Pre-game at Western Connecticut State University (Photo by Zan Carver)
Pre-game at Western Connecticut State University (Photo by Zan Carver)

Colonials down Seahawks, 37-23

DANBURY, Conn. - Western Connecticut State University senior quarterback Quinn Fleeting (Windsor, Conn.) threw three touchdowns as the Colonials defeated visiting Salve Regina University, 37-23 at the Westside Athletic Complex.

On the night, Fleeting completed 22 of 29 passes for 345 yards and the three scores.  He now has thrown 11 touchdowns in the early going of the season.

The Seahawks led by as many as nine points, 16-7, following a 35 yard field goal by Andrew Verre with 1:10 remaining in the first half.

The Colonials, now 3-0, cut the deficit to 16-10 as Jordan D'Onofrio (Orange, Conn.) booted one through the uprights, from 38 yards out as time expired in the half.

Danny McDermott connected with Connor Sullivan, from 19 yards out, in the early going of the third quarter.  Verre added the extra point and WestConn trailed by 13 points, 23-10.

It was all Colonials from that point on.  

Senior running back Kyle McKinnon (New London, Conn.) scampered in from eight yards out to cap off a nine-play 64-yard drive.  D'Onofrio's point after cut WestConn's deficit back to six points, 23-17.

McKinnon led the Colonials ground attack with 53 yards on seven carries, an average of 7.6 yards per carry.

Duane Gary (New Haven, Conn.), who did not see action over the first 30 minutes, gave the Colonials the spark they needed.  Fleeting found Gary in the flat and he took the ball in from 29 yards out.  D'Onofrio split the pipes and WestConn led for the first time in the game, 24-23.

Zatrell Lyons (New Haven, Conn.) was open in the back corner of the end zone when Fleeting found him from 24 yards away and senior running back Khalil Patterson (Hartford, Conn.) added a six-yard TD run to close out the scoring.

Patterson finished with 10 carries for 25 yards and the one touchdown.

Jawad Chisolm (Bridgeport, Conn.) amassed 110 yards on five catches.  Forty-three of those yards came on a touchdown toss from Fleeting to knot the game at 7-7 with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter.  Austin Calamita (North Branford, Conn.) grabbed a team-high six receptions for 63 yards.

McDermott completed 20 of 38 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns for the Seahawks.  He opened the game's scoring with a five-yard TD strike to Brendan Nunes and hooked up with Mike Nestor from 30 yards away with 13:32 remaining in the second quarter to give the visitors a 13-7 advantage.

Tommy Seaver and Sullivan each pulled in seven catches for Salve Regina.  Seaver had 88 yards and Sullivan 75 on the night.

"I was proud of the way our guys responded after trailing at halftime," stated WestConn's sixth-year head coach Joe Loth.  "This was a really good team win."

James Dawson carried the load for Salve Regina, rushing for 101 yards on 20 carries.

Defensively, Kevin Maxen (Waterbury, Conn.) led the Colonials with eight tackles while Doug Katz (Monroe, Conn.) added seven take downs for the winners.

Connor Russo and Nathan Gonzalez registered eight tackles each for Salve Regina.

WestConn travels to UMass Dartmouth next Saturday, September 30.  Game time against the Corsairs is set for 5 pm. The Seahawks enjoy the first of two bye weeks.