Nov. 2, 2002
Box Score
Christian Karolus (Trumbull, Conn.) tossed for 126 yards and a touchdown and place kicker Charles Conklin (Newburgh, N.Y.) booted two field goals to help Siena (3-5, 3-4 MAACFL) earn a 20-19 MAAC victory over St. John's (2-6, 2-4 MAACFL) at Heritage Park Saturday afternoon. Tom Gavenonis missed extra points on St. John's final two touchdown drives to help preserve the win.
Conklin started the scoring on the Saints first drive of the game with a 38-yard field goal following a 10-play, 60-yard march. St. John's stormed back in the second quarter as Matt Millheiser found Alicio Metellus with an 11-yard TD pass to give the Red Storm its only lead of the afternoon.
Karolus' TD strike came on the ensuing possession when he threw a receiver screen to junior Pat McCormack in the flat. McCormack broke a tackle and scampered 40 yards for the go-ahead score. Conklin added a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Saints a 13-7 advantage at the intermission.
Siena extended its lead off the second half kickoff as Peter Green (Cazenovia, N.Y.) returned the ball to the St. John's 42-yard line to jump start the Saints' offense. Freshman Sal Jeraci (West Harrison, N.Y.) finished off a well designed 11-play, 42-yard drive with a two-yard plunge to make the score 20-7.
St. John's got back on the board on their next possession converting several third downs and a key fourth down before Matt McGuire scored from 13 yards out on a draw play with 5:51 left in the third quarter. Gavenonis' hooked the extra point wide left to keep the lead at seven, 20-13.
After the teams exchanged three and outs, the Red Storm marched 39-yards in three minutes for what appeared to be the game-tying score with just 3:48 remaining in regulation. Matt May leaped over Siena's Jay Barbero and pulled the ball away for the score on a fourth and goal from the Saints' five. Gavenonis' deciding extra point sailed right, however, to preserve the win.
Dan Smacchia (Thornwood, N.Y.) anchored the Siena defense with nine tackles and a fumble recovery.
"We'll take the win any way we can get it," an exhausted Head Coach Jay Bateman said following the contest. "The kids have played hard all season and deserve the opportunity to play for a .500 record."
For that to happen, Siena will have to defeat Sacred Heart next Saturday in Connecticut and hold off archrival Marist in the season finale at Heritage Park on November 16. A win over the Red Foxes would give the Saints their first .500 MAAC finish since 1997.
