Husson follows formula of success

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BANGOR – Husson College football coach Gabby Price believes if the Eagles run the ball successfully and keep their opponents from doing so, everything else falls into place.

That formula was a winning one again Saturday afternoon.

Husson piled up 300 yards on the ground and stuffed Mount Ida to minus-22 rushing yards on its way to a convincing 39-13 victory at Winkin Complex.

“That was our plan. We were going to run the ball,” Price said. “At the Division III level, we still think the key is rush offense and rush defense.”

An estimated homecoming crowd of 1,200 watched the Eagles (4-1) dominate the line of scrimmage and the contest against the Mustangs from Newton Center, Mass.

Husson showed no ill effects after having its five-game winning streak snapped a week earlier at Hartwick.

“That was something that coach emphasized in practice was getting back on track, especially after a close loss like that,” said senior defensive end Shane Rogers, who forced a fumble and registered 11/2 of Husson’s nine quarterback sacks on the afternoon.

“We came out this week and we tried to work as hard as possible to prepare for Mount Ida and I guess we did a good job,” he said.

For Husson, it all started on the offensive line. The veteran crew composed of tackles Louis Avent and Jon Benson, guards Jason Cross and David Brown, center Matt Benson and tight end P.J. Dowe overpowered Mount Ida (2-3) all day.

The beneficiaries were tailbacks Bryan Ferguson and Julius Williams. Ferguson chewed up 152 yards and scored three touchdowns, while Williams netted 95 yards and posted two TDs.

“We’ve been playing together forever and we’re just clicking as a unit right now, firing on all cylinders,” said Cross, a senior from Winterport. “They do a real good job finding the holes. We open the seas up and they just run through.”

The main challenge for the Husson defense was containing versatile Mustangs quarterback P.J. Matthews. Despite the lack of a run game, he threw for 198 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns. He was intercepted twice.

Mount Ida was able to hit one long pass, but otherwise settled for relatively short throws.

Matthews was punished by the Eagles’ relentless defense, which refused to allow him to set up comfortably to throw and limited his ability to scramble.

“They were young up front, we knew that,” said Husson senior linebacker Ross Salovitch, who spearheaded the effort with 101/2 tackles, five for negative yardage. “We blitzed them, gave them pressure, got him out of the pocket and stopped him from making plays.”

Ramael Barton posted seven tackles and Doug Blades made five, while Darius Charlton also was in on two sacks.

It was the defense that put the hosts in front to stay. With Husson trailing 7-6, Brandon Harris alertly tipped a Matthews pass over the middle, caught it and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown.

“Coach prepared us all week. He had us looking for middle screens during practice,” said Harris, a 270-pound defensive tackle. “It looked pretty open and then I saw one of my friends, [linebacker] Bobby Gilbert. He looked like there was someone behind me, so I went the opposite way.”

That made it 12-7 with 12:42 left in the second quarter. The Eagles built on the momentum.

On its next possession, Husson manufactured a nine-play, 62-yard scoring drive that featured the running of Ferguson and Williams. Ferguson’s 1-yard dive put the hosts on top 19-7 at the 6:18 mark.

While three missed extra points by Husson kept Mount Ida in the hunt for a while, the Eagles opened the second half with a 56-yard march. Ferguson began it with a 21-yard burst, then capped it with a 23-yard sprint to give Husson a 26-7 cushion.

Mount Ida scored on its next possession, but the Eagles countered early in the fourth to maintain the upper hand.

Williams’ 4-yard scamper to finish an 80-yard drive put Husson ahead 6-0 in the first quarter, but Mount Ida answered when Matthews capped a 70-yard march with a 7-yard TD run with 22 seconds left in the quarter.

EAGLES 39, MUSTANGS 13

Mount Ida (2-3) 7 0 6 0 – 13

Husson (4-1) 6 13 7 13 – 39

HUS – Williams 4 run (kick failed)

MIC – Matthews 7 run (Cordosa kick)

HUS – Harris 47 interception return (pass failed)

HUS – Ferguson 1 run (Gauthier kick)

HUS – Ferguson 23 run (Gauthier kick)

MIC – Matthews 2 run (Cordosa kick)

HUS – Ferguson 2 run (kick blocked)

HUS – Williams 2 run (Gauthier kick)

Mt. Ida Husson

First downs 16 19

Rushing att.-yards 38-(-22) 53-300

Passing comp.-att. 21-31 6-12

Passing yards 198 74

Total yards 176 374

Punts-avg. 3-26.3 1-16.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Intercepted by 0 2

Penalties-yards 9-77 10-96

Rushing

Mt. Ida: Skehan 10-12, Berger 1-2, Nelson 5-(minus-2), Harris 1-(minus-3), Matthews 21 (minus-31); Husson: Ferguson 23-152, Williams 17-95, Lindie 5-37, McCurdy 1-8, Chappell 2-6, Burrell 2-3, Mondesir 1-1, Barnett 2-(minus-2)

Passing

Mt. Ida: Matthews 21-31-2-198; Husson: Chappell 6-12-0-74

Receiving

Mt. Ida: Watkins 7-127, Mitchell 7-35, Samuels 3-14, Harris 2-13, Foley 1-11, Skehan 1-(minus-2); Husson: Wildman 3-13, Dowe 1-25, McKenzie 1-23, Poissonnier 1-13

A-1,200 (est.)