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Saint Anselm 27, AIC 20

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College football team wrapped up the 2022 season with a 27-20 victory on the road at American International College on Saturday.

GAME STATISTICS

Saint Anselm finished with a 6-4 record, winning as many games for the first time since the 2014 season. The Hawks, who jumped out to a 16-0 lead, allowed a season-low 26 rushing yards in the season-ending win.

The Saint Anselm defensive unit came into the game as the NCAA Division II leader in turnovers gained (27) and posted a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in Saturday’s tilt. The Hawks finished the year by allowing just 285.7 yards of total offense per game, a single-season program record.

Senior Patrick Carroll (Stafford, Va.) posted two field goals, a 35-yarder and a 40-yarder to become the program’s single-season record holder with 12 to his credit. With 17 in his two-year career on the Hilltop, Carroll ranks fourth all-time with 17.

Hawks quarterback Anthony Santino (Woodbridge, N.J.) was 27-for-34 through the air, connecting with junior Blaine Burkhalter (Burnet, Texas) for his lone touchdown pass of the day. Senior Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas) and sophomore Bowen Lewis (Austin, Texas) added rushing scores for the Hawks on the afternoon with the former racking up 166 all-purpose yards.

Senior Devin Williams (Cliffwood, N.J.) led Saint Anselm with 11 tackles, forcing a fumble that set up a Hawks field goal in the second quarter. Classmate Liam Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) broke up two passes and recovered the Williams forced fumble, totaling nine tackles and a 12-yard sack – he would finish with two tackles for a combined loss of 16 yards.

After two three-and-outs to begin the game, Saint Anselm completed a lengthy 11-play, 66-yard drive with the aforementioned Lewis rushing touchdown to create a 7-0 advantage. After another three-and-out by the hosts, a 16-yard touchdown pass to Burkhalter elevated the Hawks to a 13-0 lead just 55 seconds into the second quarter.

The Hawks got the ball back on the next AIC possession as Williams forced a fumble that was scooped up by Flynn, setting up the first of Carroll’s two field goals and the team’s 16-0 advantage with 8:46 left in the opening half.

The Yellow Jackets got on the board with 1:15 to go in the first half as AIC engineered a 36-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown reception that trimmed the Saint Anselm lead. Carroll’s second field goal of the half, this time a 40-yard make, set the halftime score at 19-7.

Near the midpoint of the third stanza, a Saint Anselm punt was blocked and carried into the end zone by American International, cutting the lead to 19-13 following the failed two-point conversion.

Brown took over for Saint Anselm on the next drive, totaling 31 receiving yards before taking the direct snap and scoring an eight-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career, to push his team’s lead to 27-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

AIC would not go quietly, putting together an 11-play drive that chewed up the next five minutes of game play. A nicely-threaded pass by the Yellow Jackets quarterback was hauled in near the rear of the end zone, making it a one-score game at 27-20 in the game’s final 10-plus minutes.

With 2:20 left in regulation time, a missed field goal from 28 yards gave the Yellow Jackets a chance to win. The hosts would come up just short, falling to Saint Anselm for the second time in 2022 after failing to convert on third-and-17 from the Hawks’ 26-yard line.

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