SCHENECTADY, NY – Sophomore quarterback Andrew Connolly (Foxboro, MA) 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 (Lutz, FL) rushed for a career-best 120 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns while Justin Gallo (Troy, NY) had 133 yards on four catches. Charles Hovsepian (Hingham, MA) 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. Starting 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. Chad Rockefeller (Delhi, NY) added 12 tackles and Tim Martin (Garden City, NY) notched 11.
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. The Hawks fall to 1-5 all-time in ECAC Bowl appearances. This was the first time these teams have met since 2003, with the Dutchmen capturing eight victories in the nine contests.
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 five-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 (Southampton, NY) 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 providing the eventual final 39-21 score.
DeMulder caps his career with 1,838 rushing yards, good enough for 3rd all-time at Hartwick. His 21 rushing touchdowns also rank 3rd in the College record books. His 3,593 all-purpose yards places him 5th in Hartwick history.
Noah Koreman (Albany, NY), who made two catches for 27 yards on the day, ranks 8th at Hartwick in reception yards in a career with 2,157. He also sits 6th in touchdown receptions with 30 and 10th in career catches with 104.
Ben Tomaino (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) made nine tackles for Hartwick including 2.5 tackles for losses and two sacks in his final game. The senior defensive tackle, climbed into 2nd in the 'Wick record books in sacks with 19.5, passing Tyrone O'Meally (19). Tomaino is also 3rd in tackles for a loss (39.5) and 6th in career tackles (238).
