Calamita connects with two different QBs for three scores in 40-21 win over Seahawks

SEAHAWK FOOTBALL RESULTS
Western Connecticut 40, Salve Regina 21
Toppa Field - Newport, R.I.
Saturday, September 22, 2018

Summary
NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior quarterback David James completed 19 of 32 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns to lead Western Connecticut State University over Salve Regina University, 40-21, in non-league football action at Toppa Field. James was picked off twice, both by Salve Regina sophomore defensive back Matt Sylvia (East Greenwich, R.I.), including once in the end zone.

The Colonials (3-0) built a 20-0 lead on a 14-yard touchdown run by senior Khalil Patterson (Hartford, Conn.), a nine-yard pass reception by senior Austin Calamita (North Branford, Conn.), and a 60-yard interception return by senior Troy Thomas (White Plains, N.Y.). Sophomore placekicker Mike Munson (Somers, Conn.) made the first two PAT attempts but his third was blocked.

With under a minute to play in the first half, 20 more points were added to the scoreboard. Salve Regina (2-2) senior Ron Kruis (Midland Park, N.J.) caught a 19-yard pass from starting quarterback Jake Kelleher (Hopkinton, Mass.) for the first six Seahawk points with 56 seconds remaining before intermission. The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and gave the Colonials the ball at their own 35; they went 65 yards in three plays capped by a James to Calamita 30-yard hookup with 32 ticks on the clock.

After John Goode (Rockland, Mass.) returned the squibbed kickoff 20 yards to the Salve Regina 40-yard line, Kelleher completed three of five passes in the final 24 seconds. Starting with consecutive tosses to junior wide receiver Brendan Nunes (Attleboro, Mass.) and running back Joey Mauriello (Colts Neck, N.J.), both getting out of bounds to stop the clock. Two misses left 1.9 seconds on the clock for one final snap from the Western Connecticut 35-yard line. Kelleher bought some time by scrambling to his left and launched a jump ball to the front of the endzone. Several players on both sides had touches before sophomore wide receiver Danny Hoffmann (Trumbull, Conn.) took possession while falling on the ground for the score with 00:00 on the board. Andrew Verre (Wethersfield, Conn.) made the kick for the 27-13 halftime score.

After completing first-down passes of 14 and 15 yards on its first two plays of the second half, Western Connecticut stalled and punted 20 yards to the Salve Regina 34-yard line. Mauriello gained six yards on a run but two incompletes put the ball back in James' hands. From his own 33, James connected with Calamita for 24 and 15 yards to the Seahawk 28-yard line. Two misses and a sack by Nick Poillucci (Hopkinton, Mass.) and John Salute (Mahwah, N.J.) made it fourth-and-15 from the Seahawk 33; James found an open Duane Gary (New Haven, Conn.) to regain a 20-point lead.

Salve Regina got as close as a dozen points (33-21) after a Mauriello two-yard plunge and two-point conversion from Tyler McGovern (Attleboro, Mass.) to Ryan Lawton (Washington Township, N.J.), but Western Connecticut closed out the scoring on the very first play of the fourth quarter as backup QB Thomas Walsh (Great River, N.Y.) hit Calamita for 16 yards.

Series and Streaks
Western Connecticut has won all seven meetings with Salve Regina in a series that began in 1997. The Colonials have scored 40 or more points in all but two of those matchups with the Seahawks - the very first one a 15-3 win on Sept. 6, 1997, and last year's 37-23 victory in Danbury, Conn.

Quick Hits

• Mauriello produced 149 all-purpose yards, rushing 20 times for 95 yards and catching six passes for 54 yards.
• The teams combined for 98 pass attempts ... 23-39 for Western Connecticut, 25-59 for Salve Regina. Both teams threw two interceptions.
• Colonials were 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.
• Seahawks were 4-for-8 on fourth-down conversions, which included the Hail Mary touchdown pass from Kelleher to Hoffmann at the end of the first half.
• Both Kelleher and McGovern completed double-digit passes (13 and 12, respectively) and each threw over 115 yards (166 and 116, respectively).
• Calamita led all receivers with 10 catches, three TDs, and 150 yards.
• Eight different Colonials caught passes.
• Six different Seahawks were pass catchers, led by Hoffmann's seven grabs for 78 yards and a touchdown.
• Defensively, Tyler D'Errico (Cheshire, Conn.) and Matt Messner (Midland Park, N.J.) topped the Seahawks with nine tackles apiece while Kevin Maxen (Southbury, Conn.) had the same for the Colonials. Western Connecticut had five sacks, Salve Regina had four sacks - two from senior Brandon O'Neill (Madison, Conn.).

Next Up
Salve Regina opens its Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC) schedule at Toppa Field when Western New England University visits for a noon kickoff. The Colonials have their first home game the season, at the Westside Athletic Complex, when MASCAC member UMass Dartmouth visits for a 5 p.m. kickoff.