Conshohocken, Pa. – (9/21/2018) – What looked like a Chestnut Hill College blowout at halftime, 38-6, turned into a game late in the fourth quarter as 135 penalty yards finally caught up to the Griffins, who scrambled to hold on in a 59-44 Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) final. The 59 points are the highest in Scarlet and Gold history, as are the 103 total points. Senior running back Raevon Floyd-Bennett (Union City, N.J.) accumulated 103 of Chestnut Hill College's 210 rushing yards, but junior Sef Penson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored both of the Griffins' rushing touchdowns. Junior quarterbacks Michael Marino (Blue Bell, Pa.) and David Navas (Woodhaven, N.Y.) combined to complete14-of-23 (.609) passes for 343 yards and five touchdowns; senior wide receiver Reggie Robinson Jr. (Washington, DC) was their primary target, catching six balls for 145 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, senior linebacker Jonathan Baldwin (Hudson, N.H.) made a team-high eight solo tackles, including one for a loss of two yards.



Mansfield University (0-2, 0-2 CSFL South) was first on the scoreboard, taking their second possession into the Chestnut Hill College (1-1, 0-1 CSFL South) endzone with 6:24 remaining in the first quarter. But the Mountaineers failed to convert the extra point, 6-0, leaving the door open for the Griffins. Accordingly, the Scarlet and Gold capitalized on their next possession as Penson and Floyd-Bennett totaled 45 rushing yards in a 55-yard scoring drive that put the Griffins' in the lead, 7-6, with 3:18 left in the first quarter. Mansfield University fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the ball right back to Chestnut Hill College. The Griffins made the most of it, pushing their early lead to 14-6 (2:04 1QTR) with an 18-yard connection between Marino and junior wide receiver Domoree Hill (Bethlehem, Pa.). The Scarlet and Gold carried that advantage into the first-quarter break and added to it in the second quarter with a 29-yard touchdown reception by Robinson (21-6, 7:47, 2QTR), a 26-yard field goal from junior kicker Dante Fuchs (Sinking Spring, Pa.) (24-6, 3:05, 2QTR), a 13-yard touchdown run from Penson (31-6, 1:34, 2QTR), and an eight-yard touchdown pass to Hill (38-6, 0:32, 2QTR).
 
Chestnut Hill College turned the ball over to Navas in the second half and he picked up where Marino left off, finding Robinson with a 41-yard touchdown pass on the Griffins' second possession (45-6, 9:10, 3QTR). Mansfield University ended the Scarlet and Gold landslide with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter as freshman quarterback Gary Raupers II (Ulster, Pa.) connected with freshman wide receiver Saville Pope (Harrisburg, Pa.) for a Mountaineer touchdown (45-14). The Griffins reestablished their 39-point advantage less than three minutes later (1:12), when Navas tossed a 57-yard touchdown to freshman wide receiver Colby Goldsmith (Phoenixville, Pa.) (52-14). But in the fourth quarter, things to out of hand as Mansfield University crept back into the game using a series of Chestnut Hill College miscues to reduce the spread to just 15 points, 59-44, with just under two minutes to play (1:52). Fortunately, there was not enough time for the Mountaineers to catch the Griffins, who escaped with their first win of the 2018 season.



Chestnut Hill College continues their schedule on Friday, September 28, when they travel down the 76 for a 7:00 p.m. contest at the University of Pennsylvania.