LEICESTER, Mass.- Becker College defeated Mount Ida College 48-13 in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. The win marks the Hawks first over the Mustangs in program history.
Mount Ida (2-5, 2-2 ECFC) got on the board with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter when Jack Sheehan (St. Petersburg, Fla.) connected with Matt Greenman (Portsmouth, R.I.) across the middle of the end zone for 19 yard touchdown strike.
Becker (4-3, 2-2 ECFC) went on to score 48 unanswered points to propel them to the Hawks highest win total in program history. The Hawks tied the game with 14:46 left in the second quarter on a Nas Sinkfield-Shelton (New Rochelle, N.Y.) 52 yard pass down the middle of the field to Ryan McCarthy (Deer Park, N.Y.). Becker took the lead for good with just under ten minutes left in the second when senior Nicholas Paradise (Marlton, N.J.) took a screen pass 14 yards for his first collegiate touchdown.
Two possessions later, Becker took the ball 75 yards on 12 plays to take a 21-7 lead. The drive was capped off by Sinkfield-Shelton three yard scamper over the left side. On the ensuing kickoff, Andrew Lazo (Staten Island, N.Y.) dislodged the ball from the grasp of Sean Chinova (Watertown, Conn.), where the Hawks jumped on it to set themselves up with good field position at the Mount Ida 40. Becker capped off the first half with a Sinkfield-Shelton to Brandon Mulling (Naples, Fla.) touchdown pass, sending the Hawks to the locker room with a 28-7 lead.
Becker increased their margin to 35-7 on their first drive of the second half when Jacob Holmes (Worcester, Mass.) took a handoff over the right side for a four yard touchdown run. On the Hawks next possession, Matthew Romasco (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) bowled his way into the end zone from a yard out to up the score to 42-7.
Holmes finished the Hawks offensive explosion when he took a handoff to pay dirt from 14 yards out. With 2:05 left in regulation, Melquawn Pinkney (Springfield, Mass.) took a rush up the middle from three yards out to end the Mount Ida scoring drought.
Becker fished the game with 452 yards of total offense. Sinkfield-Shelton was 18 of 37 for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Mulling lead the Becker ground attack with 83 yards on seven carries, while Romasco and Holmes combined for 65 yards and three scores. DeJahn Dawkins (East Hartford, Conn.) netted a team-high 76 receiving yards, while McCarthy and Paradise each had 61 yards and a touchdown.
Matt Greenman hauled in a game-high nine receptions for 140 yards to lead the Mustangs. Melquawn Pinkney carried the ball 26 times for 74 yards.
The Hawks defense was led by senior linebacker Josh Lawrence (Manhattan, N.Y.) and LaDarrius Carter (Capitol Heights, Md.) with 12 tackles apiece, including a combined five and a half take downs for a loss. Becker also received interceptions from Shane Padeni (Leicester, Mass.), Nicholas Sherman (Hartford, Conn.) and Joseph Linnehan (Dedham, Mass.).
Sean Chinova tallied a game-high 13 tackles, including three and a half for a loss, while Armand Rivera (Warwick, N.Y.) added ten stops for the Mustangs.
Both teams return to ECFC action on Saturday, October 31st. Becker will host Gallaudet University at noon, while Mount Ida welcomes Norwich University at 1:00 p.m.