Springfield, Mass. – September 20, 2024 – The Springfield College football team rattled off 24-unanswered points spanning the second and third quarters to power past Union, 37-20, under the lights of Stagg Field on Friday evening.
Springfield, which was receiving votes in this week's AFCA Division III National Poll, improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2017 and the 11th time in Division III program history dating back to 1995. The Pride bested Union for the first time since 2016 as the Garnet Chargers fell to 1-2 on the year. In its final non-conference game of the season, Springfield racked up 422 yards of offense, including 354 on the ground and averaged nearly seven yards per carry.
Dante Vasquez (Rockland, Mass.) scored two first-half touchdowns and ran for a team-best 94 yards, Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) churned out 93 yards and two scores, and fellow fullback Joseph Cannizzaro (Lincoln Park, N.J.) added 76 rushing yards. Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) produced 114 yards of total offense and another touchdown.
Defensively, Bryan Feliciano (Clifton, N.J.) racked up a team-best 10 tackles and Cameron Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) was credited with eight stops and a quarterback hurry.
For Union, Pat Flanagan threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another, while Cole DaSilva registered a game-high 15 stops.
The Pride struck for the game's first touchdown with 11:08 left in the first quarter when Vasquez broke through the right side for a 47 yard sprint on Springfield's third offensive play of the game. The extra point was wide left and the hosts took a 6-0 advantage.
Union would respond with a seven-play, 61-yard drive that culminated on a one-yard plunge by Flanagan with 1:49 on the clock, and a two-point conversion rush by AJ Condemi allowed the visitors to own an 8-6 lead as the first quarter was winding down.
Springfield answered on their next drive, which was highlighted by a 63-yard burst from Cannizzaro, as Vasquez delivered a punishing five-yard score, plowing over a defender at the goal line to make it 13-8. The Pride tacked on a 27-yard field goal from Ian Wernik (Plymouth, Mass.) at the 5:04 mark before Hunter Hayes (Auburn, Maine) popped out a fumble on Union's next drive which Tyler Pohlman (St. James, N.Y.) corralled to give the Pride the ball back on the Union 42 yard line.
Six plays later, a huge block from Vasquez sprung Hart for a six-yard score to push the Pride's advantage to 23-8 heading into the half.
After the teams traded a pair of possessions to start the second half, Springfield struck through the air on third down when Drew Heenan (Londonderry, N.H.) found Blane Hart all alone for a 42-yard strike. On the next play, Shtefan plowed his way up the middle for a 10-yard score with 58 seconds left to push the lead to 30-8.
Union would manufacture a 15-play drive which resulted in a five-yard strike to Robbie Tolbert on third down to make it a 30-14 contest with 10:01 to play, only to have Springfield put together a 13-play drive that chewed up over seven minutes off the clock. Shtefan's ninth carry of the drive resulted in a one-yard score to give Springfield a 37-14 cushion with under three minutes to play. The visitors would go 79 yards in 11 plays, needing less than 90 seconds to find the end zone on another Tolbert catch, this time from nine yards out. However, Springfield would recover the onside kick and get into victory formation en route to the non-conference triumph.
Springfield opens up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play next Saturday when it travels to Coast Guard for a 1 pm tilt.
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Springfield College Drops Union, 37-20
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240920_x3mz.xml
2024
Union
20
Springfield
37
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union (1-2) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 20 |
| No. 23 Springfield (3-0) | 6 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 37 |
Sep 20, 2024