ABILENE, Texas – The No. 9/12 Endicott football team fell to No. 7/8 Hardin-Simmons, 35-27, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at Shelton Stadium.
The only top-10 D3 nationally ranked matchup on this weekend's docket lived up to its billing.
Both teams went into the locker room tied at 14-14 following a late score by the Cowboys with eight seconds remaining in the opening 30 minutes.
Hardin-Simmons capitalized on winning the coin toss in the second half, as the Cowboys doubled up the Gulls with a score on their first drive to move ahead 21-14 with 8:29 to play in the third.
The hosts added a 54-yard reception TD late in the third (2:23, 27-14 deficit) before both teams traded scores in the final 15 minutes.
Endicott never relented in the fourth despite facing multiple two-score scenarios, utilizing a pair of receiving touchdowns by Adam Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.) – 8:45, 32 yards, 27-21 | 1:26, 9 yards, 35-27 – to the bring the contest within onside kick reach.
Hardin-Simmons' hands-team handled the onside kick and iced the game, pushing the Cowboys record to 4-1 against non-conference ranked teams at home.
Meanwhile, the Gulls' first half scoring came from Clayton Marengi (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Everett Knowlton III (Mansfield, Mass.), both occurring in the second quarter.
Marengi tied up the contest at 7-7 with a one-yard plunge at 4:58, while Knowlton III connected with Marengi on a 37-yard strike with 1:48 to play in the first half.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott held Hardin-Simmons to a season-low 35 points.
- The Cowboys entered today's contest as the No. 1 ranked scoring offense (67.0 PPG) among all NCAA Divisions.
- Hardin-Simmons won the time of possession matchup, 35:41-24:19 (season-high for Hardin-Simmons | second-lowest total for Endicott).
- Matthew Licciardi (East Greenwich, R.I.) forced a fumble (fifth career) on Hardin-Simmons' nine-yard line to set up Goodfellow's second TD of the day.
- Licciardi finished the contest with season-highs for solo tackles (5) and total tackles (6).
- Alfino Davis (Cranston, R.I.), Corey Monteiro (East Providence, R.I.), and Michael Canney (Dracut, Mass.) tied for the team-high in tackles with eight apiece (career-highs for Davis/Monteiro).
- Canney recovered Licciardi's forced fumble (first career recovery).
- Shane Aylward (Tewksbury, Mass.) added six receptions and 79 yards to his program records in both categories (161 catches | 2,274 receiving yards).
- Danny Fleming (Tewksbury, Mass.) recorded a career-high six tackles (five solo and one assist).
- The Gulls halted Hardin-Simmons offense to season-lows in rushing yards (180), passing yards (229), and total yards (409).
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 9/12 Endicott (4-1) travels to the University of New England (UNE) on Saturday, October 19 at 1 PM. No. 7/8 Hardin-Simmons (4-0) visits No. 14/17 Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday, October 12 at 1 PM (CST).
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(Photo Credit - Tammy McManaway)
