Husson University came back from a pair of first half double digit deficits on Saturday afternoon, rallying for a thrilling 35-34 victory over Curry College in Conference of New England football action at Walter M. Katz Field in Milton, Massachusetts.
Curry College had a 13-0 lead just over seven minutes into the first quarter on a Finn Sullivan 2-yard run, and a Colin Ridley 49-yard reception from Michael Moriarty. Husson got on the board for the first time on a 2-yard run by Lavar Hunter in the final minute of the opening period, before the Colonels extended their advantage to 14 on another TD reception by Ridley from Moriarty of 48 yards early in the second. The Eagles turned the momentum back their way some when Nason Berthelette hauled in an 18-yard scoring pass from Max Clark with just 22 seconds left before the break, and it was 20-13 Curry at halftime.
The Clark to Berthelette connection came to fruition again 1:02 into the third quarter for a 28-yard touchdown. The extra point though was blocked as Curry College still held a one point edge. The hosts responded 5:12 later, when Montie Quinn who had a huge day for the Colonels scored on an 11-yard run to extend the lead to 27-19. Husson finally got even at 27-27 with 7:17 left to play when Jed Lober found paydirt on a 4-yard touchdown run, and Clark completed a two-point conversion pass to Ja’Quan Myles. Quinn did his best to spur his Curry College team to a big win when he took a handoff, ran around the right end and up the sideline for a 20-yard touchdown with just 1:54 remaining. The Eagles had one more chance and wouldn’t be denied, in a game that especially in the second half seemed like whoever had the ball last would win it. Clark and the Husson offense had to drive 80 yards to try and tie it with less than two minutes to go. The junior quarterback completed passes of 20 yards to Berthelette, 26 yards to Jed Lober, and 16 yards to Dom Wilson to get into scoring position. That would culminate in a 5-yard TD run by Hunter with 25 seconds left on the clock. Instead of trying to tie it, head coach Nat Clark decided to go for a two-point conversion after already having an extra point blocked earlier in the game. Clark took the snap and moved in the pocket from right to left, finding junior tightend Caleb Solomon (Houlton High School) in the back left corner of the endzone for the successful try to put the Eagles on top for the first time on the afternoon. Curry had one last opportunity from their own 33-yard line, but a pass by Ronin McNamara who replaced Moriarty at quarterback after a first half injury was intercepted by Kane Smith on the first play to seal the Husson win.
Clark went 22-31 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles victory. Lober (148) and Hunter (81) combined for 229 yards rushing, with Hunter scoring twice and Lober once. Lober added four catches for 40 yards, while Berthelette led the receiving core with seven receptions for 101 yards and a pair of scores. Ricky Hendrix had 11 total tackles on defense, while Brayden Trombly and CJ Nicely had 10 a piece. Moriarty threw for 176 yards and the two first half touchdowns prior to injury in the loss for Curry College. Their offensive star was Quinn who carried 33 times for 258 yards and two touchdowns. The Colonels fall to 2-5 and 0-2 in the Conference of New England. The teams combined for 959 total yards of offense. Husson is now 5-2 and 2-0 in conference play, and will return home to take on Western New England University next Saturday at noon at the Winkin Complex in Bangor.
Husson junior tightend Caleb Soloman (#82) shown here in a season opening win over Framingham State, would catch the game winning two-point conversion pass from Max Clark on Saturday afternoon with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter as the Eagles rallied for a 35-34 Conference of New England football win over Curry College in Massachusetts. Photo by Eric Ogden Photography
