All-Around Performance Leads to Opening Day Victory

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – An all-around effort from offense, defense and special teams carried the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football team to a 35-14 win over Husson on opening day of the 2022 season.
 
Sophomore RB Marvens Jean ran for a career-high 254 yards and added 17-yards receiving for 271 yards of total offense. Junior QB Dante Aviles-Santos picked up where he left off last season, throwing for 178 yards and four touchdowns, while adding one on the ground. Sophomore WR Antonio Brown (AB) had a pair of highlight-reel TD's and 42 yards catching, while junior Isaiah Cole had one touchdown grab and 43 yards. Sophomore WR Easten Coleman finished with a catch for six as well. Sophomore kicker Braedyn DeMarco made each of his five extra points for the Corsairs.
 
Defensively, 5th-year senior Javien Delgado led the team with seven tackles and had a forced fumble and recovery. Senior Josh Lacerte finished with three tackles and a sack, while junior Trell Best had an interception and two tackles.
 
UMass Dartmouth's first touchdown came on a 40-yard drive in the first quarter. Jean picked up 11 yards on the ground on three consecutive rushes and sophomore Jalyn Aponte kept it going with 17 yards with his feet to eventually move the Corsairs to the 12-yard line. Aviles-Santos then took it upon himself to scamper 12 yards into the endzone, to make it a 7-0 ballgame, with 4:29 in the first.
 
A defensive stop and a 15-yard punt return from junior Antonio Stakely set the Corsairs up at the Husson 25 with 11:57 in the second quarter. It only took one play for Aviles-Santos to find Brown for a 25-yard strike and make it a 14-0 advantage.
 
Husson got on the board late in the first half to cut their deficit to 14-7 at halftime.
 
UMass Dartmouth scored two touchdowns in the third. Delgado forced and recovered a fumble at the Husson 18-yard line to set up great field position for the Corsairs. It took two plays for UMassD to score. A trick play where Cole threw to Jean for 17 yards moved the ball to the one, and Aviles Santos found Coleman for the TD to make it a 21-7 game with 8:36 in the third.
 
The Corsairs then drove 83 yards for their next score. A pair of receptions by Stakely and rushes by Jean put the ball on the Husson 37. Aviles-Santos then scrambled and connected with a wide-open Cole for a 37-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 28-7.
 
A 36-yard rush by Husson at the end of the third quarter made it 28-14.
 
UMass Dartmouth had one more touchdown in them in the fourth. Jean put the Corsairs in striking distance with a 36-yard rush, and Aviles-Santos found Brown for a three-yard TD to give the game its final score of 35-14.
 
The Corsairs meet defending Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Champion Anna Maria on the road on Saturday for a noon kickoff.