McCray’s Career Day Lifts Pioneers Past Stonehill 40-27

Saturday, October 15

Fairfield, Conn.

1:00 PM

Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics

4-2 , 2-0

Stonehill College

3-1 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Stonehill

Sacred Heart

McCray’s Career Day Lifts Pioneers Past Stonehill 40-27

10/15/2022 6:27:00 PM | Football

Box Score

QB’s 405 yards are third most in school history.

FAIRFIELD, CONN. – Backed by one of the best passing days in program history, the Sacred Heart University football team rolled to its third-straight victory on Saturday. The Pioneers cruised by Northeast Conference newcomer Stonehill College, 40-27, at Campus Field.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 4-2, 2-0 NEC
Stonehill: 3-1, 1-1 NEC

Statistical Leaders:
Marquez McCray: 405 yards (21-of-30), 1 TD
Malik Grant: 104 yards, 25 carries, 1 TD
Kenneth Womack: 173 yards, 8 rec.
LJ Haskett 135 yards, 5 rec, 1 TD

Up Next:
The Pioneers are on the road Saturday to face Merrimack at 1 p.m.

Of Note:
The win extended Sacred Heart's home winning streak to 13 games, the fourth longest in the country.

Quarterback Marquez McCray passed for 405 yards on 21 completions, just nine yards short of the SHU single-game record. Dale Fink threw for 414 yards against Albany on November 6, 2010.

The majority of those passing yards went to two receivers. Kenneth Womack hauled in a career-high 173 yards on eight catches while LJ Haskett also had a career day with 135 yards, including a 75-yards touchdown reception at the end of the third quarter. Womack's haul is the most by a Pioneer since Tyler Dube pulled 189 at CCSU on October 24, 2015.

A 22-yard Jalen Madison touchdown just 40 seconds into the second quarter gave the Pioneers a 10-0 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the afternoon.

After Stonehill got on the board in the second quarter thanks to a 46-yard pass from Ashur Carraha to Tom Comella, Sacred Heart rattled off 17-straight points to build a 27-7 halftime lead on a McCray three-yard score.

In the second half anytime the Skyhawks tried to get close to the Pioneers, the SHU offense had the answer. Haskett pushed the margin back to 20 (34-14) with his 75-yard score, the longest since Kezio Snelling pulled in a 71-yard catch from Logan Marchi in 2019, then Xavier Leigh scored from four yards out to seal the victory with his first collegiate touchdown.

Producing a team-high 10 stops was linebacker Ernest Howard.

Sacred Heart had a 594-to-402 advantage in total yards.

Thanks to an expanded end zone fan experiences, temporary bleachers, and additional Family Weekend activities, the game was played in front of a record crowd of 10,153 fans.