Fairfield, Conn. – Sacred Heart came into Saturday's Northeast Conference game against the
Robert Morris University football team boasting the top rushing offense in the league and it showed as the Pioneers (6-3, 4-0 NEC) rolled to a 38-7 victory at Campus Field in Fairfield, Conn.
The host Pioneers rushed for 347 yards on 48 carries and totaled 485 yards on the afternoon. Julius Chestnut led the rushing attack with 152 yards and Jordan Meachum added another 145 as the Pioneers scored all five of the touchdowns on the ground.
A trio of RMU quarterbacks saw action with
George Martin posting the best numbers among them. Martin went 6-of-10 for 67 yards and the led the team's only scoring drive of the contest.
Jordan Johnson, making his first career start, carried 22 times for 71 yards and his first rushing score. He also hauled in five passes for 36 yards.
Mathew Barr,
Steve Petrick and
DeLano Madison each had two catches.
Defensively,
Adam Wollet had 12 tackles, seven of the solo variety and one tackle for loss. Freshman
Eli Avivi, in his first start, had two interceptions and finished with four tackles, including one for loss.
The much vaunted Sacred Heart rushing attack was on display early as the Pioneers rolled 78 yards on seven plays, all runs, to take the lead on their first drive of the game. It would become a familiar theme as the Pioneers rushed to a 35-0 halftime behind 247 rushing yards. Meachum scored on a 16-yard carry before Duke's second one-yard plunge on the following drive gave the host Pioneers a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
On the Pioneers first touch of the second quarter, Chestnut blasted through a huge hole and went 72 yards to push the margin to 28-0. Sacred Heart pushed the margin to 35-0 at the break when Meachum capped a seven-play, 72-yard drive with a six yard run through the right side.
Avivi's second interception of the game turned into the Colonials only points. Johnson tallied his first career touchdown as he squeezed through the center of the line from a yard out, capping a 10-play, 38-yard drive that cut the score to 35-7. The Pioneers capped the scoring at 38-7 when Noah Gettman hit a 22-yard field goal with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Robert Morris finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule next Saturday, Nov. 10, when it travels to Richmond, Ky., for a 1:00 p.m. game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.
