The Panthers downed upbeat Salve Regina in the season finale 34-7 Sat., Nov. 8 in a NEFC Boyd Division match up at Currier field.
On a day that saw senior Jeff Mack on the sideline with the flu, sophomore Steve Campbell lead the team with 177 yards and a dominating four touchdowns on the ground. The Panthers have won their eighth straight contest and a chance to win the NEFC Championship against Maine Maritime Academy next Sat., Nov. 15.
The young Salve Regina team came into this match up with a will to finish their season at the 500. Mark. The Seahawks played the Panthers hard in the first quarter, but the Panthers would score the first two touchdowns to lead Salve Regina 14-0 early in the first half.
PSU started the first quarter with a long 11-play 86-yard drive that would set the tone in the first half, letting Campbell finish the drive with a four-yard run for the score. Sophomore fullback Chris Francher took it to the Seahawks in the second quarter, as he blasted through the Seahawks defense to make the score 14-0.
The Seahawks would take control of the time of possession late in the first half and eventually pull out a late scoring drive, to make the score 14-7 going into the half. The Seahawks went 73-yards in 12 plays, as quarterback Jeff St.Onge ran into the end zone with the score.
With a surprising close first half, the Panthers would put the pedal to the floor in the second half, and knock out the Seahawks chances of delivering the upset. PSU would score 20-unanswered points and dominate the Seahawks throughout the rest of the game.
The Panther defense came up big in the second half, as sophomore Zach Parsons would intercept a pass in the third quarter. Campbell would then make his way down the field and eventually score a nine-yard rushing touchdown that would bring the fans on their feet on a cloudy day at Currier field. Campbell would become the star player in the season finale, as he ran for a 61-yard run late in the third quarter for his third touchdown of the day, to push the lead to 27-7.
The Panthers didn’t hold anything back in the fourth quarter, as Campbell again would make his way to the end-zone for his career high fourth touchdown performance.
The defense would especially make their presence known, as junior Jim Sestito made four tackles and two sacks on the day, “We feel our defense has earned a rep as one of the top defenses in the conference, so when Salve did put that drive together in the 2nd quarter and scored, it fired us up to shut them out for the rest of the game,” said Sestito, “When we have good coverage in the secondary and the quarterback has to hold the ball it makes it easy to get to the QB. It’s what our defense has focused on all year, all eleven guys doing their jobs. When we do that the outcome will take care of itself.”
The Panthers finish the season on a high note, with a record of 9-1 and a dominating 7-0 record in the Boyd Division. The Panthers will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championship tournament with a win in the NEFC Championship against Maine Maritime Sat., Nov. 15. Salve Regina closed out the season with a 4-5 record.