SOUTH EASTON, Mass.-The American International college football team (3-2, 3-1 NE-10) scored on the first play of the game and never trailed as they moved into a tie for second in the Northeast-10 with a 31-10 victory over the Stonehill Skyhawks (3-2, 3-1 NE-10) at W.B. Mason Stadium on Stonehill's campus Saturday afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets struck right out of the gate, as junior defensive back
Lenroy Neysmith (Meriden, Conn.) returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. However, that would be the only score of the first quarter, as the next seven drives between the teams ended with punts.
In the second quarter, however, the Yellow Jackets were able to get on the board again, moving the ball 83 yards on 12 plays, keyed by a 27-yard run by junior wide receiver
Maurice Easterling (Yonkers, N.Y.) and capped when junior quarterback
Kevin Arduino (Cornwall, N.Y.) connected with senior wide receiver
Cal Brownridge (Newark, N.J.) for an eight-yard score with 6:35 to go in the half.
The teams then traded field goals, with junior kicker
Jared Hulsey (Springfield, Mass.) putting home a 26-yard buzzer beater to give the Jackets a 17-3 lead at the half.
Turnovers marked the start of the third quarter, with each team losing the ball to a fumble in the early going, but it was AIC that swung the pendulum of momentum in their favor, as Arduino found sophomore wide receiver
Evan Graham (Springfield, Mass.) for a 39-yard pass; Arduino and Easterling rushed the rest of the way to the end zone, with Easterling punching it in from six yards out to give AIC a 24-3 lead with 7:03 left in the frame.
Arduino would score on the ground in the final quarter of play, following up an 18-yard scamper with a five-yard scoring rush with 8:47 left in regulation on a drive that featured no passing plays and started at the Stonehill 40.
Though the Skyhawks scored on their next possession, AIC succeeded in running out the clock from there, leading to the 31-10 final.
Easterling finished the day with 28 rushes for 107 yards and a score; Arduino had 16 carries for 93 yards with a touchdown and also went 10-for-19 for 116 yards and a touchdown in the air. The defense had four sacks and forced three fumbles, recovering one, on the day.
The Jackets next host LIU-Post at Ronald J. Abdow Field on Saturday, October 12 at 1 p.m. in a Northeast-10 contest.
