THE BASICS:
- Score: Assumption 54, American International 9
- Records: Assumption (4-1, 4-0), AIC (0-4, 0-4)
- Location: Worcester, Mass.
- The Lead: Assumption jumped out to a 31-8 lead at the half and added 23 more points in the final 30 minutes for a dominant 54-9 victory over American International on Saturday afternoon in Multi-Sport Stadium during family weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The defense forced a three-and-out on the opening drive, giving the offense good field position. Assumption used eight plays to march down the field. A Doug Santos (Peabody, Mass. / Peabody Veterans) rush moved the Hounds inside the red zone and Cody Williams (Wilbraham, Mass. / Springfield Central) capped off the drive with a six-yard quarterback keeper.
- Stephon Hill (Baltimore, Md. / Boys' Latin School of Md.) forced a fumble on AIC's next possession, giving Assumption the ball at the AIC 45-yard line. The Hounds moved down inside the 20 and Jacob Tondel (Webster, Mass. / Shepherd Hill) made a 34-yard field goal to push the lead to 10-0 with 6:22 left in the first.
- The Yellow Jackets got on the board in the second quarter with a 32-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 10-3. Assumption countered with a nine-play drive and Williams found Deonte Harris (Middle River, Md. / Archbishop Curley) on a quick slant for a 19-yard score for the 17-3 advantage. Williams took the ball on the Hounds' next drive and went 3-for-4, including a 16-yard touchdown to Tighe Beck (Wakefield, Mass. / Wakefield) for a 24-3 lead with 7:43 left.
- AIC came through with its lone touchdown of the game to cut the deficit to 24-9 at 3:37. Assumption added one more touchdown before the half as Williams went 5-for-6 and finished off the drive with a 14-yard strike to Beck for a 31-9 advantage.
- The Hounds received the ball to start the second half. Williams came out firing and led another scoring drive, finding Beck near the sideline. He broke one tackle before taking it down the sideline for a 38-9 lead. Williams kept up the aerial assault with a beautiful throw over the defense to Harris, who came away with the 78-yard touchdown and 45-9 lead.
- Senior Malcolm Major (Yonkers, N.Y. / Archbishop Stepinac) tacked on a two-yard touchdown run after a 41-yard scamper by Easton Turner (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge). Assumption's final points came after Seamus Wallace (Pawcatuck, Conn. / Stonington) pinned AIC on the 1-yard line with a great punt. Two plays later the Yellow Jackets fumbled in the endzone and the Hounds earned the safety, as Jared Vargus (East Bridgewater, Mass. / East Bridgewater) was credited with the two points on the play.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Assumption pilled up 578 yards of offense on the day, with 377 through the air and 201 on the ground. AIC, meanwhile, managed 269, with just 110 passing yards. The Hounds had just three penalties for 15 yards in the contest.
- Williams was dynamic, going 27-for-34 (79%) for career-highs of 360 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown. The 27 completions tied the school record, held by both Andrew Kupec (2010) and Chad Carges (1999). His five passing touchdowns is the second highest single-game total in program history, while his 360 yards is the fifth-highest mark.
- Harris was the primary target on the day, catching eight passes for 168 yards and two scores. Kyle Sonnie (West Roxbury, Mass. / Catholic Memorial) added five receptions for 63 yards as nine different players caught a pass. Beck had three receptions for 46 yards and three touchdowns, tying the school record for single-game touchdown receptions.
- Joseph Kellum (Mt. Laurel, N.J. / Lenape Regional) led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 55 yards. Santos added six for 39 yards while Major had eight for 31 yards with a touchdown.
- Defensively, 24 different players recorded a tackle, led by Joe Kim (Edison, N.J. / Edison) who had six stops. Calvin Millner (New York, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) added six tackles while Joe Bruno (Old Forge, Pa. / Old Forge) had five tackles, 2 TFL and 0.5 sacks. Kaleb Silva (Revere, Mass. / Revere) chipped in six stops.
UP NEXT:
- Assumption is off this coming weekend with a bye week and returns to action on Oct. 13 when the team hosts Southern Connecticut State at 1 p.m.
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