Lionel Assie rips the monkey off the WestConn's back as
the
Colonials come from behind to defeat Brockport, 45-44
DANBURY, CT (Oct. 24) — Lionel Assie (Bridgeport, CT) had one of his finest games in a Colonials' uniform on Saturday afternoon. Looking back at WestConn's 0-6 start, the senior tailback willingly took matters into his own hands. He carried the ball 13 times for 143 yards and scored three touchdowns in Western Connecticut State University's 45-44 come-from-behind victory over The College at Brockport before an announced crowd of 888 on Homecoming Day.
Assie scored on runs of one, 48 and 35 yards, the last jaunt pulled WestConn to within three points, 41-38 with 8:29 remaining in the final stanza. It battled back after falling behind by 10 points in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
Assie's valiant effort aside, the Colonials still needed a spark from their senior signal caller James Williams (Wolcott, CT). Williams would not disappoint the vocal crowd which withstood torrential downpours all afternoon.
With 1:02 remaining in the final stanza, Williams found Mike Keating (Fairlawn, NJ) open on the right side for a three-yard touchdown reception to cap off a 10-play 47-yard drive that ate up 3:47 and forced Brockport to use up its time outs. Sophomore kicker James Campbell (Oakdale, NY) calmly booted the game-winning extra point through the uprights.
Now, in a game where defense did not appear to be a priority for either squad, WestConn had to buckle down and keep the Golden Eagles from paydirt, one last time.
Brockport began its final drive on its own 42 yard line and quickly took advantage of the Colonials' prevent defense. It marched to the home team's 33 yard line with a first down following a 12-yard reception from Jake Greci (Farnham, NY) to Matt Newman (Unadilla, NY).
On the ensuing play Greci dropped back to throw and lost control of the ball while bringing it back over his right shoulder. Freshman Justin Rice (Hartford, CT) pounced on the ball and the threat was squashed, and so was WestConn's 12-game losing streak, dating back to October 4, 2008.
As can be assumed with a total of 89 points on the scoreboard, the contest was filled with big plays, including two kick-off returns for touchdowns by Brockport's senior Cevon Carver. With 8:20 remaining in the first quarter, the Bronx, NY native put the Golden Eagles ahead, 7-3 on the visitor's first possession when he scampered 80 yards following Campbell's 25-yard field goal.
After the Colonials took a 17-14 advantage on a 16-yard TD pass from Williams to Steve Griffin (Old Tappan, NJ), Carver took the ensuing kick off 90 yards to the house and Brockport held a 20-17 advantage.
It would not relinquish its advantage until Williams and Keating hooked up for the game-winner.
Williams completed 19 of 31 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. His top receiver was freshman wide out Jeff Johnston (New Fairfield, CT) who had five catches for 81 yards including a 15-yard score with 17 seconds remaining before intermission. WestConn trailed, 27-24 at the break.
Graci completed 18 of 32 passes for 195 yards and threw two touchdowns to Tamere Shannon (Buffalo, NY) on the day. Shannon caught TD pass from 24 and 10 yards out.
The senior quarterback led the Golden Eagles' ground attack amassing 63 yards on 14 carries with a 21-yard touchdown to put the visitors up, 41-31 with 3:38 left in the third quarter.
Defensively, Greg Galasso (Brewster, NY) led the Colonials with 15 total tackles and had a pass break up. Nathan Bull (Brockport, NY) collected 14 tackles with an interception and a sack in the loss.
WestConn travels to Montclair State University for a meeting with the Red Hawk on October 31. Kick-off is slated for 6 p.m.
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