Seahawks rally from down 21-0, but fall on late TD

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 14, 2015) – Graduate quarterback Tyler Ward (Wyckoff, N.J.) scored on a four-yard touchdown run with nine seconds remaining to lift Western New England University to a 28-21 New England Football Conference (NEFC) victory over Salve Regina University this afternoon in the regular season finale for both teams at Golden Bear Stadium.

With the win, Western New England (10-0, 7-0 NEFC) secures its second NEFC title in program history (first since 2011), and the program's first ever undefeated regular season. The Golden Bears have punched their ticket to the 2015 NCAA Football Championship, and will find out their opponent and seed tomorrow night at 6 p.m. during the NCAA's selection show, which can be watched live on NCAA.com. Salve Regina (7-2, 5-2 NEFC) will likely receive a bid to an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Bowl.

Ward's game-winning touchdown run was made possible by senior Michael Stasiewicz's (Leicester, Mass.) key interception on third and nine just three plays earlier, which gave the Golden Bears the ball at the Salve Regina 32-yard line with just over a minute remaining in the game. Ward picked up 23 yards on the ground on the first play of Western New England's final drive, and junior Nick Connell (East Marion, N.Y.) followed with a five yard rush, setting up the game-winning score.

Salve Regina junior quarterback Brandan Basil (Northford, Conn.) got the Seahawks to the Western New England 48-yard line with two seconds remaining after finding senior wide receiver Alex Hulme (Hopkinton, Mass.) for a gain of 18 yards, but Basil's last gasp Hail Mary attempt fell well short of the end zone as the Golden Bears extended their program record winning streak to 12 games.

Trailing 21-0 at halftime, Salve Regina finally broke through 5:12 into the third quarter as Basil connected with Hulme for a 32-yard touchdown on fourth and ten. The Seahawks then pulled to within seven (21-14) later in the third with the help of a trick play. Basil took a snap from the Western New England 35-yard and pitched the ball to sophomore running back James Dawson (Oradell, N.J.), who found senior Derrick Sarfo-Darko (East Hartford, Conn.) open for a touchdown strike across the middle.

Sarfo-Darko would come up big for the Seahawks again early in the fourth quarter, hauling in a 10-yard scoring toss from Basil at the 12:34 mark as Salve Regina completed its comeback.

Western New England opened this afternoon's contest with a successful 13-play, 83-yard drive that was aided by a pair of 15-yard Salve Regina penalties and capped by Ward's three-yard touchdown run. The graduate student went over 4000 yards of total offense for his career later in the quarter, before giving the Golden Bears a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass to junior Mohamed Camara (New York, N.Y.). Ward's completion to Camara was his 17th touchdown pass of the season, breaking the program record of 16 that he set last fall.

The Golden Bears then took a commanding 21-0 lead with 6:36 remaining before halftime, as Connell broke free for 39 yards on fourth and two from the Salve Regina 44-yard line, and two plays later Camara found the end zone on a three-yard run to complete the nine-play, 65-yard drive.

Ward connected on 15-of-24 passes (62%) this afternoon for 129 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, but did most of his damage on the ground, carrying the ball 19 times for 92 yards and two scores. Connell added 80 rushing yards, bringing his total to 986 for the season heading into next weekend's NCAA Championship contest.

Camara recorded five receptions for a team-leading 61 yards, while sophomore Mark Dietrich (Cheshire, Conn.) chipped in with five catches for 50 yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Blair Cook (New Brunswick, N.J.) led Western New England with nine tackles, including 3.5 for loss, and classmate Dean Soucie (North Easton, Mass.) also made several big plays with eight tackles, an interception, and a pass breakup.

Basil totaled 162 yards through the air for the Seahawks on 16-of-34 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Hulme was Basil's primary target, recording four catches for 75 yards and one score.

Junior linebacker Ethan Gambale (Mays Landing, N.J.) led Salve Regina's defense with a game-high 15 tackles, including 2.0 for loss and 1.5 sacks, while classmate Joey Farrar (Watertown, Mass.) picked off Ward twice.