St. Anselm lets victory slip away
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
Photo credit: Gil Talbot
St. Anselm College gave itself an opportunity to win its season-opening game against Kutztown on Saturday, but the Hawks fumbled that opportunity away.
St. Anselm trailed by four points with 6:02 remaining in the game when freshman running back Austin Wakinekoa (pictured) ran into a teammate and fumbled the ball just before he crossed the goal line. The ball went through the back of the end zone for a touchback, which gave Kutztown possession on the 20-yard line.
That was one of many key plays that allowed Kutztown to escape Grappone Stadium with a 17-13 triumph.
"He was noticibly upset," St. Anselm coach Pat Murphy said. "He's a freshman here from Hawaii. He's been here for three weeks. He felt like he let his team down. You gotta keep going. He's a tough kid and he's gonna be a great player here for us the next four years."
Another big play that went Kutztown's way was a 77-yard touchdown run by senior running back Dontay Wilson with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter. That TD, plus Matt Dineen's point-after kick, gave Kutztown a 17-13 lead.
Wilson finished the game with a career-high 191 yards rushing on 26 carries.
"Overall I was happy with our performance, but I wasn't happy with the outcome," St. Anselm coach Pat Murphy said. 'You're never going to be happy with a loss. You take the positives from it. We're gonna learn from it."
St. Anselm started its final drive on the Kutztown 45-yard line with 3:12 to play. The Hawks moved the ball to the Kutztown 21, but lost 12 yards when quarterback Michael Pierce was sacked on third down. Pierce's fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 49 seconds left.
"I was happy with both sides of the ball, and extremely happy with special teams," Murphy said.
Kutztown, which beat St. Anselm 35-0 in the opener for each team last season, took its first lead when Wilson scored on a 1-yard run with 10:18 left in the third quarter. Dineen's point-after kick made it a 10-7 contest.
The only first-half touchdown was a 27-yard pass from Pierce, a University of New Hampshire transfer, to Marc Wilson with 3:01 remaining in the opening quarter.
The TD was set up when Londonderry's Mark Colantonio scooped up a Kutztown fumble near midfield and returned the ball 43 yards deep into Kutztown territory. The St. Anselm defense forced three turnovers (two interceptions).
Kutztown got on the scoreboard when Dineen made a 27-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the first half.
"We played great on both sides of the ball," Marc Wilson said. "The defense caused turnovers. Dry day and a dry ball we're gonna put some points on the board for sure.
"There's a lot of improvement from last year -- all across the board. You try to take what you can out of it."
Extra Points
- St. Anselm linebackers Dan Bohenek and Ethan Sylvain each made a game-high 11 tackles.
- Kutztown rushed for 224 yards on 44 carries. St. Anselm gained 74 yards on 34 rushing attempts.
- Pierce, a freshman, completed 15 of 30 pass attempts for 257 yards and two TDs. Wilson led the team in receiving with six catches for 105 yards.
- Kutztown had a 34:10-25:50 edge in time of possession.
- St. Anselm will play Division III Plymouth State on Saturday at Grappone Stadium (1 p.m.). The Hawks will begin their Northeast-10 schedule at Bentley on Sept. 11.
KUTZTOWN 17, ST. ANSELM 13
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
STA--Wilson 27 pass from Pierce (Pierce kick), 3:01.
Second Quarter
Kutz--Dineen FG 27, 0:28.
Third Quarter
Kutz--Wilson 1 run (Dineen kick), 10:18.
STA--Wilson 54 pass from Pierce (kick blocked), :09.
Fourth Quarter
Kutz--Wilson 77 run (Dineen kick), 9:29.
