Senior running back Eddie Vachon became Stonehill's all-time touchdowns leader with the 27th of his career on Saturday against New Haven. (PHOTO BY Robert Klein)

Chargers turn three Skyhawk turnovers into touchdowns to key win

EASTON, Mass. (October 2, 2010) – The University of New Haven turned three Stonehill College turnovers into touchdowns to key a 49-28 victory in Northeast-10 Conference football action on Alumni Weekend at Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.

New Haven scored on five-straight possessions after Stonehill opened with a 14-0 lead within the opening six minutes, including two of their three scores off Skyhawk turnovers on the afternoon, to race into halftime with a 35-14 lead. The Chargers piled up 502 yards of total offense, with 331 coming on the ground and 171 through the air, averaging 7.4 yards per play on the day. Stonehill finished with 260 yards of offense, with 182 passing and a season-low 78 rushing.

New Haven featured two players with over 100 yards rushing, led by junior Victor Jones (Patterson, N.J.) with 14 carries for 133 yards (9.5/rush) and two touchdowns. Classmate Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla.) rushed the ball 15 times for 104 yards and a score.

Junior quarterback Ryan Osiecki (Seymour, Conn.) completed 12-of-20 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and added six carries for 49 yards for 193 yards of total offense. Sophomore Jason Thompson (Stuart, Fla.) caught five passes for 82 yards and a pair of scores.

Junior Akiki Ramishvili (Fair Lawn, N.J.) led the New Haven defense with 12 tackles (seven solo), including two for a loss of eight yards and one forced fumble. Sophomore Chidoziem Ezemma (Pomona, N.Y.) added seven stops (four solo), including one for a loss of three yards.

Junior Stephan Neville ran the sixth kickoff of his career back for a touchdown to open the second half. (PHOTO BY Robert Klein)

Despite being held to a season-low 60 yards on 17 carries, senior running back Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass./Blair Academy) etched his name further into the Stonehill record books. He also caught three passes for 35 yards and a touchdown – the 27^th of his career to surpass the previous school record of 26 scores set by Rob Olivar from 2000-03. Vachon, who finished with 95 all-purpose yards, surpassed two yardage milestones, reaching 4,040 career all-purpose yards and 2,553 career rushing yards – moving within 148 yards of Tyrone Jefferson's career mark of 2,701 rushing yards.

Freshman quarterback Logan Meyer (Ventura, Calif./Saint Bonaventure) completed 17-of-28 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns, adding another rushing score, with no interceptions, but a pair of fumbles. Sophomore Kyle Norwood (Rehoboth, Del./Cape Henlopen) caught seven passes for 92 yards.

Junior Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) racked up 173 kick return yards, including a career-long matching 94-yard touchdown return to open the third quarter. It marks the sixth touchdown return of his career and the second-straight week he ran a kick back for a score. Neville also posted six tackles (five solo) on defense with a pass breakup.

Sophomore Jonathan Poth (Nahant, Mass./Swampscott) led the Skyhawks defense with eight tackles (three solo), while freshman Tim Bennett (Fillmore, Calif./Saint Bonaventure) added six stops (five solo).

Stonehill raced out to a 14-0 lead in the opening six minutes of the contest as Meyer engineered a nine-play, 55-yard drive on the Skyhawks opening possession after forcing New Haven into a three and out on the opening drive of the game. Meyer completed all three pass attempts for 42 yards, including a pair of completions to Norwood for 35 yards, before finishing the drive with a one-yard plunge on fourth and goal with 9:43 left in the first quarter.

Stonehill immediately got possession back when New Haven junior Sharieff Hall (Brockton, Mass.) fumbled the ensuing kickoff and it was recovered by Skyhawks sophomore defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) on the UNH 13. Meyer connected with Vachon for his record-breaking touchdown on first down for a 14-0 Skyhawks lead with 9:24 left in the opening frame.

Freshman quarterback Logan Meyer threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another on Saturday. (PHOTO BY Robert Klein)

New Haven scored on its next five possessions to go into halftime with a 35-14 lead. Jones capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive on the Chargers next possession with a three-yard scoring run. After forcing Stonehill three and out, UNH evened the contest when Osiecki connected with Thompson for a 28-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 71-yard drive 1:48 into the second quarter.

New Haven would out-score Stonehill 28-0 in the second quarter to assume control of the contest, with Osiecki finding junior Scott Schultz (Wayne, N.J.) for a two-yard scoring pass with 8:35 left in the half to put the Chargers in front for good after another Stonehill three and out. The Skyhawks drove to the UNH 31, but a fumble stalled the drive. UNH doubled its lead five plays later with a 21-yard scoring run by DeCaro with 2:42 left in the half.

Stonehill got into New Haven territory again, but a fumbled snap by Meyer was recovered by Schultz and the Chargers added another touchdown five plays later on a pass from Osiecki to Thompson for 17 yards.

Stonehill tried to swing momentum in the early stages of the third quarter when Neville raced the opening kickoff 94-yards for a touchdown to draw the Skyhawks within two scores. The Skyhawks defense held strong on New Haven's first drive of the quarter, forcing the Chargers off the field without a first down, but the visitors punt was downed at the one, facing the Skyhawks with a long field.

Stonehill started to plug away, moving the ball out to the 33 before Meyer was sacked by freshman Alex Dyer (Westbrook, Conn.) fumbling for the second time to end the drive and give New Haven great field position at the hosts 26. DeCaro scored from three yards out three plays later to put Chargers back up three scores (42-21) with 10:15 remaining in the third. UNH ran its lead to 28-points later in the quarter on a 28-yard scamper by Jones to cap a ten-play, 62-yard drive with 2:25 left.

Stonehill rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter when Meyer capped a 16-play, 84-yard drive with a three-yard toss to sophomore John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass./Barnstable) with 3:46 to go in regulation. Meyer completed six-of-nine passes on the drive for 35 yards, while sophomore Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass./Tilton School) compiled 48 of his 50 rushing yards on the day on the drive.

Stonehill (2-3, 0-3 NE-10) has a week off to regroup before returning to action on Saturday, October 16, when it visits Pace University for an NE-10 matchup at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks return home the following Saturday, October 23, to host Southern Connecticut State University on Family Weekend at 1 p.m. New Haven (4-1, 2-1 NE-10) hosts Southern Connecticut State next Saturday at 1 p.m.