BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University football team picked up its 13th straight victory at home dating back to October 3, 2015 with a 63-0 shutout win over Alfred State College on Saturday afternoon in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action at the Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex.
Husson (8-1, 6-0 ECFC) wins its 14th straight ECFC game dating back to November 14, 2015, while Alfred State (1-8, 1-5 ECFC) drops its fifth consecutive game to the Eagles and falls to 1-5 in the all-time series.
With the win, the Eagles have now clinched back-to-back trips to the NCAA DIII Championship Tournament for the first time in program history. The Eagles will capture the program's first back-to-back conference championship with a win over Mount Ida next weekend.
FOR HUSSON:
- John Smith carried the ball 15 times for 144 yards (9.5 yards per carry) with three rushing touchdowns giving him 23 on the season, breaking his single-season record of 20, which he set in 2015.
- Smith now has rushed for 6,300 yards officially according to the NCAA (283 yards vs. Dean in 2016, do not a count toward his career totals for NCAA rankings), allowing him to surpass Maine Maritime's Steve Tardif's (1996-99) career rushing mark of 6,093 for the most rushing yards by a running back in the State of Maine, regardless of the division and Melikke Van Alstyne of Framingham State (2010-13) (6,145) for the most by a running back in New England Division III history. Smith is currently ranked fifth all-time in career rushing yards in NCAA Division III history.
- Chuck Browne rushed nine times for 43 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
- Robenson Saintard run for 70 yards on four carries with a score.
- Cory Brandon completed 10-of-14 pass attempts for 162 yards and two touchdown pass.
- Taylor Heath, Kyle Derosier and David Morrison combined to throw for 48 yards on 3-for-4 pass attempts.
- Kyree Calli caught three passes for 48 yards with a touchdown.
- DJ Allen record 43 yards on three catches.
- Kyle Gaudet, Quintarian Brown, Max Troiano and Matt Agard combined to catch seven passes for 119 yards, while Brown added a 40-yard touchdown catch.
- Devin Pickett converted all nine of his extra points on the afternoon, giving him 49 extra points made on the season, tying him with Travis Tetreault (49, 2016) for the most in a single-season. Pickett has now converted his last 21 extra points, the longest such streak since Carlos Romero, who made 28 straight from Sept. 19, 2009 (Anna Maria) - Nov. 7, 2009 (Becker).
- Alex Mace record five solo tackles, included one for a three yard loss.
- Christian Mowrer had five tackles (3 solo) and added 1.5 tackles for loss.
- Jean Gabriel continued his record breaking senior campaign with four tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, two pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and his sixth blocked punt on the season.
- Evan McAuliffe and Elvin Suazo, Jr. each had four tackles on the afternoon.
- The Eagles scored on all three phases on the afternoon, when Luke Washburn recorded his first career picked six off a tipped pass by Derek Barden in the second quarter after Quan Soyini returned a Michael Zimmerman punt 53 yards in the first quarter for the third Eagle touchdown on the day.
FOR ALFRED STATE:
- Hunter Evingham went 8-for-23 for 55 yards with three picks.
- Kiegan Brown carried the ball 18 times for 11 yards.
- Willerm Greffin finished with four catches for 25 yards.
- Dashown Wilson led the Pioneers with eight tackles.
- Austin Parker, Owen Davis, and Justin Espinal, all had seven tackles.
GAME REVIEW:
- The Eagles scored four touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to take full control of the game.
TEAM STATS:
- Husson accumulated 491 yards on offense, averaging 8.3 yards per play.
- Husson finished with 210 yards of passing (11.7 per pass) on 13-for-18 attempts, and 210 yards of rushing on 41 carries (6.9 per rush).
- The Husson defense, which surrendered just 85 yards of total offense (55 pass, 30 rush) to Alfred State (1.3 yards per play), was particularly tough on third down, allowing the Pioneers to convert on just three of their 12 attempts (25%), while forcing three turnovers.
- The Husson defense has not allowed a single-opponent to score on them at home since the 9:27 mark of the fourth quarter in the SUNY Maritime game on Oct. 7, 2017.
- The Eagles have now held the Pioneers scoreless for seven straight quarters.
- The 28 points the Eagles' scored in the first quarter, breaks the program's singl-game record for most points scored in the first quarter (26, Anna Maria, 2015) and the 56 total points scored in the first half, breaks the program's single-game records for most points scored in the first half (42, Mount Ida, 2005) and in a single half (42, Mount Ida, 2005).
UP NEXT:
Husson will close out the regular season next Saturday when they host Mount Ida for the final time at the Winkin Sports Complex; the Mustangs defeated the Eagles, 35-28, in the program's first ever home game back in 2003. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.
The Pioneers close out the 2017 season next Saturday when they host Castleton at 1 p.m.