Edwards leads Seahawks to 29-21 victory

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – The Salve Regina football team pitched a shutout in the second half as senior Richie Edwards (Trumbull, Conn.) scored his first touchdown of the 2013 season to lead the Seahawks to a 29-21 victory over visiting MIT on Homecoming and Alumni Weekend.

With the win, the Seahawks open New England Football Conference action 1-0 while loss for MIT is its first of the season.

After Salve Regina forced a punt in MIT's opening possession, junior cornerback Phil Terio (Trumbull, Conn.) took the Engineers' punt 61 yards into the end zone for his second career punt return score and gave Salve Regina a quick 6-0 lead to open the game.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Seahawks got the ball back but MIT's senior linebacker Jake Laux (Dousman, Wis.) picked up a Seahawk fumble and returned it for a touchdown to give the Engineers a 7-6 lead.

Salve Regina regained the lead on its very next possession after driving down the field and sophomore Christian Clark (Williamsport, Pa.) converted a 30-yard field goal. The Seahawks led, 9-7.

After their first pick of the game, the Engineers manufactured a drive into the end zone with four plays and 43 yards as junior Brad Goldsberry (Elizabeth, Colo.) pushed the pile forward a yard to give MIT a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Salve Regina opened the second quarter with a seven-play, 57-yard drive that culminated with junior Steven Wilken (Ringwood, N.J.)  connecting with classmate Matthew Traynor (Secaucus, N.J.) in the end zone with 12:24 to play in the half to give SRU a 16-14 lead.

With 2:04 left in the opening half, the Engineers put together its final scoring drive of the game to take a 21-16 lead into half time after junior Justin Wallace (Palatine, Ill.) rushed 14 yards for his first score of the game.

Trailing 21-16 going to open the second half, the Seahawks came out of the locker room ready to avenge last season's loss to MIT. After turning it over on downs on their opening drive, the Seahawks squelched MIT's first scoring opportunity of the half as sophomore Hayden Stanton (Wallingford, Conn.) jumped high and blocked MIT's field goal attempt to keep the score 21-16 in favor of MIT. The blocked field goal proved to be a turning point in the game.

Salve Regina ended the third quarter with the ball and began the fourth finishing the drive it started  in the end zone to retake the lead, 22-21. The Seahawks used 14 plays and marched down the field 94 yards for Edwards to run nine yards into the end zone. On their very next offensive drive, the Seahawks put the game just out of the reach of MIT with a 41-yard pass from Wilken to senior Paul Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) with 7:11 to go to give SRU a 29-21 lead.

Terio sealed the win for Salve Regina with his second interception of the season as MIT was driving with 1:47 to play in the game.  Salve Regina ran out the rest of the clock and walked away with its 12^th-straight victory on Gaudet Field.

"Against a good team like MIT, which has a top-15 ranked defense, you have to play well on all sides of the ball. Your defense, offense and special teams all have to be working together and that's what we did today. Terio's punt return for a touchdown set the tone for the game and Stanton's blocked field goal was a game-changer," remarked head coach Gilmartin, who was pleased with his team's victory on homecoming.

 In his first game back this season, Edwards rushed for a game-high 120 yards, including his 15-yard touchdown run. The senior finished the game with 132 all-purpose yards. Traynor and Panarelli each caught a touchdown pass for the Seahawks. Wilken went 16 for 28 with 181 yards and two touchdown passes.

Sophomore Danny Ives (Madison, Conn.) led Salve Regina with 11 tackles while Stanton had a career-high 2.0 sacks and 2.0 TFL. Terio, juniors Matt Conroy (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Frank Musco (Montvale, N.J.) each had an interception for Salve Regina.

Laux led all players with 15 tackles in the game and recovered one fumble. Wallace led the Engineers with 60 yards on 18 carries while junior Peter Williams (Portland, Ore.) completed 15 of 26 passes for 214 yards.

Salve Regina continues NEFC play next week as the Seahawks travel to Nichols next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kick off while MIT host Curry at 1 p.m.