DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Under the lights and in front of a packed crowd of 2,315 fans at Cressy Field, Salve Regina claimed the Captain's Wheel in the inaugural Battle of the Bays against UMass Dartmouth on Friday night. The Seahawks posted a 21-13 victory over the Corsairs to improve to 1-0 overall.
The visiting Seahawks opened the game's scoring at 7:21 of the opening quarter as a 33-yard pass from Stephen Paradiso to Spencer Chapman culminated a seven-play, 74-yard drive and a 7-0 advantage.
Salve made it a 14-0 lead at 11:08 of the second quarter as Padraig Brown drove the ball in from one yard out, but the Corsairs would answer late in the frame. Off the arm of senior quarterback
JC Petrongolo, the ball sailed into the hands of senior running back and captain
Mekhi Wilson for a 13-yard score.
In the third quarter, the visitors added to their lead on a five-yard pass to Michael Fulton for a 21-7 lead. That advantage remained until late in the fourth quarter as wide receiver
Markus Andrews connected with Petrongolo on a 25-yard pass to close the gap.
The Corsairs tried for the on-side kick, but it was recovered by Salve as they held on for the victory to claim the Captain's Wheel.
Leading the way for the Corsairs was Petrongolo, who went 19-for-37 with 237 passing yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Wilson was one yard shy of 100 yards, totaling 99 on 18 attempts while also adding four receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown. Andrews led the receivers with 73 yards on five catches and a touchdown, as sophomore
Jayden Francois posted three catches for 59 yards.
Defensively, sophomore
Kenimar Noel paced the effort with a game-high 13 tackles, including six solo. Junior
Dylan Lykins added eight tackles, while junior edge
Donovan Turner forced a fumble and recovered the ball on the same play. Senior
Jordan D'Amico also had a fumble recovery for the Corsairs, while senior defensive back
Shane Longin had an interception and a pass breakup.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday, September 12, traveling to Fitchburg for a 12pm MASCAC game against the Falcons.
