St. Onge's three touchdowns propel Seahawks past Bears, 27-20

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Salve Regina University Seahawks knocked off host Bridgewater State College, 27-20, in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action this afternoon at Swenson Field in Bridgewater. Salve Regina improves to 1-2 with the win, while BSC falls to 2-1 as the Bears suffered their first loss of the season.

Salve Regina senior quarterback Jeff St. Onge (Kingston, N.H.) completed 24 of 37 pass attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way for the visiting Seahawks. St. Onge connected on scoring strikes of 52, 65 and 8 yards. His eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Michael Dargan (Meriden, Conn.) with 3:57 remaining in the fourth quarter snapped a 20-20 tie.

BSC junior running back Justin Fuller (Berkley, Mass.) posted his third straight 100-yard rushing performance. Fuller carried the ball 27 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

Bridgewater State converted on just four of 15 third down attempts, had a key dropped pass and made one very costly fumble. BSC's only turnover of the game came on a fumbled punt return with 5:49 left on the fourth quarter clock. Five plays later, St. Onge connected with Dargan on the game-winning score.

The Bears had a sure touchdown reception fall through the hands of a receiver on a long pass with the team trailing 20-12 early in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater also had a 44-yard Steven Clark (East Falmouth, Mass.) touchdown run wiped out by a holding penalty down 14-6 midway through the third quarter. Both of the drives ended in punts.

The Seahawks took an early 7-0 lead on a 52-yard TD pass from St. Onge to senior wideout Ben Hall (Conway, N.H.). Bridgewater cut the deficit to 7-6 on a Fuller two-yard scoring plunge. The Bears took advantage of a short 19-yard punt, as they began the four-play scoring drive on the visitors 33-yard line. The conversion attempt was missed however due to a bad snap.

Salve Regina answered with a 12-play, 65-yard driving resulting in a Ryan Hazinakis (Newport, R.I.) eight-yard touchdown run, as the Seahawks led 14-6 at the half.

Bridgewater pulled to within 14-12 with 5:34 left in the third quarter thanks to a Josh Duquette (Plymouth, Mass.) interception and subsequent 19-yard return down to the Seahawks six-yard line. Two plays later, senior running back Jeff Creeden (Mansfield, Mass.) barreled into the end zone from two yards out. The Bears went for the game-tying two-point conversion, but the rushing attempt failed.

An exchange of punts gave SRU the ball at its own 12-yard line. Back-to-back completions to senior tight end Matt Shubert (West Bridgewater, Mass.) moved the ball down to the Seahawk 35. St. Onge then hooked up with Shubert on a 65-yard touchdown pass down the far sideline to put the visitors up 20-12. The PAT attempt however sailed wide left.

Three series later, Salve Regina took over at its own 22. On third and one, the Seahawks coughed up the ball and junior defensive end Garrett Dyer (Easthampton, Mass.) returned the fumble 32 yards to the Seahawk one-yard line. Two plays later, Fuller found the end zone from a yard out for his second touchdown of the game. Clark then connected with senior receiver Jesse Teixeira (Taunton, Mass.) on the game-tying two-point conversion.

Bridgewater's defense held on the next series, setting up the fateful fumbled punt. The Seahawks had moved the ball into BSC territory, but on a third and three play from the 48, freshman defensive tackle Paul Melicharek (Glen Rock, N.J.) tackled the Seahawk running back behind the line of scrimmage for a two-yard loss.

BSC outrushed the Seahawks by a margin of 233 to 66. The Bears however completed just two of 16 pass attempts for 17 yards and allowed four sacks.

Senior linebacker Jason Flannery (Bridgewater, Mass.) paced the Bears' defense with nine tackles, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup. Senior defensive tackle Chris Dijak (Lunenburg, Mass.) added nine tackles (seven solo), while senior linebacker John Ferbert (East Bridgewater, Mass.) finished with eight tackles (seven solo) and a forced fumble.

Shubert finished with five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown for the Seahawks. Junior wideout Nick Piscitelli (North Haven, Conn.) tallied a game-high nine catches for 44 yards.

Sophomore linebacker Carlos Santos (Trumbull, Conn.) had a strong performance on the defensive side of the ball for Salve as he made 11 tackles with two sacks.

Courtesy of Bridgewater State sports information