Defining Moments

There were several big moments in the four Friday night games for the NE-10 this past week. Each game featured a defining moment for a team or player that helped them stand out.

Top Duo in the League

Bentley quarterback Danny Guadagnoli and receiver Jeff Hill are two of the most dangerous players in the league. Guadagnoli has pinpoint accuracy and Hill is a big target in the open field. But both have struggled in the first two games of the season. That all changed Friday night.

Bentley was staring at a 0-2 start to league play when they got the ball back with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter. LIU Post was up 24-17 and that is when Guadagnoli stepped up to lead the Falcons to victory.

He got a first down with a pass to Hill but lost the yardage on the next play when he took a sack. Guadagnoli then dropped back and found Chris Walsh in front of the Bentley bench. Walsh went up to get the ball and then sprinted to the end zone to tie the game at 24.

The Bentley defense came up with a huge turnover on the next series when they stripped Post quarterback Steve Laurino and pounced on the loose ball. One play later, Guadagnoli found a streaking Hill behind his defender for a 25 yard touchdown hookup to take the lead.

Once again, the defensive forced a three and out to give the hot Bentley offense the ball again. Post was trying to keep time on the clock after several timeouts and the Falcons facing a third and 14. But Guadagnoli and Hill found the end zone for the third time in the game, this time from 34 yards out. It was a near carbon copy of the previous touchdown.

Guadagnoli finished with a career best 381 yards passing including 147 in the crucial fourth quarter. It was the quarterback that head coach Thom Boerman was hoping for all season long.

However, it took over 15 quarters of football behind he made his mark on the season.

The Drive

Southern Connecticut played well in the first two games but had nothing to show for it in the win column. That all changed Friday night when they stepped up on their home turf and showed what they are made of.

The Owls were matching touchdown for touchdown with the top offense of Merrimack. They had a slight lead late in the fourth quarter and faced 98 yards to seal the game. The Warriors had a drive stall just over midfield and dropped a punt that was downed at the two line yard.

It was a daunting task for a team that lost their starting running back earlier in the game and had struggled in similar situations in the past two years. The first couple of plays yielded some positive yardage and then the Owls got a first down to get the drive rolling. It all started to click from there. Quarterback Jacob Jablonski completed just two passes on the drive but both produced first downs. John Moscatel was finding seams in the Merrimack front line and then broke off a 43 yard gainer to get the ball inside the Merrimack 10 yard line.

The Warrior defense stiffened up and the Owls faced a fourth and goal from the one yard line. Head coach Rich Cavanaugh had the confidence that his offense could score and that is exactly what they did.

18 plays for 98 yards and a touchdown to give the Owls a 40-27 advantage in the final minutes of the game. More importantly, the drive ate up 6:40 of game time and gave Southern Connecticut the cushion that they needed to win the game.

Merrimack scored late but the drive did not leave them enough time for the comeback. Southern Connecticut won their first game of the season and gained a ton of confidences that they will hope to carry over for the rest of the year.

Hanging Around

Stonehill has been on the cusp of good things the past couple of years. They always seem to be in the mix but fall a bit short in the end. But last Friday night, they proved that they are ready for big things this year.

After falling behind on the road to Assumption, they battled back the entire night to force overtime with the Greyhounds. They never had a lead in the game until the final score was posted on the scoreboard at the end of overtime, 41-38.

The Skyhawks owe the victory to quarterback Logan Meyer. For the second consecutive week, he was the focal point of the offense and has taken his game to the next level. He passed for five touchdowns for the second week in a row and also added a rushing touchdown. After becoming the program's all-time leader in passing yards, he is now the leader in touchdown passes.

The Skyhawks trailed by 14 points on two separate occasions but did not give up in the game. They battled back to tie the game twice in the second half, the second time with 4:06 left in regulation to force overtime.

After holding Assumption to a field goal on their first possession in overtime, Stonehill was poised to win the game. On a third and long, Meyer found wide out Gordon McLeod for the 14 yard touchdown strike and the victory.

Stonehill is 2-0 in the league. Yes, both wins are over teams picked in the lower half of the league this year. But they also took care of business and pulled out a victory on the road in a game that they could have easily given away. The Skyhawks will be tested this weekend when they host Bentley.

Most Explosive Player in the League

New Haven running back Mike DeCaro was ranked # 52 of Division II players. Last Friday night, you saw why that ranking was deserved as he sliced up the St. Anselm defense.

DeCaro had 205 yards rushing and three scores in the Chargers' 70-26 victory at St. Anselm. With the big night, he moved into fourth place in the program's storied history for rushing yards as he crossed the 2,000 yard mark for his career.

He was part of an offense that gained 509 yards on the ground and had 821 yards of total offense. Those are big numbers for an offense that looked lost in the first week of the season.

After a quiet first quarter, DeCaro got New Haven on the board late in the quarter. He broke off a 46 yard run to start the scoring barrage. He later topped that run with a 51 yard scamper in the third quarter.

For the Chargers, they have scored 65 and 70 points in their first two league wins of the season. Yes, they were against the teams picked at the bottom of the league but it will help them gain some confidence for this weekend.

They host LIU Post in an early season match up that will go a long way to determining home field for the NE-10 championship game.

Undefeated

As two weeks of league play, there are three teams that are still undefeated. New Haven, AIC and Stonehill are still unblemished in NE-10 play. This year looks like a tight battle for the chance to hoist the league title at the end of the year.

Five teams are 1-1 in the league and two teams are still waiting to crack the win column. That equals parity in the league for the first time in a while. All of the teams have lost at least one game either in the league or non-conference. That might hurt in the playoff scenarios when they are released later in the season.

But we are a long way from the playoffs and still have another weekend of football to play in September. It has to be a one game at a time motto for teams with hopes of playing deep into November.