BANGOR – There may be no better measure of Husson College’s growth as a football program than its latest opponent.

In 2004 Hartwick grabbed a 33-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 50-20 victory. Last year, the Hawks won 54-28 at Oneonta, N.Y.

Three years into the rivalry, the tables have turned.

Husson took a 20-0 lead Saturday, then withstood Hartwick’s fourth-quarter rally – avoiding a tie when Joe Gatta missed an extra-point kick with 1:42 left – for a 20-19 victory at the Winkin Complex.

“I just think we’re growing up,” said Husson defensive end Shane Rogers. “A lot of us have played together for three years, and we’re starting to mature. We understand the game a lot better than when we first got here.”

“It’s a mixture of the older guys playing together and new guys coming in who can really play. They put the icing on the cake for us.”

Husson (3-1) overcame a 399-yard passing day from Hartwick’s Jason Boltus to earn its third straight victory.

Boltus’ favorite target was Lindy Crea, who had six catches for 173 yards. Crea entered the contest averaging 292.5 total yards per game, but Husson held him to 36 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Freshman tailback Bryan Ferguson led Husson with 90 yards rushing, 44 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Senior quarterback David Chase completed 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards.

“Our guys have a lot of belief in themselves and each other and in the team,” said Husson coach Gabby Price. “They feel good about themselves. They’re tough young men and they seem to know where they need to be most of the time.”

Husson used two Hartwick turnovers to help score 20 second-quarter points.

Adam Johnson recovered a fumbled punt return by Nick Gonzalez at the Hartwick 35, setting up a five-play drive. Chase hit Tom Lasko with a 9-yard completion on fourth-and-8 for a first down at the 24, and on the next play Ferguson caught a screen pass and followed blockers Jason Cross and Matt Benson into the end zone. Darren Gauthier’s extra-point kick gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead 46 seconds into the second quarter.

Johnson then intercepted a Boltus pass and returned it to the Hartwick 34. LeVaughn Johnson rushed for 15 yards on first down, setting up his 1-yard TD run with 7:44 left in the half. Gauthier’s kick missed, leaving Husson with a 13-0 lead.

Two possessions later, a sack of Boltus by Cory Smith forced Hartwick to punt from deep in its territory, giving Husson the ball at the Hawks’ 46 with 1:36 left. Chase completed passes of 12 yards to Ferguson and 22 yards to Andre Wildman before finding Jeremy Shorey in the back of the end zone from 8 yards out with 39 seconds left in the half.

Armed with that lead – and the knowledge its defense had stifled both Crea and Boltus – Husson grew cautious after intermission, and in the fourth quarter that duo made the Eagles pay.

“We were blitzing a lot in the first half and putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” said Husson linebacker Ross Salovitch, who had two sacks. “But they were picking us up in the second half and doing a good job up front to free him up to throw.”

Boltus found Rich Sands for consecutive passes of 30 and 25 yards, setting up a 2-yard TD run by Crea with 13:44 to play. But Gatta’s kick was blocked by Joe Melcher, leaving Husson with a 20-6 lead.

Boltus hit Crea with what turned out to be a 42-yard scoring strike with 5:53 left on a play in which the Hartwick tailback somehow split two defenders without being touched. Gatta’s kick cut the gap to 20-13.

After Husson went out on three straight pass incompletions, Hartwick got the ball at its 20 with 4:56 left. Boltus immediately found Crea behind the defense for a 68-yard gain to the Husson 12, and five plays later Boltus scored from the 1 with 1:42 to go.

But Gatta’s kick sailed wide right, and when Wildman recovered the subsequent onside kick, Husson ran out the clock.

EAGLES 20, HAWKS 19

Hartwick (1-2) 0 0 0 19 – 19

Husson (3-1) 0 20 0 0 – 20

Huss – Ferguson 24 pass from Chase (Gauthier kick)

Huss – Johnson 1 run (Gauthier kick)

Huss – Shorey 8 pass from Chase (kick failed)

Hart – Crea 2 run (kick blocked)

Hart – Crea 42 pass from Boltus (Gatta kick)

Hart -Boltus 1 run (kick failed)

Hartwick Husson

First downs 17 12

Rushing att.-yards 28-24 35-131

Passing comp.-att. 20-36 12-22

Passing yards 399 110

Total yards 423 241

Punts-avg. 3-38.7 7-37.7

Fumbles-lost 5-2 1-0

Intercepted by 0 1

Penalties-yards 7-106 8-73

Rushing

Hartwick: Crea 12-36, Rizzo 2-8, DeMulder 3-6, Boltus 11-(minus 26); Husson: Ferguson 18-90, Johnson 16-43, Chase 1-(minus 2)

Passing

Hartwick: Boltus 20-36-1-399; Husson: Chase 12-22-0-110

Receiving

Hartwick: Crea 6-173, Sands 4-89, J. Vanella 3-82, DeMulder 3-19, D. Vanella 2-17, Koreman 1-12, D’Agostino 1-7; Husson: Ferguson 3-44, Shorey 3-28, Wildman 3-28, Lakso 2-8, Dowe 1-2