Elijah Garnett rushed for two touchdowns and Nic Visser passed for two more on Saturday afternoon, as the Husson Eagles defeated the University of New England 30-27 in the third annual Lobster Trap rivalry matchup in Commonwealth Coast Conference football action at Blue Storm Stadium in Biddeford.
Garnett got the scoring started with a 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but Husson missed the extra point. UNE took their only lead of the day when AJ DeFilio caught an 11-yard TD pass from Jarrett Henault just over three minutes later with the extra point good, and it was 7-6 Nor’Easters. Ja’Quan Myles caught two big scoring passes in the second, the first one of 26 yards from Visser put the guests back on top. After UNE (6-3, 2-2 Commonwealth Coast Conference) tied it up on a Jacob Rivers 13-yard pass from Henault, the Eagles jumped back into the lead for good when Myles caught another TD from Visser of 35 yards just before the half. A 22-yard field goal from Cason Markevich and a Garnett 7-yard scoring run in the third quarter extended it to 30-14. The Nor’Easters did score two touchdowns in the fourth, both on receptions by Shane LePorte the second with just 44 seconds remaining. They attempted an onside kick, but Husson recovered to end their two game losing streak. The Eagles have now won all three of the rivalry Lobster Trap games.
Visser finished 16-23 passing for 217 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Husson win. Garnett rushed 23 times for 156 yards with his two scores. Myles caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Cullen Casey also had five receptions for 62 yards. Alex Brown and CJ Nicely led the defense with seven total tackles each. Henault was 38-55 for 311 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in the loss for the University of New England. DeFilio (9 receptions) and LePorte (11 catches) led the receiving core of the Nor’Easters going for 91 and 90 yards respectively and combining for three touchdowns. The Eagles (6-3, 2-2 CCC) finish the regular season on the road next Saturday at Nichols College.
Recap by Chris Lessner
