Fuchs Garners First Collegiate Sprint Football League Special Teams Player of the Week Mention
West Point, N.Y. – (10/30/2018) – Junior kicker/punter Dante Fuchs (Sinking Spring, Pa.) earned his first Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) Special Teams Player of the Week accolade after a solid performance on 10/26, that aided in the 48-6 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC). Fuchs was 2-for-2 on field goals (25 yards, 20 yards) and netted 428 yards on nine kickoffs (47.6 yards/kickoff). He also punted six times for 197 yards (32.8 yards/punt) and recorded one tackle on a second quarter kickoff return.
Chestnut Hill College (3-3) gained a majority of their yards on the ground with junior Sef Penson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gaining 88 of their 184 rushing yards. Junior quarterback Michael Marino (Blue Bell, Pa.) threw for just 76 yards (8-of-13, 61.5%), but completed two touchdowns passes – one to senior wide receiver Reggie Robinson Jr. (Washington, DC) and a second to senior tight end Theophilus McBurnette (Ketchikan, Alaska) – to help Chestnut Hill College to a daunting 24-0 halftime edge. Robinson led the Griffin receiving corps with 76 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions. The Scarlet and Gold defense totaled six sacks in all with half of them coming courtesy of senior defensive end Kyle Johnson-Hackett (Philadelphia, Pa.), who led the team with eight tackles.
Other than an 18-yard, fake punt, pass from Robinson to sophomore Rahsul Brown (Swedesboro, N.J.), Penson and senior running back Raevon Floyd-Bennett (Union City, N.J.) gained all the yards needed for the Scarlet and Gold to score on their first possession, 7-0 (11:22, 1QTR). Toward the end of the first quarter a bad snap by the STAC (2-3) center sailed over the punter head and gave the Griffins the ball at the Spartan 19-yardline (3:24, 1QTR). Chestnut Hill College looked to capitalize on the error, but a fumble of their own return ball to STAC control with 22 seconds (0:22) remaining in the opening period. Fortunately, the Spartans squandered the opportunity and with 8:36 left in the second quarter, Marino found McBurnette with a 10-yard touchdown pass that double the Griffins' lead, 14-0 (8:36, 2QTR). Marino struck again at 5:44 in the second quarter, this time connecting with Robinson on a 19-yard toss that pushed the Scarlet and Gold advantage to 21-0 (5:44, 2QTR). Fuchs ended a late first-half drive with a 25-yard field goal (24-0, 00:43, 2QTR) to add three more points to Chestnut Hill College's first half lead.
In the second half, a couple of lengthy drive took time off the clock, but resulted in no points. Chestnut Hill College was eventually able to pad their lead with another Fuchs field goal (20-yards) with 2:06 remaining in the frame, 27-0 (2:06, 3QTR). On the ensuing Spartan possession a second poor four-down snap allowed junior linebacker Mike McIlhenney (Philadelphia, Pa.) to score the first defensive touchdown of his collegiate career, 34-0 (00:57, 3QTR). Later in the frame, the Griffins went to the bench. Junior quarterback David Navas (Woodhaven, N.Y.) took advantage of the opportunity and scampered on a nine-yard touchdown run with 6:54 remaining on the game clock, 41-0 (6:54, 4QTR). STAC broke the shutout with a 73-yard touchdown pass just four minutes later (41-6, 2:57, 4QTR), but the effort was too little too late as Chestnut Hill College got one more score – a 29-yard connection between Navas and Robinson (48-6, 1:48, 4QTR) – to send the Spartans home on a 48-6 final.
