SPRINGFIELD, Mass. The American International College football team defeated the Stonehill Skyhawks 27-17 for the Northeast-10 Championship Saturday afternoon at Abdow Field.
Junior quarterback Kevin Arduino (Cornwall, N.Y.) was named the championships most valuable player as he rushed for 101 yards and three touchdowns, while passing for 203 yards.
The American International defense, which was shaky to start the season, made key plays down the stretch to keep Stonehill off the board and from gaining momentum. The Abdow Field stands were rocking as the swarming Jacket defense tightened up and made key sacks and interceptions to stall any Skyhawk hopes.
The Skyhawks won the coin toss and chose to defer the kickoff and take it to open the second.
AIC would make them regret that decision. Arduino was meticulous on the opening drive, going three-for-three through the air and capping off the 65 yard, nine-play drive with a one yard scamper to the end zone. Junior kicker Jared Hulsey (Springfield, Mass.) would send the point after attempt wide, AIC 6-0.
The defenses would hold each other to three-and-outs on the next two drives before Stonehill could get something going.
Skyhawk senior quarterback Logan Meyer (Ventura, Calif.) returned to the starting lineup after missing their last regular season game with a shoulder injury. Meyer drove the offense six plays for 66 yards and capped it off with a 40 yard touchdown strike to his favorite target, junior Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.) and with a Steve Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) PAT the Skyhawks took a 7-6 lead in the first.
On Stonehill's next drive, sophomore safety Darion Chappel (New York, N.Y.) halted a Stonehill drive with a pick at AIC owns 20.
AIC would be forced to another three-and-out, but a fumbled snap from punter Daniel Backx (Evesham, England) gave Stonehill the ball deep in Yellow Jacket territory.
With the Skyhawks already in the red zone, AIC forced off target throws from Meyer and held them to a Grzywacz 25 yard field goal. Stonehill would lead 10-6 after one quarter, but American International was not flustered.
AIC led time of possession 10:33 to 4:27 in the first, keeping the Skyhawks from swooping in for more points.
Arduino opened up the second with a 27 yard pass to junior receiver Stephan Davis (Selden, N.Y.) and sophomore back Maurice Easterling (Yonkers, N.Y.) finished off the drive with a three yard run to the goal line, AIC lead 13-10.
Meyer would turn it over deep in AIC territory again, fumbling at the fumbling at the 20, recovered by senior Jordan Thompson (Syracuse, N.Y.)
The two would trade punts the rest of the half. Backx made up for his fumble a few times, pinning Stonehill on the one yard line on multiple occasions.
After an Arduino 23 yard scoring run in their first possession, Stonehill would bring it back within three when they forced Arduino to fumble and Skyhawk junior Nate Morris (Providence, R.I.) ran it in for the score making it AIC 20-17.
Arduino would redeem himself, rushing for an 18 yard score to end the third.
Backx pinned Stonehill on their own one and three yard lines in the fourth, making the uphill battle even steeper.
AIC sophomore corner Mike Ford (Sammamish, Wash.) and Chappel each picked off Skyhawk replacement quarterback Joseph Della Vecchia (Stratford, Conn.) after Meyer went down again with his banged up shoulder.
With the defense bringing the ball back to sidelines and Backx giving Stonehill no room to maneuver AIC held on for the 27-17 final and their first Northeast-10 Championship game title.
Davis was Arduino's favorite target all day. He caught five balls for 62 yards, while senior Matt Brown (North Providence, R.I.) led the team with 73 yards receiving.
AIC held the Skyhawks to 13 yards on the ground, smothering the Skyhawk rushing attack.
Junior Carron McCluney (Hillside, N.J.) and sophomore Demtruis Steed (Boston, Mass.) led the swarming defense with six tackles apiece.
Thompson had one-and-a-half sacks and tackled for a total loss of 12 yards, while sophomore Andrew Justice (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had four tackles, two for a loss of 11.
The Yellow Jackets will wait until tomorrow at 5 p.m. for the NCAA Division II Selection show to see if they move on and if so, who they will play.
