BANGOR, Maine - John Smith had two fourth quarter touchdowns and Quan Soyini's fourth quarter interception helped propel Husson to a 20-7 win over Union (N.Y.) in the first ever matchup between to the two schools on the gridiron on Saturday afternoon at the Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex.
Husson (1-0) wins its tenth straight home game dating back to October 3, 2015, while Union (0-1) drops its eighth consecutive season opener.
Union looked to take the first lead of the game after Packy Brown's 47-yard catch from Nick Cascione put the ball at the Husson 10 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. But after a nine yard Union catch to the one, Jean Gabriel forced a fumble and the Eagles took over. The Eagles took the lead with 3:32 left in the first on a 22-yard reception by Kyree Calli from Cory Brandon to wrap up a four play, 14-yard drive in 2:14. Union tied it on Ryan Hanney's 23-yard catch from Cascione with 2:25 to play in the third. That was a 12 play, 93-yard drive that took 5:55.
J. Smith would take over from there; his two runs were one yard each, coming with 7:59 left in the fourth to cap a seven play, 54-yard drive and with 11 seconds remaining after a five play, 35-yard drive that was setup by Soyini's interception. J. Smith finished with 142 yards on 30 carries, becoming the first tailback to rush for 5,000 or more yards in program history.
Brandon was 15-for-24 with an interception for 121 yards and a touchdown, while Cali had 38 yards on three catches for the Eagles. Husson had 257 yards in offense on 62 plays in the season opener. Gabriel had nine tackles, including six solo, a forced fumble, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup, while Elvin Suazo, Jr., Luke Washburn, Tarik Smith and Frank Curran combined for two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in the victory.
The Dutchmen were led by Brown, who had a game-high 135 yards on five catches. He hauled in a 47 yard reception. Griffin Beal had seven catches for 65 yards and Cascione had 14 completions in 23 attempts for 191 yards and a TD with an interception. Connor Kinzelmann rushed for 84 yards on 27 carries. Jake Lombardo's 12 tackles were a game best.
Husson travels to Franklin, Mass. Saturday, September 9 to open up Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) play with Dean. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. Union entertains former Liberty League rival Coast Guard at 1 p.m. in their home opener at Frank Bailey Field on Saturday, September 9.
We apologize for the technical difficulties with the live stream from today's game.
