Box Score
SCHENECTADY, NY – Sophomore quarterback #Andrew Connolly# threw for a career high 336 yards, passed for two touchdowns and caught another touchdown in leading Union College to a 39-21 victory over Hartwick in the 2009 ECAC North Atlantic Bowl Saturday at Frank Bailey Field.
Connolly was named the Most Outstanding Player, and Union finished the season 8-3 while Hartwick wraps up 5-5. Union freshman RB Kevin Valenti rushed for a career best 120 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns while Justin Gallo had 133 yards on four catches. Charles Hovsepian had seven tackles and a sack for Union's defense, while JP Sticco had two of the five Union interceptions.
Hartwick senior running back Tosh DeMulder (Unadilla, NY) closed out his career with 106 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Starter QB Brain Radley (Herkimer, NY) was five for 14 for 134 yards while Kyle Morenus (Sidney, NY) came in to toss for 73 yards, completing six of 14 passes. Joe D’Alessandro (Niskayuna, NY) had a game high 14 tackles for the Hawks, while Rob Roth (Cornwall, NY) made 13 hits along including 2.5 tackles for losses.
This was Union’s sixth ECAC Championship and first since 2001. The Dutchmen are now 6-1 in seven ECAC playoff games and 5-0 at home. Union finished with a season high 482 yards in offense, the sixth time this season the Dutchmen eclipsed the 400 yard mark.
Senior linebacker John Peters concluded his stellar career. He had four tackles to cap his career with 121 tackles in 2009, which ranks third all-time at Union. Peters’ career total of 228 ranks him tied for eighth all-time.
Gallo’s total of 133 yards receiving gave him a season total of 942 yards, to place him second all time, as he became only the second Union receiver to record 900 yards in a single season.
The Hawks finished with 348 yards on offense. Hartwick opened the scoring with a nine yard touchdown run by DeMulder with 7:16 left in the first to wrap up a fie play, 75 yard drive in 1:39. After the kickoff, on just the third play of the drive, Valenti broke free for a 54 yard scoring run with 1:06 left in the first quarter. After forcing a four-and-out, Union wrapped up a 10 play, 64 yard drive when Connolly hit Connor Gallo for a 28 yard touchdown reception on the final play of the first quarter, and the kick made it 13-7 Union.
Sticco intercepted a pass at the Hartwick 47 on the second play in the second quarter, and returned it to the 37. On the first play, Gourrier, who saw a lot of action in the Wildcat offense run by Union during the day, passed to Connolly for a 37 yard touchdown just 55 seconds into the second quarter. The PAT failed but it was 19-7 Union. After a 38 yard field goal attempt by the Hawks failed with 11:51 left in the half, Union took over and consumed 7:18 off the clock with 16 plays in 65 yards. But a Union field goal attempt from 32 yards out failed.
The Dutchmen added the final points of the half with 1:46 remaining. Connolly returned the TD pass favor to Gourrier, hitting the senior for a 27 yard touchdown followed by the kick for the 26-7 score. It was a three play, 49 yard drive in 1:11. Union had the ball for nearly 19 minutes of the first half and had 15 first downs and 306 yards in offense heading to the locker room.
Zach Epley made it 29-7 Union with a 27 yard field goal with 4:33 left to play in the third quarter. The drive was a four play, three yard drive that started at the Hartwick 13 after an interception by Union’s Eric Baxter at the Hartwick 25. The Hawks pulled closer at 29-14 on a 10 yard pass from Morenus to Tim Smith (Wakefield, MA) with 1:59 left in the third quarter. The six play, 62 yard drive took 1:59.
But the Dutchmen regained a 22 point lead on the final play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Valenti ran in from two yards out on a four play, 72 yard drive that consumed 2:18, and it was 36-14 entering the fourth.
Union’s final points came with six minutes remaining. Epley hit his second field goal of the day, this one from 31 yards out, for a 39-14 lead. The eight play drive went 25 yards in 4:38. With 1:22 remaining, DeMulder ran in from 14 yards for his second score of the day, but the pass attempt failed. The drive featured two plays and 34 yards in 38 seconds and provided the eventual 39-21 final score.
This was the first time these teams have met since 2003, and Union has won eight of the nine matchups. This is the ninth time in Union Head Coach John Audino’s 18 year career that the Dutchmen recorded eight victories in a season.