MOUNT IDA STUNS BECKER COLLEGE, 45-41, Kyle Watkins Is Player Of The Game

In one of the most unbelievable football games ever played at Mount Ida College, the Mustangs came back with :21 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter on a kickoff return by sophomore Kyle Watkins (New Haven,CT/James Hillhouse) who ran it back 72 yards for the lead and the win. Watkins kept his team in it with an incredible highlight reel one handed catch and two touchdowns including 102 yards receiving. It was back and forth with 21 points scored combined in the last 1:04 left in the game.

The Mustangs started the scoring with a 55 yard bomb from senior quarterback P.J. Matthews (Baltimore, MD/Patterson) Watkins who broke a tackle for the score to make it 7-0. Matthews had an incredible game for MIC going 24 for 32, 261 yards passing, and three touchdowns, he also snuck two in from the goal line.

Ida kicker Bobby Cardosa (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) made the score 10-0 with a 30 yard field goal in the start of the second quarter.

Becker aired the ball out most of the game racking up 473 yards passing between three quarterbacks. Karrone Stanley (West Haven, CT/West Haven) did most of the throwing for the Hawks going 11-24 with 313 yards and four touchdowns, his longest going for 80.

The Hawks got on the board on a 68 yard pass from quarterback Ryan Grillo (Waterford, CT/Waterford) to Jakar Turner (Hollywood, FL/Miramar) who had three touchdown catches tallying 241 receiving yards. This would make the score 10-7 in favor of the Mustangs.

Ida would counter with a TD of their own on a 25 yard slant to sophomore Will Franklin (Brattleboro, VT/Brattleboro Union) from Matthews to go up 17 – 7. This was Franklin’s second catch of the year while he totaled four catches for 41 yards.

The shootout continued with Becker starting the third quarter with a 16 yard pass to Jacques Faublas (Canton, MA/Canton) to make it 14-17 favoring MIC. Faublas had three catches for 21 yards. BC would break out for two touchdown catches to Turner for his second and third on the day. In two passes, the Hawks racked up 105 yards to Turner taking the lead for the first time in the game making it 28-17.

The start of the fourth quarter gained momentum for Ida pounding the ball into Becker territory giving Matthews a the chance for a QB keeper from the two yard line for the touchdown making it 28-25 with 12:54 left in the fourth.

Becker would answer with a 57 yard bomb to Acie Johnson (Lynn, MA/Lynn English) from Stanley. It would be Stanley’s fourth TD pass on the day and Johnson’s first, who had five catches for 95 yards. This would put BC ahead by 10, 35-25, with 11:23 left to play.

Matthews would continue to dominate with his second of the day, a run from nine yards out this time, with the help of some great blocking by the offensive line. This gave the Mustangs hope for a late comeback that would prove to be the decider. With the momentum on their side, and only down by a field goal, MIC would march down field to take the lead. Watkins kept his team alive with an incredible one handed diving catch for a 23 yard gain to bring the threat into Becker territory. They would then convert a 10 yard pass to tight end Mark Mitchell (Waltham, MA/Waltham/Dean College) to go ahead 39-35. Ida would try and convert the two point conversion to pull away but it was intercepted in the end zone for a dead ball.

The Hawks would not go quietly, in three plays they were in the end zone, starting with two well thrown balls by Karrone. The first pass was to Turner complete for 39 yards, he then converted a 19 yarder to put the ball on the Ida one yard line for an easy quarterback sneak to regain the lead.

It was all but lost for the Mustangs with :37 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Becker chose to squib kick it; the ball went squirting through the hands of tailback and special team’s player Richard Dykas (Dedham, MA/Dedham) into the arms of player of the game and speedster Kyle Watkins. He went barreling into the pile and after shrugging off a tackle he broke free and saw daylight for a 72 yard return touchdown to regain the lead for his team making it 45-41.

The Hawks had six seconds left for some game ending magic and a Hail Mary that made the end zone but was out of reach. The Mustangs walked away with their second consecutive victory of the season making their record 2-0. Becker would leave with hope for things to come but another loss for the year making them 0-4.

Mount Ida will travel to Husson College next Saturday, September 29, 2007 for a 1:00 p.m. start.