Yellow Jackets Roll to 30-9 Victory over Saint Anselm
SPRINGFIELD, Mass - The American International College
football team won its fifth consecutive game and recorded its sixth
straight Northeast-10 win after defeating Saint Anselm 30-9
Saturday afternoon at John Homer Miller Field. The Yellow Jackets
improved to 6-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play, while the Hawks
fell to 0-9 overall and 0-8 in the conference. Senior running back
Adeboyega Akingba (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored two
touchdowns for the second week in a row to lead AIC to the victory.
The win was the Yellow Jackets' 10th in a row at home, a streak that began with a win over Saint Anselm in 2005, and improved its home record to 16-2 since the start of the 2004 campaign. The loss was the 28th in a row for Saint Anselm, whose last win was against Division III Plymouth State in 2005. Their last win against a Division II opponent was in 2004 against Stonehill.
Akingba got AIC on the board 9:49 into the first quarter on a two-yard carry and senior running back Calvin Hall (Rochester, N.Y.) went over the top of the line for a one-yard score 2:42 into the second quarter, giving the Yellow Jackets a 14-0 lead.
The Hawks answered with 1:37 remaining in the first half when senior quarterback Nick Barese (Braintree, Mass.) connected with senior wide receiver Corey Williams (Billerica, Mass.) on an 11-yard touchdown pass. AIC blocked the extra point attempt to take a 14-6 lead into the locker room at halftime. Saint Anselm's scoring drive was setup by a Dan Bohenek's (Bridgewater, Mass.) interception, which he returned 45 yards to the Yellow Jackets' 17.
Akingba found the end zone for the second time on a 20-yard scoring run with 6:24 left in the third quarter and a safety against the Hawks on the ensuing possession pushed AIC's lead to 23-6. After the Yellow Jackets forced Saint Anselm to punt the ball was snapped over junior punter Geoff Stevens' (North Andover, Mass.) head and then kicked through the end zone to prevent AIC from starting its next drive inside the Hawks' five yard line.
Freshman quarterback Rob Parent (West Warwick, R.I.) was intercepted for a second time with 31 seconds left in the third frame. Junior defensive back Brian Tormollan's (Waterville, Maine) pick eventually led to a 25-yard field goal by freshman kicker Dylan McSparren (Portsmouth, R.I.) 2:28 into the fourth quarter. AIC drove back down the field on the ensuing possession and senior full back Marcus Cameron (Hempstead, N.Y.) found the end zone on third-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Hall finished with a game-high 64 yards on 19 carries, while Akingba had 58 yards on 10 carries. Parent completed 12 passes for 211 yards, seven of which went to junior wide receiver Tyler Scaccia (Webster, N.Y.) for 99 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Kertis Hussey (Paterson, N.J.) caught three balls for 94 yards.
Sophomore linebackers Terrence Holley (Bronx, N.Y.) and Richard Reichert (Nesconset, N.Y.) led AIC with seven tackles each. Reichert had three tackled for loss, while Holley had 1.5 tackled for loss and had one forced fumble. Sophomore defensive back Lawrence Johnson (Accokeek, Md.) and sophomore defensive lineman Rich Page (Morristown, N.J.) chipped in with six tackles each.
The Yellow Jackets will wrap up the 2007 regular season Nov. 10
at Stonehill at 1 p.m. A win, combined with a Bryant loss, would
give AIC a share of the Northeast-10 title.