ONEONTA, N.Y. - Mike Ashcraft (Westbrookville, N.Y.) tallied three interceptions including picking off Husson quarterback Jonah Chappell in the end zone in the closing minute to help Hartwick College preserve a 35-27 victory over the Eagles, Saturday afternoon at Wright Stadium.
Hartwick, which improved to 2-1 for the first time since 2002, appeared to hold a comfortable 28-12 lead at the half. However, the Eagles chopped the deficit in the opening 1:35 of the third quarter as Chappell connected with Andre Wildman on a 45-yard pass to cap off a four-play 70-yard drive. After stopping the Hawk offense, the Eagles marched down to the Hartwick 14 yard line. On a fourth and nine, Chappell was picked off by Justin Oelgeschlager (Highland, N.Y.) at the goal line and the junior raced it back to the Husson 20 before fumbling the ball. The ball bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Ben Zarzycki (Gansevoort, N.Y.) for a Hawk touchdown. That score gave Hartwick much needed breathing room at 35-20 with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles made things interesting in the final quarter after Bryan Ferguson capped off a four-play 36-yard drive with a 13-yard run to pull Husson within 35-27 with 9:01 left. However, the Hartwick defense picked off Chappell twice in the final two drives to preserve the win.
It didn't take Hartwick long to score after taking the opening kickoff. Jason Boltus (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) connected with Jack Phelan (Slingerlands, N.Y.) on the second play from scrimmage, a 42-yard pass, to give the Hawks a quick 7-0 advantage at 14:12.
Husson cut the deficit to 7-6 on a 20-yard pass from Chappell to Jeremy Shorey, but Darren Gauthier missed the extra point. Hartwick pushed its lead up to 14-6 with eight seconds left in the first quarter as Lindy Crea (Binghamton, N.Y.) caught a 10-yard pass from Boltus.
The Boltus to Crea connection appeared once again at the 9:56 mark of the second quarter, a 28-yard pass, to up the Hawks' advantage to 21-6. After stopping the Eagles, Boltus led the Hawks on a nine-play 88-yard drive. After two plays from the one yard line, the junior signal caller finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge.
Boltus finished the game completing 13 of 21 passes for 228 yards and three scores, while Crea rushed 22 times for 68 yards and caught seven passes for 103 yards.
Husson, which ranked fourth in the country in total defense (137.7), and 14th overall in scoring defense (5.3 ppg) prior to today's game, surrendered 335 yards of offense to the Hawks. The Eagles did out gain Hartwick 349-335 in the yardage department on the afternoon.
Ashcraft picked off Chappell in the first quarter, in the second quarter, and on Husson's final offensive play in the game. Joe Flaherty (Hastings, N.Y.) posted a game-high 12 stops, four solo tackles, while Paul DeSapio (Troy, N.Y.) chipped in seven in the victory.
Husson, now 3-1, posted 244 yards of rushing on 41 carries. Sophomore Bryan Ferguson recorded 113 yards on 18 carries to pace the Eagle attack. Julius Williams registered 87 yards on 13 attempts. Chappell finished the day with 34 rushing, and 105 passing yards on 6 of 24 passing attempts.
Hartwick will return to action next Saturday evening as it hosts nationally-ranked St. John Fisher. Kick-off is set for a 7 p.m. start at Wright Stadium.
