Springfield, Mass. - September 14, 2019 - The Springfield College football team rushed for 420 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 22 seconds remaining as it prevailed over Kean, 21-14, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference play at Stagg Field.
The win was the first of the season for the Pride as it evened its record at 1-1, while the Cougars slipped to 0-2.
Springfield's offense was on the field for 33:34 in the game as it ran 78 offensive plays which resulted in 420 rushing yards and 27 first downs. Ryan Deguire (Schenectady, N.Y.) totaled 100 yards on 11 carries, while Chad Shade (Pittsfield, Mass.) ran for 97 yards and Isaiah Cashwell-Doe (Woburn, Mass.) added 84 yards. Defensively, Jack Duignan (Monroe, Conn.) made eight tackles and David McMullen (Warwick, R.I.) had four pass break ups. Springfield struggled with ball security in the game, fumbling six times, three of which the Cougars recovered.
For Kean, Anthony Broccoletti threw for 164 yards and a score on 13-of-25 attempts, while Jessey Asare ran for 64 yards and a score. Four players had double figures in the tackle column, led by Peter Lejawa's 13 stops, while Anthony Bassani and Kory Kenny each had a pair of forced fumbles.
After the Pride forced a three-and-out on Kean's opening possession of the game, Shade broke free for a 45-yard score down the left sideline at the 11:04 mark of the first quarter to give the Pride a 7-0 lead following Christian Hutra's (Holmes, N.Y.) extra point.
The visitors answered right back as Asare found running room between the tackles for a 29 touchdown with 7:33 remaining in the first as he capped off a seven-play, 69-yard drive that lasted just 3:23.
Springfield fumbled on its first play on its next two drives, but the Cougars were unable to take advantage of a pair of short fields as the Pride's defense held up. Springfield was able to find the end zone again with 5:42 remaining in the first half when David Wells(Shelton, Conn.) plunged in from five yards to to make it a 14-7 game. Kean would again respond and knot the game up heading into the half as they scored their final touchdown of the game with just 46 seconds remaining left in the quarter. The Cougars needed just nine plays to go 73 yards as they converted a pair of third downs, including a 3rd-and-20 on a pass and catch from Broccoletti to Aubryn Bryan II, before Broccoletti connected with Kyle Santini in the back corner of the end zone to tie the game.
Neither team would manage to find the end zone in the third quarter, before the Pride took control of the game with a remarkable driving starting with eight minutes left in regulation. Over the next 7:38, Springfield would grind out an 18-play drive that covered 85 yards as Shade directed the offense down to the one-yard line with 29 seconds to go. After Springfield was whistled for a false start, Deguire would get free on the left side as he turned the corner and slide into the end zone for the game-winning score.
Kean would make one final push, but McMullen made a pair of pass breakups in the waning seconds to seal the non-conference win.
The Pride will conclude non-conference play next Saturday when it travels to face Union in a 1 pm contest.
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