EASTON — Without all-conference running back Jermaine Corbett in uniform, the Stonehill College football team was left searching for answers.
The senior Corbett, who rushed for over 130 yards in each of the Skyhawks’ past two games, suffered a knee injury last week that head coach Eli Gardner “doesn’t think is season-ending.”
Stonehill missed Corbett’s backfield burst in Saturday’s matchup against St. Francis, as the Skyhawks generated 260 yards of total offense in a defensive-minded 15-10 loss at W.B. Mason Stadium.
Stonehill maintained a 10-9 lead late into fourth quarter after a 51-yard field goal by senior kicker Perry Shelbred with 3:38 to go, but the St. Francis offense marched down the field with a 13-play drive that ended with running back Deondre Scott punching in the game-winning touchdown from one yard out in the final minute.
“I thought we played a great three-and-a-half quarters (defensively),” Gardner said.
Offensively, in Corbett’s absence, it was senior running back Tom Comella who stepped into the starting role and rushed for 94 yards on 24 carries (3.9 yards per), and senior wideout Chris Domercant took four carries for 28 yards. Sophomore Zavion Woodard and senior quarterback Ashur Carraha also got involved in the ground game.
“When you have special players like that, sometimes they can generate explosive plays on their own,” Gardner said of Corbett. “Whereas when you don’t have guys like that – not that we can’t generate – but sometimes you feel a pressure to scheme up a possibility for explosive plays and more advantageous shots because you need those. … Gameplan-wise, we didn’t change dramatically, but you have to be creative enough to keep defenses on their toes.”
After trailing 3-0 at the half, Stonehill mustered its first scoring drive at the 4:32 mark of the third quarter, as Carraha fired a strike over the middle to senior wide receiver Cameron Alves for a 15-yard touchdown. Stonehill led 7-3.
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“There was some great energy at halftime,” Gardner said. “Being down 3-0, we knew there were some opportunities out there.”
One of the bright spots despite the loss was the growth of the young secondary, spearheaded by sophomore Moses Seide, sophomore Jahnez Williams and freshman Nigel Henderson to go along with senior Kareem Grisham. Seide and Henderson both had interceptions on Saturday.
“We’re continuing to come into our own there in the back end because we start two sophomores and a freshman, out of the four. It’s good to see those guys grow up together,” Gardner said.
That unit, plus a standout sequence from linebacker Marc Christian Georges in the first half when the junior came up with a tackle-for-loss and a sack to stunt a St. Francis drive near midfield, led the way in there being only three combined points scored in the first 30 minutes of game-time.
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“We get an interception (from Henderson), then we throw a tip-ball interception right after that, they get a short field and we hold them to a field goal. Those were the only points of the first half,” Gardner said. “That was a huge win for our defense.”
Coming into Saturday, Stonehill was fresh off a three-game road trip in which the team emerged 2-1 with dramatic wins over Central Connecticut St. (33-30 win) and Georgetown (23-20 win), and a loss to Fordham (44-0 loss). Ahead, the Skyhawks play Merrimack on the road next Saturday at 1 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
“That was huge for our program and our school,” Gardner said of the recent stretch. “When you look at that three-game road trip holistically, for us to come out 2-1 is huge. Winning the conference game (against Central Connecticut St.), of those three, is huge. Definitely, it’s a great experience for us as a program to play that type of competition.”
