Nov. 9, 2002

Box Score

Junior quarterback Joe Kroells (Burbank, CA) threw for a career-high 254 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Sacred Heart Pioneers to a 32-3 win over visiting Siena College in a non-conference football tilt Saturday. The win guaranteed Sacred Heart, 6-3, a third straight winning season with just their season finale remaining next week.

This game couldn't have started any better for the Pioneers. On the first play from scrimmage after receiving the opening kickoff, junior tailback Jason Bonadies (Southbridge, MA) ran a counter play 85-yards for a touchdown. He would finish the game with a career-high 123 yards on 16 carries.

SHU lined up for an apparent PAT, but holder Andrew Gonzalez (Willimantic, CT) took the snap, jumped up and rolled right, and found senior Eric Hernandez (White Plains, NY) in the endzone for the two-pointer.

The Pioneers surprised everyone in the stadium by booting an onside kick after the score. It stunned the Saints so much that senior Pete Athans (Ocean, NJ) was able to grab the ball untouched at the SHU 47, giving his team the ball back.

After Bonadies was stopped on a run on first down, Kroells connected with tight end Sean MacCauley (Clinton, CT) on a 17-yard pass play to the Siena 37. Two plays later Kroells was sacked by Siena's Ray Toohey and fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by Jim Olivetto for the Saints.

Siena had trouble moving the ball all day, finishing with just 61 net yards. The lone Saint score came with 4:39 left in the first quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Charles Conklin. The score was set up when Kroells fumbled for the second time after being sacked at his own 16-yard line.

The Pioneers engineered a nine-play, 57-yard drive after the Siena field goal that was capped by a 15-yard TD pass from Kroells to junior Marlon Ward (Revere, MA). Criag Capurso (Bristol, CT) put his team in great position for the drive with a 43-yard kickoff return.

Sacred Heart made it 22-3 with 6:29 left in the first half when Kroells hit Gonzalez for a 51-yard scoring strike on the first play after a Siena punt. Kroells was under heavy pressure on the play and sprinted to his right before heaving the ball deep downfield to Gonzalez.

Kroells wasn't done in the first half, however. With 1:28 left before intermission he connected with Ward for the second time for a score, this one from 54 yards out. Kroells finished the half 12 of 13 for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

The only scored of the second half was a Tim Redican (Meriden, CT) field goal 26-yard field goal on the first SHU possession of the second half.

The final stat lines reflected on the scoreboard. Siena managed just three first downs in their 61 total yards and the Saints completed just one of 15 pass attempts.

Senior defensive end Odain Mitchell (Bridgeport, CT), who was twice named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week this season, set a new SHU single-season sack record. He had 2 1/2 against the Saints giving him 12 1/2 for the season.