NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University football entered the fourth quarter trailing by just 10 (17-7), but a fumble at the opponent 31 and later a turnover on downs near midfield were the deepest advances for the Seahawks before Springfield College (7-0, 4-0 NEWMAC) added two late touchdowns for a 31-7 final at Toppa Field in a NEWMAC showdown on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride got on the board in the first quarter with their first of two pass completions, a 56-yarder from Jacob Silvester to Sean Brown out of the backfield. Silvester capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive with his dash from midfield in the second quarter. Salve Regina (4-3, 3-1 NEWMAC) forced Springfield to settle for a field goal, a 21-yarder from Ian Wernick, to go into the break down 17-0.

Contrast to a year ago at Homecoming for the Pride in Springfield when the Seahawks trailed 21-0 before mounting a comeback, the 17-point deficit did not faze this year's hosts. Starting at their own 32 on their first possession of the third quarter, the Seahawks engineered their only scoring drive in seven plays and nearly four minutes with Jacob Hernandez crossing the goal line from two yards out. Nathan DiRado's kick made it a 10-point game and that score remained the same until under six minutes to go in the contest.

Silvester had his second long run of the game after taking the ball over on downs at the Salve Regina 48 and going all the way in for the score. After the two-minute timeout, Arsen Shtefan put the final points on the board with a 17-yard run up the middle. Wernick converted all four of his PATs along with his only field goal attempt.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Springfield 31, Salve Regina 7
Records: Salve Regina (4-3, 3-1 NEWMAC), Springfield (7-0, 4-0 NEWMAC)
History: Today's game marked the fourth all-time meeting between the two football programs. Springfield has won all four meetings including the first ever in 2003, 69-0. The following year on the grass at Toppa Field, the Pride took a 38-7 decision against the Seahawks. In the first ever NEWMAC meeting last season in Springfield, the Salve Regina football team put together a tremendous second-half rally after trailing 24-0 in front of a Springfield College homecoming crowd, but the Pride held on for a 31-21 final play at Stagg Field. 

SUMMARY

• 1st | 06:37 | SPR - Brown,Sean 56 yd pass from Silvester,Jacob (Wernik,Ian kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:59 | Pride 7, Seahawks 0
• 2nd | 06:18 | SPR - Silvester,Jacob 50 yd run (Wernik,Ian kick), 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:03 | Pride 14, Seahawks 0
• 2nd | 00:24 | SPR - Wernik,Ian 21 yd field goal 8 plays, 88 yards, TOP 02:01 | Pride 17, Seahawks 0
• 3rd | 07:57 | SRU - Hernandez,Jacob 2 yd run (DiRado,Nathan kick), 7 plays, 68 yards, TOP 03:48 | Pride 17, Seahawks 7
• 4th | 05:54 | SPR - Silvester,Jacob 48 yd run (Wernik,Ian kick), 1 plays, 48 yards, TOP 00:08 | Pride 24, Seahawks 7
• 4th | 01:56 | SPR - Shtefan,Arsen 17 yd run (Wernik,Ian kick), 5 plays, 41 yards, TOP 02:59 | Pride 31, Seahawks 7

NOTEWORTHY

• Springfield had been averaging over 50 points per game and over 475 yards on the ground; today, the Pride was "held" to 354 yards rushing which was still 200 more than the Seahawks.
• Three different quarterbacks threw the pigskin for Salve Regina -- Jake Stack, Thomas Fallon, Padraig Brown.
• Thomas Fallon had one punt for 53 yards -- a touchback.
• Justan Luzzi had his second straight 100-yard rushing game, gaining a season-high 120 on 21 carries.
• Nick Bostrom intercepted his team-leading four pass of the season.

ON THE HORIZON
Salve Regina plays at SUNY Maritime on Saturday, November 2, for a 1 p.m. kickoff in the NEWMAC matchup.