NO. DARTMOUTH, Mass. (Friday, September 4, 2026) -- Salve Regina University football won its eighth consecutive Friday night game with a 21-13 final over host UMass Dartmouth at Cressy Field in the season opener for both teams and the inaugural Battle of the Bays Trophy Game.
Junior wide receiver
Spencer Chapman (Needham, Mass.) got the scoring underway in the first quarter when he hauled in a 33-yard heave from sophomore quarterback
Stephen Paradiso (Cedar Grove, N.J.) to cap a seven-play drive. Paradiso had converted a 3rd-and-10 pass to junior
Michael Fulton (Milton, Mass.) for 16 yards prior to the TD strike.
Junior
Nathan DiRado (Carver, Mass.) made all three of his PAT kicks as the Seahawks remained unbeaten in season openers this decade (6-0). Since 2010, Salve Regina is 15-1 on Opening Day/Night.
Senior captain and quarterback
Padraig Brown (Newington, Conn.) capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard plunge into the south endzone for a 14-0 Seahawk lead in the second quarter. On the second play of the drive, Brown found
Jamie Andrews (Plymouth, Mass.) on the right for a 17-yard gain and
Michael LaRusso (Congers, N.Y.) followed with a 20-yard run up the middle to inside the Corsair 30.
Shane Longin (Greenlawn, N.Y.) intercepted a Paradiso pass with under two minutes to go in the first half and
JC Petrongolo (Quincy, Mass.) completed three straight passes to cover 67 yards and get UMass Dartmouth on the board. His first went to
Mekhi Wilson (Narragansett, R.I.) who was stopped by
Dylan DeAngelis (Duxbury, Mass.) and
Owen Nanartowich (Hudson, Mass.) for a one-yard loss.
Jayden Francois (Quincy, Mass.) ripped off 41 yards on the next completion before Wilson reached the endzone with his 13-yard reception.
Salve Regina's first possession in the third quarter featured a 4th-and-1 conversion by running back
Neal Tullson (Tiverton, R.I.) who blasted 25 yards up the middle to the Corsair 23. Brown tossed to Chapman who took it to the four-yard line. A motion penalty moved the Seahawks back five yards but two Tullson carries gained two yard each and Brown found Fulton over the middle for a 21-7 advantage.
The Corsairs blanked the Seahawks in the final period while UMass Dartmouth scored both of its touchdowns with under two minutes remaining in each half. Trailing by two scores with 5:22 left, the Corsairs marched 87 yards in 12 plays with Petrongolo capping the drive with a 25-yard marker to
Markus Andrews (New Bedford, Mass.).
Fulton fielded the short kickoff at the UMass Dartmouth 47-yard line and LaRusso gained three yards on the ground before Fulton caught a quick slant for 13 yards and another first down to allow the Seahawks to kill the clock.
Both teams had 18 first downs while Salve Regina held an edge on the ground (153 to 120 yards) while UMass Dartmouth gained more through the air (237 to 208 yards). The Seahawks had four more yards in total offense (361 to 357 yards).
Seahawk sophomoreÂ
Cole Hessman (Potomac, Md.) put three of his four kickoffs in the endzone for touchbacks. Nanartowich led the Seahawks with a dozen stops overall;
Dallas St. Peter (Essex Junction, Vt.) had a pick and eight tackles, including a team-high five solo stops.
Salve Regina improves to 9-8 all-time versus UMass Dartmouth, beating the Corsairs for the sixth-consecutive match up, in the first-ever Battle of the Bays Trophy Game. The last time the Seahawks fell on a Friday was 20-19 in 2012 at MIT.
UP NEXT
Salve Regina plays at Western New England University next Saturday, September 12, with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Golden Bear Stadium.
Â
