Nov. 2, 2002

Final Stats

FAIRFIELD, CT - Senior kicker Tim Redican (Meriden, CT) kicked a pair of field goals, including a 26-yarder in the first over time, to give Sacred Heart University a 10-7 win over Wagner College in a Northeast Conference football matchup on Saturday afternoon.

With the exception of the Redican boots, the defenses for both teams were the big story in this game. Sacred Heart finished with just 146 yards of total offense, while the Pioneers held Wagner to just 117.

Sacred Heart, now 5-3 overall and 5-2 in the Northeast Conference, got on the board first after a scoreless first quarter when senior Shaun Hubbard (Neptune, NJ) blocked a Marc McDermott punt out of the end zone for a safety with 3:07 left in the half. It was the fifth punt the Pioneers had blocked this season.

After the kickoff following the safety, the Pioneers began to move the ball and had pushed it to the Wagner 44. SHU QB Joe Kroells was then picked off by Wagner's Kharee Shorter who then raced 70 yards the other way for a touchdown giving the Seahawks a 7-2 lead they would take in the locker room at the half. It was Shorter's second interception return TD this season.

Pioneer senior Craig Capurso took the opening kickoff of the second half and returned it 66 yards to the Wagner 23. After gaining just five yards in three plays, the Pioneers settled for a 35-yard Redican field goal to close the gap to 7-5.

Sacred Heart forced the Seahawks to punt on their next drive, but the kick was fumbled by the Pioneers' Pete Athans and Lino Cambaliza recovered for Wagner at the SHU 30. Tailback Chris Davis, who finished the game with 99 yards rushing, carried the ball four times in the next seven plays and got the ball to the SHU one where the Seahawks faced a fourth down with the nose of the football just outside the goal line. Quarterback David Bateman tried a QB sneak on the fourth down but was stuffed by SHU defensive tackle Mike Burbridge (Randolph, NJ) and the Pioneers too over on downs.

The next Wagner drive also started in SHU territory at the 39. Bateman hit Kris Hall for 12 yards on the first play to the Pioneer 27. Davis then carried the ball four times to give Wagner a first and goal on the four. On a third and goal from the three, Hubbard tackled Davis for a loss of three yards back to the six. This time Wagner elected to try the field goal but the attempt by Robert Pate was blocked by junior Brian Pawlowski and the Pioneers took over on the 20.

Neither offense was able to move the ball from that point, but the Pioneer special teams got the teams even when they recorded their second safety of the game. Bateman was set to punt at his own ten, but the snap from center sailed over his head and into the end zone. Bateman won the race with the Pioneer front line and fell on the ball to take the safety and the 7-7 tie with 2:08 left.

It looked like the Pioneers might win the game in regulation. The ensuing kickoff after the safety went to Pete Athans at the SHU 40 and he returned it 29 yards to the Wagner 31. After a loss of four yards on the first play on a run by Jason Bonadies. QB Joe Kroells took off on a bootleg and gained seven yards to the Wagner 28. He tried the same play on third down but was stopped for no gain. The Pioneers took a timeout with :01 left and for a 45-yard field goal attempt by Redican. The kick was online, but fell about a yard short to send the game to overtime.

Wagner got the first possession of overtime and after running four plays lined up for a 33-yard field goal by Pate. The kick sailed wide right. The Pioneers were faced with a third and ten from the 25 on their possession and Kroells tried to hit senior receiver Andy Gonzalez with a pass on the right sideline at the one. The pass was incomplete but the Seahawks were flagged for pass interference, giving SHU a first down at the 11. Kroells called his own number on the next two plays and gained two yards to the nine. Redican came in on third down and split the uprights with the 26-yard kick for the win.

At Campus Field

Score by Quarters          1  2  3  4  OT  Score
Wagner (6-3, 4-2)          0  7  0  0   0      7
Sacred Heart (5-3, 5-2)    0  2  3  2   3     10

Scoring Summary

2nd
03:07 SHU - Team safety
00:46 WAG- Kharee Shorter 70 yd INT return (Robert Pate kick)

3rd
13:49 SHU - Tim Redican 35 field goal

4th
02:08 SHU - Team safety

OT
00:00 SHU - Redican 26 field goal

                                 WAG          SHU
FIRST DOWNS                        9           10
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)             48-70        40-43
PASSING YDS (NET)                 47          103
Passes Att-Comp-Int.          16-7-2      24-13-2
TOTAL PLAYS-YARDS             71-137       68-253
Fumble Returns-Yards             0-0          0-0
Punt Returns-Yards              4-66         3-13
Kickoff Returns-Yards           2-38        4-106
Interception Returns-Yards      2-70          2-0
Punts (Number-Avg)            7-20.7       7-44.1
Fumbles-Lost..                   1-0          5-3
Penalties-Yards                 4-45          1-9
Possession Time                32:03        27:57
Third-Down Conversions       4 of 18      6 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions       0 of 2       0 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances          0-3          1-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards          4-20          1-9

RUSHING: Wagner- Davis, Chris 35-99; Barrett, John 5-16; Spina, Chris 2-2; Scott, George 1- (-2); Bateman, David 3 (-14); Team 2-(-31). SHU- Bonadies, Jason 18-34; Kroells, Joe 16-12; Guarino, Mike 1-3; Hernandez, Eric 1-(-1); Pricolo, Ed 4-(-5).

PASSING: Wagner-Bateman, David 4-9-0-29; Spina, Chris 3-7-2-18. SHU-Kroells, Joe 13-24-2-103.

RECEIVING: Wagner- Barrett, John 2-20; Grover, Shaun 2-9; Hall, Kris 1-12; Signor, Clint 1-7; Davis, Chris 1- (-1). SHU- Gonzalez, Andy 6-27; Macauley, Sean 3-27; Ward, Marlon 2-18; Pricolo, Ed 1-25; Hernandez, Eric 1-6.