NEWPORT, R.I. -- (September 13, 2025) -- Salve Regina University football (2-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) defeated Western New England University (1-1, 0-0 CNE), 34-28, in the first overtime at Toppa Field since 2000. Senior quarterback Thomas Fallon (Freehold, N.J.) lasered a 5-yard pass over the middle into the endzone for classmate Jacoby Smith (Middletown, R.I.) to seal the victory for the Seahawks and deny the Golden Bears their remarkable comeback.

Salve Regina scored on its second possession in the first quarter when Fallon found Spencer Chapman (Needham, Mass.) for a 19-yard pass play. The Golden Bears got on the board next with a 30-yard field goal from Max Lograsso (Lynnfield, Mass.). Smith's 56-yard kickoff return setup the next Seahawk score although Salve Regina wasn't satisfied with 1st and 10 at the visitor 30. After a false start penalty pushed the Seahawks back to the 35, Justan Luzzi (Belleville, N.J.) blasted through for his second TD of the season. Brody Schaffer's (Westhampton, N.Y.) kick made the score 14-3 for Salve.

After making a pair of tackles on the next Golden Bears' offensive series, Seahawk captain Patrick Woodford (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) made a fair catch of a Matthew McGuire (Oxford, Conn.) punt at the home 29-yard line. Fallon tossed an incomplete pass to the right before looking left on 2nd & 10 and Smith carried it the rest of the way, 71 yards for a 20-3 lead before Schaffer's kick.

Neither team could put points on the board in the second quarter until the final minute. A Western New England timeout stopped the clock with a half-minute before the half and Logrossa lined up a 27-yard field that went through the uprights with 27 seconds left. Salve used 23 seconds to answer back. A fair catch on the ensuing kickoff gave the Seahawks 1st & 10 at their own 35. Luzzi burst down the right sideline in front his bench for a 45-yard gain. After an incomplete pass, Fallon chose Chapman to score a 20-yard TD and Schaffer's kick made it 28-6 at the half.

Salve went scoreless in the second half. Sophomore Paul Gorry (Wallingford, Conn.), who replaced injured starter Brady Lafferty (Plantsville, Conn.) at quarterback in the first quarter, engineered a 13-play, 69-yard scoring drive that featured a pair of 4th-down conversions. His 25-yard pass play to John De Camps (Naugatuck, Conn.) on 4th and 6 from the Seahawk 30 set up Matt Lamontagne's (Wolcott, Conn.) five-yard plunge for the first score of the second half.

On its next possession, Salve gained a first down on a 16-yard rush from Luzzi, but a subsequent penalty forced a Fallon punt on 4th and 13. With four minutes left in the third and at its own 31, Western New England used seven plays to advance to the Salve 35 before the start of the fourth quarter. On the sixth play of the new period, Gorry delivered a six-yard touch pass to De'Andre Harris (Weymouth, Mass.) for a touchdown. Gorry and De Camps connected on the two-point conversion to make the score, 28-21, in favor of the home team.

On 3rd and 10 at their own 27, Fallon's bid for a first-down pass ended in the hands of Johnny Ferrentino (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and a subsequent hands to the face penalty advanced the Golden Bears to the Seahawk 13. McGuire rushed for five, Gorry rushed for one, before Gorry and De Camps combined for the final seven yards and Logrossa's kick tied the score at 28-28.

A holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff backed the Seahawks to their own 12 and a one-yard rushing loss made it 2nd and 11 from their own 11. Salve's offense finally started to show its first-half confidence when Fallon reached Smith for 31 yards, Kyle Crampton (Merrimack, N.H.) for 20 yards, and Thomas Gangi (Livingston, N.J.) for 19 yards. Luzzi rushed for 13 to the Golden Bear 5 for 1st and Goal before the two-minute mark. Miles Stovall (Enfield, Conn.) and Austin Pszczolkowski (Southington, Conn.) had stops for no gains before the visitors called timeout at 2:06. Ryan Clark (Chelmsford, Mass.) stuffed a sweep run for a seven-yard loss. Salve's 28-yard go-ahead field goal attempt went wide right.

The Seahawks stopped the Golden Bears for the only time in the second half when Michael Rutstein (Nashua, N.H.) picked off a Gorry pass on 3rd and 7 at the visitor 35 and returned it five yards. Three positive plays for the Seahawks -- Fallon five-yard rush and two completed passes to Smith (9,7) -- preceded an interception by Nick Kolifrath (Dennisport, Mass.) at the goal line to force overtime.

In the extra session, Western New England started on offense and kept the ball on the ground for three positive plays with Gorry (9), Lamontagne (4), and Gorry (3) again putting the Golden Bears to the Seahawk 9 on 2nd and 7. Gorry's pass to the corner of the end zone stayed low and Marcues Jean-Jacques (New Canaan, Conn.) secured the pick.

Salve's game-winning drive featured five Luzzi rushes for 20 yards before Fallon found Smith over the middle at the goal line.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Salve Regina 34, Western New England 28 [OT]
Records: Salve Regina (2-0, 0-0 NEWMAC), Western New England (1-1, 0-0 CNE)
History: Salve Regina leads the all-time series, 17-14, but Western New England has won eight of the last 10 meetings, and the Seahawks have won the last two meetings at Toppa.

SUMMARY

• 1st | 10:34 | SRU - Spencer Chapman 19 yd pass from Thomas Fallon (Brody Schaffer kick) 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:34 | Seahawks 7, Golden Bears 0
• 1st | 06:46 | WNE - Max Lograsso 30 yd field goal 5 plays, 15 yards, TOP 1:33 | Seahawks 7, Golden Bears 3
• 1st | 06:27 | SRU - Justan Luzzi 35 yd run (Brody Schaffer kick), 1 plays, 30 yards, TOP 0:09 | Seahawks 14, Golden Bears 3
• 1st | 03:41 | SRU - Jacoby Smith 71 yd pass from Thomas Fallon (Brody Schaffer kick) 2 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:19 | Seahawks 21, Golden Bears 3
• 2nd | 00:27 | WNE - Max Lograsso 27 yd field goal 12 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:55 | Seahawks 21, Golden Bears 6
• 2nd | 00:04 | SRU - Spencer Chapman 20 yd pass from Thomas Fallon (Brody Schaffer kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:23 | Seahawks 28, Golden Bears 6
• 3rd | 07:12 | WNE - Matt Lamontagne 5 yd run (Max Lograsso kick), 12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 6:43 | Seahawks 28, Golden Bears 13
• 4th | 12:07 | WNE - De'Andre Harris 6 yd pass from Paul Gorry (John De Camps pass) 13 plays, 69 yards, TOP 6:54 | Seahawks 28, Golden Bears 21
• 4th | 08:34 | WNE - John De Camps 7 yd pass from Paul Gorry (Max Lograsso kick) 5 plays, 41 yards, TOP 2:32 | Seahawks 28, Golden Bears 28
• OT | 00:00 | SRU - Jacoby Smith 5 yd pass from Thomas Fallon | Seahawks 34, Golden Bears 28 

NOTEWORTHY

• Only the third game to go overtime in Salve Regina football history (and second at home) -- Nov. 4, 2000, a 24-21 loss to Nichols at Toppa (grass); Nov. 9, 2019, a 29-26 loss at Husson.
• Western New England had a dozen more first downs, 27-to-15, than Salve Regina.
• Brody Schaffer made all four of his PAT kicks.
• Max Logrossa made all four of his kicks -- two PATs and two field goals (30, 27).
• Jacoby Smith hauled in a team-high six passes for 130 yards and two TDs (71, 5).
• Spencer Chapman also had two TDs (19, 20) on his two receptions.
• Justan Luzzi led all players with 154 yards rushing on 24 carries.

NEXT UP
Salve Regina travels to Wayne, New Jersey, to face the Pioneers of William Paterson with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Wightman Stadium.