Seahawks' defense shuts down Panthers in 28-7 victory

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Freshman quarterback Bradley Skeffington (Salem, Mass.) threw a pair of touchdown passes as Salve Regina University scored 21 unanswered points Saturday afternoon, breaking open a tie game and cruising to a 28-7 win over Plymouth State University in New England Football Conference Boyd Division action at Currier Field.

The Seahawks improved their record to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the NEFC, while Plymouth State, which has dropped its last three contests, falls to 4-5 and 2-4.

The Seahawks got on the board first when running back Dan Buonocore (Mahwah, N.J.) rumbled in from two yards out with 3:47 left in the first session. 

Plymouth State came right back and scored the game-tying touchdown two minutes later, compliments of an Andrew Foglia (Montank, N.Y.) 10-yard jaunt.  The score was set up by a 38-yard pass completion from Chris Rigoli (Wantagh, N.Y.) to Josh Duford (Claremont, N.H.) that gave PSU the ball on the Salve Regina 27-yard line.

With the score tied at 7-7 in the second quarter, senior Patrick Keenan (North Smithfield, R.I.) grabbed a four-yard scoring pass from Skeffington in what proved to be the game-deciding score.

Salve Regina put the game away with two touchdowns in the final frame, one a 15-yard strike to Khari Halliburton (Manchester, N.H./Central) and the other a Connor Kelly (Milford, Conn.) 3-yard run.

The Panthers had an opportunity to get back into the game early in the fourth quarter after defensive end Paul Capaldo (Melrose, Mass.) recovered a fumble at the 13-yard line.  PSU was able to run the ball to the 5-yard line, but could get no further against the Salve defense.

Baylor Conde (Richmond, Va.) led the PSU defense with 10 tackles, including one tackle for loss.  Junior Matt Fiore (Merrimack, Mass.) had a good day, registering seven tackles, three of which were for a loss of 14 yards.

Skeffington was the game's leading rusher with 55 yards on 11 carries (5.0 avg.) and he completed 10-of-18 passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns.  The Seahawk defense held PSU to just 121 total yards, 54 yards on the ground.

Both teams wrap up the regular season on the road next week with Plymouth State visiting Curry College while Salve Regina travels to Nichols.

Courtesy of PSU Information