Yellow Jackets score three fourth quarter touchdowns to earn victory

Boxscore 

Senior Clark Leger (right) scoops up a fumble as senior Andrew Lesko sacks AIC quarterback Rob Parent in the third quarter tonight. Leger raced 40 yards for a touchdown on the play to give Stonehill a 17-14 lead. PHOTO BY Richard Orr.

EASTON, Mass. (September 11, 2009) - American International College scored three fourth quarter touchdowns to post a 35-17 victory over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference football action at Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight.

Junior quarterback Rob Parent (West Warwick, R.I./West Warwick) completed 17-of-25 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns without an interception to lead American International. Five of those completions went to classmate Davon LaGrier (Paterson, N.J./East Side) for 88 yards receiving. LaGrier finished with a game-high 148 all-purpose yards as he added 34 yards rushing and returned two kickoffs for 26 yards.

Senior Kertis Hussey (Paterson, N.J./Paterson Catholic) caught five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. Freshman running back Jermayne Capdeville (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) carried the ball 20 times for 73 yards and a score.

Grad student Nate Thompson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) led the Yellow Jackets defense with 11 tackles (eight solo), including two for a loss of five yards. Sophomore Max Brown (Paterson, N.J./Passaic County Technical Institute) added ten stops (nine solo), while senior Jashawn Williams (Roosevelt, N.Y./Roosevelt) totaled 2.5 sacks and classmate Nathaniel Ricks (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) had two interceptions - one he returned 41 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring with under two minutes to play.

Sophomore Stephan Neville led the Skyhawks with a season-high 11 tackles and also returned two kickoffs for 101 yards. (Richard Orr)

Junior running back Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass./Blair Academy) led Stonehill with 142 all-purpose yards, rushing the ball 22 times for 55 yards to go with four kick returns for 71 yards and two receptions for 16 yards. Sophomore Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) added 101 yards on two kick returns, while also leading the defensive unit with 11 tackles (eight solo), including one for a loss.

Sophomore quarterback Tim Morrison (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) completed 13-of-23 passes for 96 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Freshman tight end Daniel Oakes (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) caught a season-high five passes for 47 yards, while sophomore Oscar Alvarez (Framingham, Mass./Cushing Academy) caught a touchdown pass.

Senior Greg Sanzari (Centerport, N.Y./St. Anthony's) finished with eight tackles (six solo), while classmate Clark Leger (Waltham, Mass./Trinity Catholic) recovered two fumbles and senior Andrew Lesko (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) posted a sack and forced fumble to go with four stops.

Leger capped a string of three-straight scores for Stonehill when he scooped up a Parent fumble on a sack by Lesko and raced 40 yards for a touchdown that gave Stonehill a 17-14 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter. AIC answered on its ensuing drive as Capdeville capped a ten play 59-yard drive with a six-yard run four seconds into the fourth quarter.

After a three and out for Stonehill, AIC went 61 yards on just two plays when Parent hit LeGrier for a 56-yard completion to the Stonehill five on first down and then tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Trevor Perryman (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) to put the Yellow Jackets up 28-17 with 11:56 remaining.

Stonehill drove to the AIC 19 on its next drive, but junior linebacker Terrance Holley (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) picked off Morrison at the eight to end the threat. The Yellow Jackets capped the scoring when Ricks intercepted a Morrison pass at the Stonehill 41 and raced to the endzone for a touchdown. 

Junior Eddie Vachon finished with 142 all-purpose yards on the night. (Richard Orr)

American International jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Parent engineered a 15-play, 99-yard scoring drive on the Yellow Jackets first possession. He hit freshman Matt Brown (North Kingston, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) for a 26-yard completion to the Stonehill 20 on a third and eight before finding Hussey for a 19-yard play to the one before pounding it in himself from a yard out to cap the drive which ate up 8:05 on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets took advantage of a Morrison interception on the next Stonehill play from scrimmage to open a 14-0 lead, with Parent finding Hussey for a 25-yard scoring pass just four plays later.

Stonehill got on the scoreboard with 5:48 left in the half as senior Brendan Gorey (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) drilled a 38-yard field goal through a driving rain. The field goal capped a 12-play, 47-yard scoring drive for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill forced AIC to go three and out on the first possession of the second half and then posted a 14-play, 47-yard drive, to draw within 14-10 with 6:09 left in the third. Morrison capped the drive by hitting Alvarez for a three-yard scoring pass. Vachon highlighted the drive with a 12-yard catch and 13-yard run. Lesko then stripped Parent for a fumble on third and three from the Stonehill 42, which Leger grabbed before running in for the go-ahead score.

American International finished with 380 yards of total offense on the night (250 passing/130 rush), while Stonehill compiled 166 yards of offense on 96 passing and 70 rushing. AIC was 8-for-14 on third down, compared to 1-of-11 for the Skyhawks. Stonehill ranked up 172 yards on six kickoff returns.

Stonehill (1-2, 0-1 NE-10) is back in action next Friday when it visits Merrimack College at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks aren't home again until Saturday, October 10, to host Pace University on Easton Appreciation Day at 1 p.m. AIC (3-0, 1-0 NE-10) hosts Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m.