BEVERLY, Mass. – Trailing 14-6 at halftime, the Endicott football team rallied past St. Lawrence in the second stanza outscoring the Saints 21-0 to come away with a 27-14 season-opening victory on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Hempstead Stadium.
The Gulls completely locked down St. Lawrence offensively as the Saints only mustered 50 yards of total offense and four first downs, combined, in the second half.
Endicott also saw Tyler Davis (Bethel, Conn.), Joseph Pagett (Newtown, Conn.), and James Day (Greenwich, Conn.) fuel the defense with one interception apiece.
Davis' INT sparked the comeback as it led directly to a game-tying touchdown pass on the Gulls' ensuing drive (14-14, 10:29, 3rd quarter), while Pagett and Day's takeaways occurred on drives following scores from the Gulls thwarting any late-game heroics from the Saints.
On offense, Joe Leonard (Cumberland, R.I.) accounted for three scores (one rushing, two passing), while Ryan Smith (Glastonbury, Conn.) drilled a pair of field goals (32, 24) in the win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Geoffrey Ingrando (Everett, Mass.) broke two tackles for an 18-yard touchdown (first career) to put Endicott on the board first at 7:13 of the first quarter.
- Shane Aylward (Tewksbury, Mass.) hauled in a 10-yard TD catch and converted a two-point conversion (both career firsts) from Leonard at the 10:29 mark of the third to even up the contest at 14-all.
- Mehdi Squalli (Rochester, N.Y.) compiled a career-high nine tackles (four solo, five assisted).
- Along with his interception, Pagett wreaked havoc all game long finishing with seven tackles (three solo) and two pass breakups.
- Zachariah Twardosky (Merrimack, Mass.) notched five tackles (three solo), and one strip sack (first career forced fumble).
- Endicott held a 22:41-7:19 advantage in time of possession in the second half.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (1-0) hosts WPI on Friday, September 10 at 7 PM. St. Lawrence (0-1) welcomes Norwich to its campus next Saturday at 1 PM. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
(Photo Credit - Chris Lyons '22 | Video Credit - Bryan Mallett '24)
