Junior quarterback Tim Morrison completed 15-of-26 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. (PHOTO BY Robert Klein).

Vachon matches career touchdown record; Morrison and Gomes combine for two scores, while Poth leads strong defensive effort in season opening win

EASTON, Mass. (September 4, 2010) – Stonehill College held off a fourth quarter rally by Curry College to claim a 20-14 season-opening victory in non-conference football action at Walter M. Katz Field this afternoon.

Sophomore linebackers Jonathan Poth (Nahant, Mass./Swampscott) and Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) led a strong defensive effort for Stonehill, which held Curry to just 36 yards rushing (1.3/carry) and 220 yards of total offense. Poth made his collegiate debut and posted seven tackles (five solo), while Gaines added five solo tackles, including two sacks for a loss of 20 yards. The duo combined to record sacks on Curry's last two plays from scrimmage at the Skyhawks 20-yard line to seal the win. Poth hauled down senior quarterback Harold Rose (Bourne, Mass./Bourne) for a loss of seven on third and five from the Stonehill 20, before Gaines sealed victory with a nine-yard sack of Rose on fourth down with just over a minute to pla.

Also keying the Stonehill defensive effort which limited Curry to just 5-for-17 conversions on third down was senior captain Brenden Taylor (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) with five tackles (three solo), including one for a loss of two yards.

Stonehill featured a balanced offensive attack behind junior quarterback Tim Morrison (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) and senior running back Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass./Blair Academy) with 401 yards of total offense (230 rushing/171 passing). Morrison completed 15-of-26 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Vachon carried the ball 23 times for 153 yards (6.7/carry) and a score – surpassing the 2,000 yard plateau for his career with 2,055 in his three-plus seasons. The touchdown was the 16^th of Vachon's career, matching the program's career record for rushing touchdowns set by Rob Olivar from (2000-03).

Sophomore John Gomes caught two touchdown passes for the Skyhawks.

Both of Morrison's touchdown passes went to sophomore wide receiver John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass./Hyannis) who caught seven passes in all for 86 yards.

Rose completed 15-of-31 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown passing and rushing to lead the Curry offense. Sophomore Robert Bambini (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) caught seven of those passes for 115 yards, while classmate Victor Martinez (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) had four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Dennis Void (Brookhaven, Pa./Mount Saint Michael) carried the ball 12 times for 49 yards.

Senior Robert Driscoll (Milton, Mass./Milton) led the Curry defensive unit with 11 tackles (eight solo) and two interceptions. Junior Christopher Haddad (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) added nine tackles (eight solo), while senior Kevin McCarthy (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) had nine stops (five solo), including one for a loss of five yards.

Vachon looked to seal the win when his 12-yard touchdown run with 3:27 left in the third quarter capped a nine-play 44-yard drive to put Stonehill up 20-7. He had a key five-yard run on third and three at the Curry 37 and Morrison converted on a fourth and one at the 23 with a three-yard plunge.

Curry closed back within a score when Rose capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive with a one-yard rush with 6:44 remaining in regulation. Rose accounted for 46 yards of offense on the drive for the Colonels, including a 32-yard completion to Bambini on fourth and three from midfield.

Sophomore Jonathan Poth made an impact in his Stonehill debut with a team-best eight tackles, including two sacks on Curry's final two plays from scrimmage to seal the victory.

Curry's defense forced Stonehill's offense into a three and out on its next possession, getting the ball on the Colonels 27 with 5:05 to play. The hosts marched down to the Stonehill 20, with Rose converting twice on third and long to keep the drive alive before Poth came up with his two sacks to seal the victory for the Skyhawks.

Curry opened the scoring when Rose connected with Martinez with a nine-yard pass with 2:40 left in the first quarter to cap a five-play, 39-yard drive after Driscoll picked off Morrison at the Stonehill 39-yard line on first down.

Stonehill, who missed a 32-yard field goal on the first drive of the season, answered on its ensuing drive when Gomes took a short pass to the left by Morrison and scampered in from 27 yards out for a score on third and ten. That capped a ten-play 85-yard drive for the Skyhawks. Stonehill took the lead for good as Morrison and Gomes connected again for a seven yard scoring pass with 7:24 left in the first half. The capped a 14-play, 85-yard drive for the Skyhawks, which was kept alive early on with a 28-yard run by junior Chris Rooney (Quincy, Mass./Catholic Memorial) on fourth and seven from their own 18 yard line.

Stonehill (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action next Friday night when it hosts Pace University for a non-conference matchup at Timothy J. Coughlin Field at W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m. At halftime there will be a short ceremony to recognize the College's capturing the 2009-10 Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup. Curry (0-1, 0-0 NEFC) visits Fitchburg State College next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.