FAIRFIELD, CT-The Red Flash had a pair of fourth downs in Sacred Heart territory turned away in the fourth quarter and Sacred Heart clinched a share of the NEC crown with a 13-7 win over Saint Francis in the regular season finale.
 
KEY STATS
Neither team was able to muster offense as turnovers became critical. All 20 points scored in the game were off one of the seven turnovers in the contest. The Red Flash forced a pair of fumbles and got an interception from Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny). Sacred Heart forced two fumbles and intercepted Fenimore twice. T
 
TURNING POINT
The final turnover of the game proved crucial. In the third quarter, a strip-sack of Fenimore set Sacred Heart up on a short field, Jordan Meachum ran in from four yards out for the game-winning score.
 
BOX SCORE LEADERS
Until the final plays of the game, neither team had over 200 yards of offense. The defensive units lived up to their ranking as Saint Francis held down the Sacred Heart rushing attack while the Pioneers' top pass defense held the Red Flash air attack in check. Jordan Meachum's longest run of the day sealed the win for SHU and put him over 100 yards rushing with 119 yards on 26 carries. Joel Denley (Beaumont, Texas/West Brook) led the Red Flash with 43 yards on the ground, while Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) had 40 yards receiving on four grabs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
FIRST QUARTER RECAP

• The Red Flash defense forced a quick three-and-out on the opening possession of the game
• Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) threw the first of two first-half interceptions after his third-down pass deflected off Cyrus Holder's (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) hands
• SHU quarterback Kevin Duke ran for 23 yards on one play and threw a 22-yard pass on another as the Pioneers took a 3-0 lead on a short 32-yard field goal
• The teams would trade punts throughout the rest of the quarter until James Watkins (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill) popped the ball free from Jordan Meachum, Ben Bruni (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) recovered to setup the Red Flash in the red zone
• SFU moved the ball inside the 10 as the quarter expired with the Pioneers leading 3-0

 
SECOND QUARTER RECAP

• A pair of incomplete passes led to a 24-yard field goal try that was pushed wide right
• Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) intercepted a Kevin Duke screen pass to once again set the Red Flash up in the SHU Red Zone
• Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) stepped up in the pocket and found Ra'Shaun Henry (Copperas Cove, Texas/Copperas Cove) for his first touchdown of the season to give SFU a 7-3 lead
• After another SHU punt, Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) had the ball bounce off his pads and was recovered by Sacred Heart
• The Red Flash defense again held, forcing a short punt
• SFU couldn't get out of the shadow of their goal line, with Andrew Zecca's (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Gov. Livingston) punt resulting in a fumbled return, the Red Flash pounced on the ball, giving the defense their third forced turnover of the game
• Again, Fenimore was on the wrong page with Holder, as the receiver stopped his route and Fenimore was picked off for the second time in the game
• The Pioneers turned the turnover into three points, cashing in on another short field goal to make it 7-6
• Fenimore would move the Red Flash into field goal range with a trio of passes but the 42-yard try into the wind fell just short and SFU took a 7-6 lead into the locker room

 
THIRD QUARTER RECAP

• Neither team could move the ball much early, with both sides trading punts
• SHU made the first big play of the quarter, getting a strip-sack of Fenimore
• Jordan Meachum ran it in from four-yards out to give SHU the lead once again
• The defenses continued to rule throughout the quarter with neither team recording more than one first down on a drive
• Sacred Heart took a 13-7 lead into the fourth

FOURTH QUARTER RECAP

• Defense continued to dominate as the Red Flash made a stand after a pair of pass interference penalties moved the ball inside the SFU 40
• The Red Flash got pass completions to Zach Rohland, JoJo Denley and Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) to move inside the SHU red zone.
• Fenimore had a pass intended for Holder sailed just off of the junior's hands
• The quarterback was sacked on fourth down to keep Sacred Heart up 13-7
• Again, the defense made a stand with a punt setting up the Red Flash at their own 40 with just over three minutes left
• A pair of tough runs from Denley and another Rohland reception moved the ball into Sacred Heart territory
• The Red Flash drive would stall after Fenimore's fourth down pass intended for Lewis fell incomplete
• Sacred Heart knelt out the clock and clinched at least a share of the NEC title

NOTES

• Bear Fenimore's (Austin, Texas/Westwood) streak of at least 2 TD passes came to an end at nine
• Fenimore did tie Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) for the single-season touchdown record with 22
• Louie Gartner (Bloomfield, N.J./Paramus Catholic) had a game-high nine tackles to lead the SFU defense
• James Watkins (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill) had a big day with seven tackles and four tackles for loss