Freshman QB sparks Greyhounds

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BANGOR – Freshman Joe Correia already had played a bit for the Assumption College football team this fall.

But Correia got his first taste of big-time pressure Saturday as the Greyhounds of Worcester, Mass., visited Husson College.

Seeking a move to a more pass-oriented offense, coach Sean Mahoney made Correia the starting quarterback.

He responded well, throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns, both to Kyle Yermalovic, as Assumption beat the Braves 47-12 at the Winkin Complex.

The win snapped the Hounds’ three-game losing streak.

Mahoney said after the passing game sputtered in recent weeks, he wanted to see what Correia could do.

“We just weren’t throwing the ball well enough,” Mahoney said. “Joey’s a freshman and we figured he wasn’t ready [earlier in the season] but he’s ready now.”

It didn’t take long for Mahoney to find that out. Correia threw his only interception early in the first quarter, but he threw his first career touchdown pass early, too.

Husson went three-and-out twice in the first quarter. On their third drive of the period, Braves’ quarterback Lee St. Hilaire completed a pass to Ryan Lockard, but Lockard fumbled the ball at the Assumption 37.

The Greyhounds (3-4) recovered and Correia needed one play after the turnover – a 62-yard strike to Yermalovic.

“I was a little nervous at first, but once I threw the first pass I was set from there,” Correia said. “The line took care of everything. It was all the offensive line. Everyone blocked today.”

Husson kept it close for a while with a 9-yard TD pass from St. Hilaire to Josh Nowlin, but Assumption scored twice in the final 3:24 of the second quarter for a 21-6 halftime lead.

Assumption’s Manny Lokko, who finished with 103 yards on 22 carries, scored on an 8-yard run. That drive started when the Braves fumbled the snap on a punt and Assumption’s Matt Moskey recovered the ball.

“The score isn’t really an indication of how well we played today, but the mistakes just really hurt us today,” St. Hilaire said. “Good teams really capitalize on that.”

Lokko added another touchdown in the third period, and later that quarter Yermalovic reeled off a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Charles Rizzio capped the scoring for Assumption. The Greyhounds had excellent field position at the Braves’ 11 after blocking a Husson punt, and Rizzio had just six yards to go on second-and-3.

Justin Spencer added another touchdown for the Braves when he ran 89 yards late in the fourth quarter.

Spencer had a game-high 107 yards on 14 carries, but take the numbers from his scoring run and the Braves finished with just 18 rushing yards. Assumption’s defense had eight sacks.

“We knew we needed to get the run going because teams have been keying on the pass,” St. Hilaire said. “Today they did a good job taking that away. They knew what we were going to be doing, we were back in the shotgun so they blitzed the kitchen sink at us. They got us today.”

St. Hilaire passed for 244 yards and Nowlin had three catches for 103 yards.

Jay Folckemer had 11 tackles for the 0-5 Braves, who feel they are improving in their first season of college football since restarting the program.

“We’re so close to getting that first win, and once we get over that hump it’ll be easier,” St. Hilaire said.

GREYHOUNDS 41, BRAVES 12

Assumption (3-4) 7 14 13 7 – 41

Husson (0-5) 0 6 0 6 – 12

A – Yermalovic 62 pass from Correia (Landers kick)

H – Nowlin 9 pass from St. Hilaire (rush failed)

A – Lokko 8 run (Landers kick)

A – Yermalovic 10 pass from Correia (Landers kick)

A – Lokko 1 run (Landers kick)

A – Yermalovic 62 punt return (kick blocked)

A – Rizzio 6 run (Landers kick)

H – Spencer 89 run (pass failed)

Assumption Husson

First downs 19 11

Rushing att.-yards 48-182 31-89

Passing comp.-att. 14-27 14-30

Passing yards 250 244

Total yards 432 333

Punts-avg. 5-28.0 7-31.7

Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-2

Intercepted by 1 2

Penalties-yards 11-106 5-60

Rushing

Assumption: Lokko 22-103, Coleman 8-36, Fitzpatrick 6-14, Rizzio 4-13, Correia 4-11, L’Ecuyer 1-3, Tucker 1-2, Flaherty 1-2, Love 1-(-2); Husson: Spencer 14-107, Taylor 1-6, Jack 2-5, Lockard 1-5, Nowlin 3-4, Chase 2-0, Munzing 1-(-10), St. Hilaire 7-(-28)

Passing

Assumption: Correia 13-26-1-224, Coleman 1-1-0-26; Husson: St. Hilaire 13-25-1-235, Chase 1-5-1-9

Receiving

Assumption: Yermalovic 7-120, Wood 3-65, Cerretani 1-37, Crosley 1-19, Lavin 1-11, Coleman 1-(-2); Husson: Nowlin 3-103, Lockard 4-47, Horne 2-58, Poissoiner 3-16, Spencer 1-11, Taylor 1-9

A-600 (est.)