Statistics

BEVERLY, Mass. – Ryan Smith knocked in a 34-yard field goal with 39 seconds left to lift Endicott College over the University of New England, 19-17, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) football action at Hempstead Stadium on Saturday.
 
Down 16-10 with 6:41 to play, David Hutchison knocked the ball loose from Gulls' quarterback Mike Ingraffia to set the Nor'easters up deep in enemy territory. UNE forced three fumbles on the day. Jarrett Henault scampered down to the five-yard line on the opening play of the drive. After a rush by Jack Mahoney down to the one, Henault ran it in for his second touchdown of the afternoon to give UNE a 17-16 lead.
 
Each team punted from there and the Gulls began the game-winning drive on their own 41-yard line. Ingraffia completed four quick passes, including a 20 yarder to Baxter as Endicott pushed it down to the 17-yard line to setup the field goal.
 
Mahoney gave the Nor'easters some life, returning the ensuing kickoff 52 yards to the Endicott 43-yard line, but UNE was unable to move the ball from there.
 
There were seven lead changes on the afternoon as neither team could pull away. Things did not start great for the Nor'easters as the Gulls were able to tackle them in their own end zone for a safety on the opening drive. The UNE special teams stepped up near the end of the quarter and blocked a field goal attempt to keep the deficit 2-0 after a period.
 
Midway through the second half Henault hit Brett Miller for a 26-yard pass down to the Endicott 45 to jump start the Nor'easters' first scoring drive. Abe Ruelas Villasenor put UNE in front 3-2 with a 30-yard field goal with 3:52 to go in the half.
 
Dylan Ibbitson forced a fumble on the Gulls next possession, but UNE wasn't able to extend its lead and punted back to Endicott with just over a minute remaining in the first half. Ingraffia completed 6-of-8 passes on the drive, including a nine-yard touchdown to Baxter to give the Gulls a 9-3 lead at halftime.
 
UNE grabbed the lead back early in the third on a one-yard rush by Henault. The quarterback finished with a team-high 71 yards on the ground. Shane Aylward sprinted out on a 39-yard run to start the Endicott scoring drive with 7:05 left to play in the third. The Gulls gained all of their 62 yards on the ground during the possession which finished with a one-yard push by Anthony Caggianelli to make it 16-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Endicott racked up most of its 364 total yards through the air as Ingraffia finished with 249 and a score. Aylward had nine catches for 96 yards. Tyler Bridge led the ground game with 48 yards.
 
UNE nearly matched a season high with 203 yards on the ground and had 297 total yards. Mahoney (51), Jaymeson Maheux (49), and Michael Keogh (42) were key contributors to the rushing total. Henault threw for 94 yards. Four different receivers caught a pass, led by Todd Cravedi with a 37-yard grab.
 
Trey Snowden and Antonio Giano each had seven tackles. Snowden also broke up three passes to lead the team. Colin Meropoulos wreaked havoc on the UNE line and came away with four sacks on the afternoon. Mehdi Squalli led Endicott with 11 tackles.
 
The Nor'easters wrap up their home schedule on Saturday against Western New England at 1 p.m.