Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Southern Connecticut State University pitched a shutout in the final three quarters to overcome a 17-6 first quarter deficit and defeat the American International College football team, 27-17, Saturday afternoon at John Homer Miller Field. The loss snaps the Yellow Jackets' school-record 15-game winning streak, school-record 13-game home winning streak and school-record nine-game winning streak to open a season.

The Owls, who entered the game ranked seventh in latest the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, finished the regular season with an 8-2 record, while AIC closed the regular season at 9-1 with its first loss in over a year. The Yellow Jackets, who were ranked second in latest regional rankings, will find out their playoff fate Sunday between 3-3:30 p.m. when the NCAA announces the 24-team Division II football championship tournament field on ESPNEWS. The bracket will also be posted on NCAA.com by 3:30 p.m.

Senior quarterback Chris Roberts (New Britain, Conn.) completed 22-of-35 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns for SCSU and senior wide receiver Ty Marshall (College Park, Ga.) caught eight passes for a game-high 162 yards with one score. Freshman wide receiver Andre Privott (Middletown, Conn.) caught three passes for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Sophomore quarterback #Rob Parent# (West Warwick, R.I.) completed 13-of-33 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown. He also gained 39 yards on the ground. Senior wide receiver #Travis Poole# (Brooklyn, N.Y.) caught three passes for 67 yards and one touchdown. He also took a reverse 40 yards for a score.

The Owls opened the scoring on the first drive of the game when junior running back Jarom Freeman (Peekskill, N.Y.) punched the ball in from one-yard out on the third offensive play of the game. That touchdown was setup by a 63-yard catch by Marshall that put the ball on the AIC two-yard line on the first play of the drive. The PAT was blocked, giving SCSU a 6-0 lead.

The Yellow Jackets answered by scoring three time in the first period, a run that started with a 52-yard scoring pass from Parent to Poole 8:21 into the game. Senior place kicker #Marek Przybylek# (Olsztyn, Poland) converted the PAT to give AIC a 7-6 lead. The Yellow Jackets drove down to the Owls' 15-yard line on their next possession before settling for a 32-yard Przybylek field goal and Poole capped the first quarter scoring after taking the ball 40-yards down on a reverse down the AIC sideline with 50 seconds left in the period.

SCSU got back on the board when Roberts found Privott on a 39-yard scoring play with 1:31 remaining in the first half. The Owls attempted a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful and trailed 17-12 at the half.

That score held until Southern Connecticut took the lead for good when Marshall caught a five-yard scoring pass from Roberts and this time the two-point conversion was good, giving the Owls a 20-17 lead with 29 seconds left in the third quarter. SCSU then closed the scoring 4:39 into the fourth quarter when Roberts found running back John Wiechman () for a 13-yard score.

AIC appeared to have pulled back with one score when Parent tossed a 47-yard scoring pass to Poole on fourth and 17, but the Yellow Jackets were called for holding on the play and the touchdown was taken off the board. AIC then turned the ball over on downs when Parents next pass to Poole fell incomplete with 3:49 left in the game.

Southern Connecticut's defense held the Yellow Jackets to just 128 yards of total offense after the first quarter. That effort was led by junior linebacker Andrew Pratt (West Haven, Conn.), who had a team-best nine tackles and recorded a game-high five tackles for loss and a game-best three sacks. In all, Parent was sacked a season-high five times.

Sophomore linebacker #George Hudson# (Philadelphia, Pa.) had a game-high 11 tackles with one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for the Yellow Jackets. Senior defensive lineman #Jean Simeon# (Atlantic City, N.J.) had 10 tackles and junior defensive lineman #Terrence Mercer# (Bridgeport, Conn.) had seven tackles and two sacks.