WORCESTER, Mass.- The Assumption College football team gets set to travel to Springfield, Mass. for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Saturday, October 11th vs the American International College Yellow Jackets. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m.
Recent History: Assumption Greyhounds vs Yellow Jackets
Last year the Greyhounds upended the Yellow Jackets by a final score of 54-9. Cody Williams started off the scoring with a six-yard keeper, followed by Stephon Hill with a forced fumble to give the offense good field position. The Hounds jumped to a 31-8 lead at the half and added 23 second half points for a 54-9 victory. Cody Williams was 27-34 with 360 yards and five touchdowns, Joseph Kellum (Mt. Laurel, N.J. / Lenape Regional) rushed for 55 yards on 11 carries and Deonte Harris caught eight passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. For the Yellow Jackets, Samad Davila rushed 25 times for 151 yards and a touchdown. Angel Baez caught two passes for 42 yards.
Last Time Out: Assumption
The Hounds (4-2) fell to Pace last week by a final score of 35-32, snapping their four-game win streak. The Setters took an early 14-0 lead, before first year Patrick May (Boylston, Mass. / Tahanto Regional) nailed a 31-yard field goal with time expiring to give the Hounds their first three points of the contest. May then hit a 35-yard field goal to close the gap to 14-6. Kellum rushed for 35 yards in the final three plays of the Hounds next drive to give the Hounds their first touchdown of the day, making the score 14-12, Pace. The Setters scored two consecutive touchdowns to push their lead to 28-12. First year quarterback Jordan McAfee (Peabody, Mass. / Everett) completed an eight-play, 75-yard drive with an early four-yard rush for the score. Then, senior Doug Santos (Peabody, Mass. / Peabody Veterans Memorial) found his way into the end zone with a nine-yard carry. With May's extra point, Assumption brought the score to 28-25, still on top. Assumption took the lead when senior Khaleed Exum-Strong
(Norwichtown, Conn. / Norwichtown) rushed for 25 yards in the final two plays of the drive to score his first touchdown of the game and give the Hounds the 32-28 advantage with just 1:39 to play. The Setters answered with a touchdown of their own to win the game 35-32.
Assumption Offense:
Assumption is averaging 36.5 points per game. On average, the Hounds throw for 169.7 yards per game, and rush for 212. The Hounds have scored 28 touchdowns on offense this season, 23 coming on the ground and five in the air. McAfee is 31-for-58 with 429 yards passing. Santos has rushed 77 times for 563 yards and five touchdowns, while his teammate Exum-Strong has carried 57 times for 371 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior captain Tighe Beck (Wakefield, Ma / Wakefield Memorial) leads the Hounds with 16 catches for 261 yards and a score.
Assumption Defense:
The Greyhounds defense is allowing 402.5 yards per game, 171 on the ground and 231.5 in the air. They are allowing an average of 27.8 points per game. Senior Mac-Brian Nkongchu (Worcester, Mass. / Saint John's) leads the Hounds with 36 tackles, followed by junior Cullen McCarty (York, Me. / York / Worcester Academy) with 30 tackles. Redshirt senior Shawn Springs (West Philadelphia, Pa. / Timber Creek) has two interceptions on the year, while junior Mason Wallace (Stratham, N.H. / Exeter / Worcester Academy) leads the team in sacks with 4.5.
Assumption Special Teams:
May is 3-for-3 on the year for field goals attempts, and 13-for-15 on extra point attempts, for a total of 22 points. Senior Seamus Wallace (Pawcatuck, Conn. / Stonington) has punted 35 times on the year, averaging 42.1 yards and 14 pinned within the opponents 20-yard line.
Last Time Out: American International College
The Yellow Jackets (2-3) fell to Stonehill College last weekend by a final score of 31-13. Stonehill took an early 14-0 lead before Keith Jackson picked off Stonehill's quarterback and returned it 46-yards for the touchdown, making it 14-6. Stonehill scored three unanswered touchdowns before punter Rady Rojas-Portilla faked a punt for the Yellow Jackets and gained 30 yards. On the ensuing play, redshirt sophomore Prince Olubakinda found junior Joshua Simon on an 11-yard touchdown pass to pull the score to 31-13.
Yellow Jacket Offense:
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 17.4 points per game. They average 115 yards rushing per game, and 131.4 passing. Chase Speller leads AIC with 58 carries for 279 yards. Jayson Demild is 45-for-102 with 581 yards and four touchdowns on the year. Olubakina is 7-for-23 with 76 yards passing and a touchdown. Samad Davila leads the Yellow Jackets with 16 catches for 288 yards.
Yellow Jacket Defense:
American International is allowing an average of 27.6 points per game. Their opponents are gaining an average of 174.6 yards of offense on the ground and 201.6 yards in the air. Jayson Thompson leads the Yellow Jackets with 48 tackles and an interception. Cyriacus Ibezim is right behind Thompson with 39 tackles on the year.
Yellow Jacket Special Teams:
Portilla has punted 40 times for an average of 39.28 yards per punt. He has pinned 13 of his 40 punts within the opponents 20-yard line.
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