Radley's late heroics propel Hawks past Seahawks, 28-27

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Senior quarterback Brian Radley (Herkimer, N.Y.) threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to classmate Noah Koreman (Albany, N.Y.) with 26 seconds remaining to complete a 14-point fourth-quarter rally for Hartwick College and defeat Salve Regina University 28-27 in non-conference football action Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field.

Salve Regina senior quarterback Jeff St. Onge (Kingston, N.H.) put the Seahawks (0-2) in front 27-14 with a three-yard touchdown run with 4:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, but they fumbled the snap on the PAT attempt, and the point ultimately decided the contest. On the ensuing possession, Radley capped a five-play, 28-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior Tosh DeMulder (Unadilla, N.Y.) with 2:32 remaining. Following a three-and-out by the Seahawks, Radley led the Hawks down the field and, two plays after taking an intention grounding penalty which moved the ball from the Salve Regina 6 to the 17, hit Koreman for his fourth touchdown of the afternoon.

"We gave this game away today. Our special teams cost us," said Salve Regina head coach Chris Robertson. "We couldn't sustain our drives on offense. Instead of second-and-five, we put ourselves in second-and-12, second-and-13 situations. We gave up some big plays in some critical situations."

The Seahawks jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead behind St. Onge, who combined for 89 of the Seahawks 118 yards in the opening stanza (56 pass, 33 rush). Senior Ryan Hazinakis (Newport, R.I.) capped a six-play, 49-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run with 3:30 remaining in the first. On the ensuing Hartwick possession, Radley muffed play a fourth down play from his own 42, which left the Seahawks with a first and goal from the seven yard line. Three plays later, St. Onge plunged in from three yards out to push the Seahawk led to 14-0 with 31 ticks left on the clock in the first.

The rain - which began as a slight drizzle prior to the start of the contest - intensified during the second quarter and caused problems for both sides. As a result, neither team was able to put any points on the board.

In the third, DeMulder hauled in an eight-yard pass from Radley to cap a three-play, 12-yard drive and bring the Hawks to within seven at 14-7. The score remained that way until Seahawk freshman back Trey Scales (Boston, Mass.) scampered in from 12-yards out for his third touchdown of the season that stretch the Seahawk lead to 21-7 with 10:51 on the clock. The Hawks answered back just 36 seconds later as Koreman grabbed a ball out of the air that had been deflected by a teammate and raced into the endzone for a 53-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-14 with 10:15 left in the fourth.

"Our kids played hard, but we still have a lot of cleaning up to do," said Robertson. "For the second week in a row, we had the finish line in front of us with a positive answer, so to come up short is disappointing. They know we had it, and now we have to go back to work and correct it."

Radley finished the afternoon 12-of-32 for 193 yards while DeMulder finished with 123 total yards 971 pass, 52 rush) and a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Jordan Spirou (Westbury, N.Y.) recorded a team-high 15 tackles (eight solo) for Hartwick while junior Chad Rockefeller (Delhi, N.Y.) tallied five sacks for a total of 27 yards.

St. Onge, meanwhile, finished the afternoon 18-of-27 for 216 yards through the air and 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. Sophomore Michael Dargan (Meriden, Conn.) led the team with six receptions for 93 yards while Hazinakis notched 41 yards and one touchdown. Senior linebacker Nolan McGarrity (Verona, N.J.) recorded a team-high 11 tackles (five solo) and also picked off Radley twice.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Bridgewater State for a noon contest. The Hawks host Norwich next Saturday at 1 p.m.