MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Senior quarterback Jeff St. Onge (Kingston, N.H.) threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two scores as the Salve Regina University football team snapped an eight-game losing streak to UMass Dartmouth with a 49-14 win in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field.

St. Onge completed 19-of-28 passes for 206 yards and rushed for a game-high 116 yards as the Seahawks (3-4, 2-2 NEFC) snapped a two-game losing skid with the win. He opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass and broke off a 62-yard scoring run in the second, and threw a 43-yard scoring strike in the fourth for Salve Regina, which racked up 448 yards of total offense and scored its most points since dropping 51 points on the Corsairs (0-7, 0-4 NEFC) back in 2000.

"When we are smooth and fluid on offense, things come naturally to Jeff," said Salve Regina head coach Chris Robertson, who owned a career head coaching record of 0-3 entering this afternoon's game with UMD. "For him to carry the weight of the entire offense the way that he has is really a testament to him being not only a great football player, but a great leader. He wants that leadership role, and he has stepped up in every sense of the way. He's done a great job for us."

St. Onge capped a seven-play, 51-yard drive with a one-yard scoring run to open the scoring and put SRU in front just 4:28 into the contest. The Corsairs answered with a one-yard touchdown run by freshman QB Brandon McNeish (Springfield, Mass.) to even the score at seven at 8:06 of the opening stanza. The Seahawks closed the quarter with a 17-play, 79-yard drive capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from St. Onge to sophomore Michael Dargan (Meriden, Conn.) with 12 seconds remaining.

The Seahawks outscored the Corsairs 14-0 in the second quarter to take a 28-7 lead into halftime. St. Onge gave Salve Regina a two-touchdown lead at 21-7 with a 62-yard scoring run with 5:36 left in the half, and freshman Trey Scales (Boston, Mass.) scampered in from four yards out with 15 ticks left before halftime to give the Corsairs a 21-point halftime deficit. The touchdown was Scales' sixth of the season (five rush, one catch).

Late in the third, the Corsairs climbed to within two touchdowns at 28-14 with 1:51 remaining. The Salve Regina defense forced UMD into a punting situation, but the UMD punt bounced off the leg of Salve Regina senior linebacker Nolan McGarrity (Verona, N.J.) and was recovered by the Corsairs at the SRU 25. Two plays later, McNeish hooked up with senior Marc Fiore (Wakefield, Mass.) for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

The Seahawks went on to score the final 21 points of the game. Following Fiore's touchdown reception, St. Onge connected with senior Matt Shubert (West Bridgewater, Mass.) for a 43-yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock in the third quarter that pushed the Seahawk lead to 35-14. A pair of fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns - a five-yard touchdown run by Scales and a six-yard touchdown run by senior Matt Wierzbicki (Wethersfield, Conn.) - closed the scoring.

"Our offense is oblivious to the things that go on around them, and that's fine," Robinson added. "They go out with the intent to score on every drive, and the plays our offensive coordinator, Neil Hitchen, calls are ones which can hit big at any time. We're aggressive on offense. Sometimes it works in our favor, and other times it stalls out, but it's worth it on those drives where guys break a tackle or run by someone for a touchdown."

Junior Nick Piscitelli (North Haven, Conn.) finished with a game-high 54 yards receiving for Salve Regina while Shubert tallied 53 yards and senior Ben Hall (Conway, N.H.) hauled in three passes for 51 yards. Scales racked up 36 yards on just seven carries while senior James Solimini (Braintree, Mass.) averaged 7.8 yards per rush on his first four rushing attempts of the season. Defensively, sophomore Shane Lange (Branford, Conn.) recorded a team-high 14 tackles (five solo) while Solimini, sophomore Matt Petersen (Bristol, Conn.), and freshman Max Shubert (West Chester, Pa.) each picked off a McNeish pass.

Sophomore Josh Marsh (Brockton, Mass.) led the Corsairs with 67 rush yards while McNeish finished the afternoon 7-of-18 for 99 yards with one touchdown and three picks. Senior Blake Brown (Milton, Mass.) led UMD with 38 receiving yards and sophomore Luke Poirier (Marshfield, Mass.) notched a game-high 16 tackles (10 solo) for the Corsairs.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. for a noon contest with MIT. The Corsairs host Nichols College next Saturday at noon.