SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The American International College football team outscored visiting Stonehill College 17-0 in the second half on its way to a 28-17 Northeast-10 victory Friday night before a crowd of 1,137 at Ronald J. Abdow Field.

The Yellow Jackets improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the Northeast-10 with their second straight come-from-behind win. The Skyhawks fell to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play with their second straight loss.

AIC trailed 17-7 at the half and pulled back within three after sophomore running back Hunter Beckmann (Shrewsbury, Mass.) capped off a 14-play, 78-yard drive that spanned 6:48 with a three yard plunge on the opening drive of the second half. The Yellow Jackets then forced a three-and-out before piecing together a 15-play, 55-yard drive that took 7:18 off the clock to regain the lead for good 1:17 into the fourth quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Kevin Arduino (Cornwall, N.Y.) found a wide open sophomore tight end Gary Farley (Blue Point, N.Y.) in the back of the end zone on fourth and goal from the one-yard line to put AIC ahead. The Skyhawks failed to gain a first down on the ensuing possession and Arduino ran 15 yards for a score that finished off a 12-play, 8-0 yard drive with 5:04 left for the 28-17 final.

Arduino completed eight-of-17 passes for 75 yards and one touchdown through the air, and ran the ball 18 times for a game-high 100 yards and another score. Junior running back Bryant Fitzgerald (Highland Park, N.J.) finished with 16 carries for 78 yards and one touchdown, while Beckmann finished with 15 carries for 61 yards and one TD.

Sophomore linebacker Jaquawne Simpkins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led the Yellow Jacket defense with seven tackles (five solo), while sophomore defensive back Lenroy Neysmith (Meredin, Conn.) recorded a five tackles, all solo. Junior defensive end Justin Tervo (Millbury, Mass.) also had five tackles (four solo) with one sack, while senior defensive back Markell Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) had one tackle and a pair of interceptions.

Junior quarterback Jesse Hunt (Winchendon, Mass.) was 8-for-21 for 80 yards and one touchdown for Stonehill before getting knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter. Junior running back Justin Willis (East Haven, N.Y.) had 14 carries for 50 yards and one touchdown.

Senior defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) and sophomore linebacker Michael Hogan (Westborough, Mass.) had 14 tackles each for the Skyhawks. Gaines also had one and a half tackles for loss with one sack. Junior defensive back James Lanier (Westhampton, N.J.) had nine tackles (eight solo) with one fumble recovery.

AIC had its struggles on offense and special teams in the first half of the game. Rice couldn't handle a punt after Stonehill went three and out on the first drive of the game and Lanier recovered the ball on the AIC 26-yard line. Hunt then connected with senior wide receiver John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass.) three plays later to give Stonehill a 7-0 lead 3:17 into the game.

The Skyhawks extended their lead to 10-0 following a 36-yard field goal from freshman place kicker Stephen Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) 2:59 into the second quarter and a blocked punt 1:27 left in the first half setup a six-yard scoring run for Willis with 41.1 seconds to go in the frame. Sophomore defensive back Nate Morris (Bristol, R.I.) got his hand on sophomore punter/place kicker Daniel Backx's (Evesham, England) punt attempt that was recovered by junior defensive back John Jenkins (Pittsford, N.Y.) at the AIC 16-yard line and returned to the nine.

The Yellow Jackets' only scored of the first half came midway through the second quarter following an interception for Rice that he returned to the Stonehill 14-yard line. Fitzgerald had no gain on the first play of the drive before going the distance on the second to get AIC on the board.

Rice's second pick of the night gave the Yellow Jackets the ball back at their own 45-yard line with 3:42 left in the game. AIC then ran the clock out to secure the win.

The Yellow Jackets gained 384 yards of total offense in the game, 309 of which were gained on the ground. The AIC defense held Stonehill to just 136 yards of total offense in the game and just eight in the second half.

The Yellow Jackets will next travel to Southern Connecticut State University October 13 for a 1 p.m. Northeast-10 contest.