Bangor, ME - Husson football was extremely impressive Saturday during Homecoming, besting Castleton in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference play. Newly appointed starting quarterback Joe Seccareccia completed 12 of 17 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Seccareccia also amassed 25 yards on the ground. Tailback Byron Jackson had 125 yards on the ground for Husson as well, with his longest run coming for 49 yards.
Castleton took the early lead in the first quarter with a Robert Lineberger field goal from 27 yards out. Castleton took over at the Eagle 43 after a Husson punt and managed to get to the 10 before stalling on third down and kicking the field goal.
Husson took over with 10:32 left in the first at their own 35 and marched down the field to score. Seccareccia ran twice and completed two pass along with four Kyle McKinnon rushes for 19 yards, setting up the home team Green and Gold with a first and goal on the five. Ryan Dorso took his first carry of the day and scampered into the endzone for six points. Reece Attard added the extra point and Husson led 7-3 with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter.
The Eagles forced a Castleton turnover on the third play of their next drive. Quarterback Tyler Higley looked to pass for the second time in three plays as Ellis Throckmorton reached up with one hand and snagged the pass out of the air at the 36 and returned it 13 yards to the Spartan 23.
The Eagles stalled out on their next drive starting at the Castleton 23, forcing a field goal after just six plays and six yards. The Eagles scored a touchdown by way of Seccareccia but it was called back because of a holding penalty. Attard came in for the 34 yard attempt a play later and missed wide left.
Castleton turned over on downs on their next drive and Husson lost a fumble on a botched pitch from Seccareccia to Josiah Hartley. Nick Romeo recovered for Spartans, who took over at the Husson 49 with 11:20 to go in the first half.
Ten plays and 44 yards later Castleton attempted a 22 yard field goal from Lineberger but missed wide right to give the ball back to the Eagles.
Husson scored once more before halftime to go up 13-3. The Eagles mounted a massive six minute, 12-play, 80 yard drive capped off by a Seccareccia pass to wideout Ben Foss for eight yards. Husson took the 13-3 lead into the locker room at the break.
HU scored three times in the third quarter, the first of which came not four minutes into the frame. Byron Jackson highlighted the drive with a 49-yard run to the Castleton 20 while Kyle McKinnon took the next handoff and ran the final 20 yards into the endzone for the touchdown. Dennis Meehan added the extra point to make it 20-3 Husson.
The Spartans punted on their next drive giving the ball back to Husson. Dorso, Jackson and McKinnon methodically led the Eagle charge downfield setting up the only pass play of the drive on fourth and 13 at the Spartan 17. Seccareccia dropped back and connected with Ryan Stroud for a beautiful pass play in the endzone for Husson's fourth score of the afternoon.
After another Castleton punt for a touchback, Husson took over once again, this time at their own 20. Shabashe McIntosh carried out of the backfield on the second play of the drive for 51 yards, all the way to the Spartan 18. The 18 yards is all McKinnon would need on the next carry to score his second touchdown of the quarter and afternoon putting the Eagles up by the final of 34-3.
"We're so proud of our players," noted head coach Gabby Price. "It was a total team effort. Anytime you have a bye week, there's always some things that go well and some that don't and our players improved and did tremendous job. I still can't say enough about the effort, leadership and the teamwork from the players. It was a great day."
Game Notes:
- Joe Seccareccia's NCAA Passer Rating of 189.0 is the second highest in a single game only to David Chase's 241.2 rating vs. Maritime of New York in 2005.
- The 517 total yards of offense is the fourth most in a game for the Eagles and the most since racking up 685 yards against Castleton in 2010.
- Byron Jackson's 125 yards on the afternoon moves him to fourth all-time in program history.
- The estimated 2,000+ in attendance at the Winkin Complex is thought to be the largest crowd for football in history of Husson football.
Husson will travel to Anna Maria College net Saturday the 12th for a 3:00pm kickoff while Castleton hosts Mt. Ida at 1:00pm.