Springfield, Mass. (September 27) -- Senior kicker Tad Beuchert (Danvers, Mass./St. John's Prep) drilled a 44-yard field goal with just 3:21 left to cap a dramatic 26-23 Assumption victory over American International in Northeast-10 Conference action at Abdow Field.

The Hounds received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field for an early 7-0 lead as senior Bobby Jordan (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) rumbled in from one yard out with 11:11 left in the first quarter. AIC threatened to get on the scoreboard late in the first period after an Assumption fumble, but a 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Assumption senior Mike Stuppiello (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township) to keep it at a 7-0 margin.

The Yellow Jackets did get on the board in the final seconds of the first half as AIC took advantage of an interception by Jordan Thompson out near midfield. AIC drove down into the red zone quickly though and with just 11 seconds left in the first half, quarterback Kevin Arduino found Cal Brownbridge in the back of the end zone from five yards out to send the game into the half tied at 7-7.

American International received the opening kickoff of the second half and like Assumption to start the game, the Yellow Jackets drove the length of the field to take a seven-point lead. The Jackets took the 14-7 lead just 3:26 into the half as junior Maurice Easterling took the handoff and went around the right end and up the sideline from 18 yards out. The run capped a seven-play, 73-yard drive for American International.

Assumption answered back with a long drive of its own on the ensuing possession, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior All-American Scott Simonson (Red Bank, N.J./Middletown South) as he jumped over two defenders for the score. The extra-point attempt was no good however and the Hounds trailed by a 14-13 margin with 8:10 left in the third.

Easterling and the Yellow Jackets came right back though as he rushed to the left side on a third and goal play from the 10-yard line with 4:52 left to extend the AIC lead back to 21-13. A high-scoring quarter continued just 2:30 later as Assumption's Beuchert nailed a 28-yard field goal to pull the Hounds back to within 21-16.

On the first play of the next AIC drive, the Hounds picked off an Arduino 50-yard pass in the end zone, but an Assumption personal foul penalty on the play in the end zone added a safety for the Jackets for the 23-16 lead with 2:04 on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets appeared poised to add to the lead and had a first and goal situation early in the final quarter. On a fourth and one, Stuppiello forced a fumble and recovered it towards midfield to give the Hounds great field position. With 8:39 remaining, the Hounds capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run up the middle from junior Matt Heriveaux (Everett, Mass./Malden Catholic) to tie the again at 23-23.

Just moments later, Assumption forced a fumble at the five-yard line and appeared poised to regain the lead for the first time since the first half. The AIC defense came up strong though as the Jackets stopped the Hounds on a fourth and one situation to regain possession with under seven minutes remaining.

The Hounds took the lead again with 3:21 left as Beuchert drilled the 44-yard game winner that was good by almost 10 yards, the second straight week that he has kicked a 44-yard field goal.

American International wasn't done though and drove down into the red zone behind the playmaking of Arduino to give the Yellow Jackets a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. The 35-yard attempt from AIC's Jared Husley was very short though, landing in the middle of the end zone to lift the Hounds to their first victory over the Yellow Jackets since 2009.

Pedone led the Hounds rushing attack with 92 yards, while Jordan completed 16 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, senior Erik Abramson (Deerfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) led the Hounds with a 13-tackle effort, including six solo stops.

For AIC, Arduino completed 19 passes for 198 yards, while Easterling led the ground game with a 117-yard effort.

With the win, Assumption improves to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in Northeast-10 play, while American International falls to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Assumption is back in action on Friday, October 4th as the Hounds play host to the University of New Haven on Family Weekend. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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