Running QBs

NE-10 quarterbacks are not strangers to the end zone but this past Saturday, it seems like all of the touchdowns were scored by quarterbacks.
AIC QB Kevin Arduino started the trend with two touchdowns in the 31-10 win over Southern Connecticut. He now has four touchdowns on the season in just three starts.

St. Anselm QB Yianni Gavalas also scored multiple rushing touchdowns in their 52-26 win over Pace. It is the second consecutive week that he found the end zone twice and also has four touchdowns on the season.

LIU POst QB Steve Laurino had another multiple touchdown day as he now leads the NE-10 with eight touchdowns this season. He has scored at least two rushing touchdowns in three of the four games this year.

New Haven's Joey Bradley and Assumption's Trevor Vasey have also rushed for two touchdowns this year. Three other quarterbacks have scored at least one rushing touchdown in the first month of the season.

It is not uncommon for a quarterback to have a rushing touchdown but with a lot of dual threats in the NE-10, the defense now has one more player to scout and account for in their game plan.

History

St. Anselm continues their solid start to the season as they defeated Pace 52-26. Quarterback Yianni Gavalas led the offense as he passed for 415 yards and had two rushing touchdowns.

The Hawks are now 4-0 for the first time in school history and are now looking into a stretch of games that will prove if they are ready for the bright lights of the NE-10. They have three road games in October and their only home game is against defending league champion AIC.

If they are able to survive October, November is just as important as they host Stonehill and travel to New Haven to close out the regular season.
But as head coach Patrick Murphy has been saying all season long, one game at a time and they are looking at winning this week. So the next task is a road trip to Merrimack. The rest of the schedule will come when they put that week behind them and look forward to the next opponent.

Close Call

LIU Post has played four games this year and all four of them have come down to the final seconds. The latest nail biter was last Saturday as they defeated Assumption 28-27.

The Pioneers took an early 14-0 lead but then allowed 27 consecutive points to trail by 13 in the fourth quarter. They rallied to score the final 14 points to escape with the victory and even their overall record at 2-2, 2-1 in the NE-10.

It started in Week 1 when Post drove the field in the final minutes but were not able to score in the final seconds to drop the game to East Stroudsburg 43-35. The following week saw Laurino score late to defeat New Haven 38-35.

Then Post saw Merrimack score in the final two minutes to win the game 19-17. And now the late game heroics at Assumption to get the win.
The Post coaching staff has earned their pay this year as they have had to sweat it out to the final whistle.

Close Call, Part Two

New Haven entered the game 0-3 on the season and finally got their first win of the season over Bentley 38-35. It is also the first career victory for head coach Chris Pincince.

It was another close game for the Chargers as they could have easily won the first three games of the season. They lost those games by a combined 14 points.

It did take until the final seconds when Ty Headen hauled in a 19 yard pass from Joey Bradley to get the victory for the Chargers. Headen lead New Haven with eight catches and 83 yards including the game winner.

New Haven will be on the road again this weekend as they travel to face Stonehill. The last time that they were at Stonehill was in 2012 and it was a nationally televised victory with a comeback drive.

If the season continues like the first four weeks, it will be a last second thriller again.

Close Call, Part Three

Bentley has been involved in four close games this year with all of them coming down to the final whistle. First, they defeated Mercyhurst but after withstanding a late rally and an onsides kick. Then in their NE-10 opener, they were driving the field but were not able to score and fell to Stonehill.

Two weeks ago, they led St. Anselm in the fourth quarter before allowing two touchdowns to drop the game. And as mentioned above, New Haven scored with 1.3 seconds left to defeat the Falcons.

Head coach Bill Kavanaugh has put his team in position to win each week and now has dropped three tough games in a row. Bentley could easily be 4-0 right now and in the mix for the NE-10 title.

Special Teams

For the third consecutive week, a NE-10 team scored two points when they blocked a PAT and returned it for the score. First, it was Pace who blocked the Merrimack PAT and scored their lone points in a 75-2 loss.

Last week, it was Stonehill who blocked an AIC PAT and took it back for the two points. And last Saturday night, the Skyhawks repeated the feat as they blocked the Merrimack PAT and ran it back for the hard earned two points.

It is rare to see the PAT blocked and taken back for the two points. We have now seen it in three times in four weeks of football.

Special Teams, Part TwoSpecial Teams, Part Three

With the game tied late between Stonehill and Merrimack, someone needed to make a big play and it was Stonehill wide receiver/returner Nate Robitaille that made the big play.

With just over two minutes left, Merrimack punted the ball to Robitaille who grabbed the ball on his own 48 yard line. He took the ball to his left and found some daylight, taking the ball 52 yards to the end zone and giving Stonehill a 26-19 lead with just 2:15 left in the game.

"Everyone was running down field straight," Robitaille said of the return. "If I could get outside and get a few blocks, I caught it and picked up a few good blocks."

The Skyhawks are known for returning kickoffs for touchdowns as they have a streak of nine consecutive years in which they returned one to the house. So it is not a major surprise when their special teams makes a big play like they did against Merrimack.