want to do, how do you want to run your route?' and they said, 'Let's just throw it up there - we got it.'" - Salve Regina head coach Kevin Gilmartin, who has taken the Seahawks to an ECAC bowl championship in all three seasons as a head coach (22-10; .688)

"I trust Basil and I trust the O-line to hold them up, and I knew that ball was going to be placed perfectly." - Salve Regina senior wide receiver Alex Hulme who earned Most Outstanding Player of the Game with his 11 catches for three touchdowns and 342 all-purpose yards

Next up
This concludes the 2015 season for both Salve Regina and Husson.

Record Breakers
Sam Pascale set a new single-season record for Salve Regina with 1,482 rushing yards, besting the mark previously set by Mark DeBiasio - 1,461 yards in 1998 ... Pascale became just the sixth player in school history to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards (2,179 yards ranks fifth on the all-time Seahawk list) ... Pascale's 148.2 rushing yards per game ranks first all-time in program history for a single season (10 games) ... in 2015, quarterback Brandan Basil produced a program-high 152.6 pass efficiency mark ... Basil's 253.6 passing yards per game is best all-time for any Seahawk quarterback ... tonight he produced the first-ever 400-yard passing game for a Salve Regina quarterback (421) ... Alex Hulme passed Matthew Traynor's single-season receiving yardage mark of 944, set in 2013, and becomes the first 1,000-yard receiver (1,173) ... Hulme's 16 touchdowns in a season establishes a new program high ... Hulme's 342 all-purpose yards set a single-game record (155 receiving, 17 punt return, 170 kick return) ...  Hulme (180.6) and Pascale (157.8) have the top two of the top three marks in program history for all-purpose yards per game in a season ...

ABOUT THE ECAC
In the 76 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, boasting over 300 member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. In the 2015-16 academic year, the ECAC will host nearly 100 championships in 32 men's and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 male and female athletes. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.