Springfield College may get a berth in the Division III ECAC Bowl
It was an excellent football season for American International College, but after Saturday there could be no doubting it was only the second best team in the Northeast-10.
For the second straight week, the Division II nationally third-ranked University of New Haven posted a one-side victory over the Yellow Jackets, this time 37-12 before 2,458 at DellaCamera Stadium in West Haven, Conn. to capture the inaugural NE-10 championship game.
In the regular season finale last week at Ronald J. Abdow Field in Springfield, the Chargers dominated 37-6, outscoring AIC 74-18 over the two games.
Still, AIC finished with a 7-3 slate with only an opening week loss at Shepherd (W. Va.), and the two defeats to New Haven as black marks. The Yellow Jackets won every game in between.
The Chargers registered their third consecutive conference championship.
New Haven took the early lead, 3-0, on a 36-yard field goal by senior Chris Scifo with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter.
AIC would then take its only lead of the day when senior fullback Anthony Enderle finished off a 94-yard drive with a two-yard plunge with 1:54 left in the quarter. The Yellow Jackets, however, failed on a pass play while seeking a two-point conversion.
A 27-yard passing play from senior quarterback Ryan Osiecki to senior wide receiver Jason Thompson gave the Chargers back the lead at 10-6 with eight minutes to go in the second quarter.
The next drive up the field for AIC turned out to be the turning point of the game. The Yellow Jackets advanced the ball to the New Haven 2, but a halfback option pass from freshman Eddie Green was intercepted by New Haven senior safety Bernard Risco.
Not only did the Jackets fail to go back up on top, but then the half ended with a big momentum boost for the Chargers. AIC had its snap of a 4th-down punt fumbled, and New Haven took over on the AIC 4 with only 28 seconds to play. New Haven senior quarterback Ronnie Nelson carried the ball in for the late score.
AIC senior safety Markell Rice, who has been a force all year in the defensive backfield, carried the opening kickoff of the second half back for a touchdown to bring the Jackets close at 17-12. But again they failed on the two-point conversion attempt.
That was as close as it would get the rest of the way, and it was only close for 15 seconds. That’s how long it took the Chargers’ Mike DeCaro to take the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a TD to answer quickly to Rice’s romp. Less than three minutes later, DeCaro scored another touchdown on a 30-yard pass from Osiecki.
Osiecki was named the game’s most outstanding player, and one of seven Chargers selected to the all-championship team. The Yellow Jackets had three players named to the team – sophomore quarterback Kevin Arduino, sophomore center George Grosz, and sophomore middle linebacker Jaquwane Simpkins.
SPRINGFIELD 62, WPI 23 – The Pride scored four touchdowns in a span of four minutes between late in the second quarter and early in the third to improve its chances for an ECAC Bowl bid with the rout at Worcester.
Springfield forced six turnovers, three interceptions and three fumbles, and held a total offensive yards advantage of 590-270 over the Engineers.
Joel Altavesta led the Springfield ground game with 168 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns.
Mike Davis scored two touchdowns for Springfield. The first one, a 42-yard-run, opened the scoring. He later caught a pass for a 67-yard TD.
The Pride completed its regular season with a record 7-3 overall, 5-2 in the Liberty League. They will learn Monday whether or not they have received a berth in the ECAC Bowl.