BROOKLINE – If any of the scattered attendees at Northeastern football’s opening day learned anything Saturday, it was this: Stonehill College has a SWEET punter.
That, or Shawnn Gyles can run … and run … and run.
Joe Crowley, the Chieftain kicker, booted the ball 10 times for an average of 40 yards during the Huskies 78-6 triumph at Parson’s Field. Crowley’s longest kick, a 60-yarder that pinned the Huskies at their own 13-yard-line, was one of few highlights for the NCAA Division II school.
Unfortunately for the Chieftains, however, Husky freshman Shawnn Gyles answered with one of many NU highlights just two plays later – dancing around the left end and up the sidelines for an 87 yard scoot. Gyles, a highly-touted runner out of Ayer High School, made the most of his carries. The central Mass. Record holder for touchdowns in a season with 36 last year, Gyles scored four touchdowns and rolled up 172 yards on just five rushes. At 6-foot, 180-pounds, the speedster boasts a 40-yard time of 4.5 seconds.
“He didn’t sneak up on anybody today,” said Husky coach Don Brown of Gyles. “3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns as a senior: We’ve got a pretty special young player that we’re excited about, and he’s sitting next to a good role model (senior Peter Harris).”
In addition to the running duties, Gyles barely missed taking a third quarter punt to the house, getting tripped up after a 46-yard scamper. It seemed every time Gyles touched the ball he was bound for the end zone.
This, however, wasn’t much different from any of the other Husky backs. Freshman fullback Shane Hopkins (six carries, 108 yards, two touchdowns) trickled past the goal line on his first carry of the day, a 50-yard blast in the third quarter. Anthony Riley got the start for Northeastern, gaining 100 yards on six carries in the first quarter – the only one he saw action in. NU’s top dog, senior Tim Gale (five carries, 53 yards, touchdown), saw limited action while battling a left knee injury. Peter Harris (12 carries, 83 yards), coming off knee surgery from 2001, was the team’s least effective runner at just under seven yards a carry.
Shawn Brady, the team’s starting quarterback, was benched due to disciplinary reasons, according to Brown. The junior saw action on only two drives, in addition to filling in as the holder on extra points.
“The reality is that Shawn is like my son,” Brown said. “We have rules on this team, and he paid a price in the first half and we’ve all moved on. That’s the reality. He knew it, and we’ve talked about it. We also had three other guys that paid a similar penalty. But we have rules on the team, and the reality is that nobody is above it.”
The sixth- ranked Huskies rolled up seven school records on the day, including most points in a game, most total touchdowns (11), yards (745), rushing yards (593), rushing touchdowns (9), largest margin of victory and penalties (15). The Huskies also tied the school record for points in a half, with 49 in the first. It was also the first time Northeastern has had two 100-yard rushers since November 16, 2002 when Gale and Riley accomplished the feat, and the first time Northeastern forced a safety since 2000 when the team played AIC.
Despite the score, Northeastern did everything it could to avoid running up the difference. The team emptied its bench, using any available player, including four quarterbacks and five running backs. With about six minutes remaining in the contest, the Huskies began taking delay of game penalties on purpose, and with about two minutes to go Northeastern took a knee on every snap.
“We played everybody,” Brown said. “We played everyone we could possibly play without losing some freshman red-shirts, which we certainly don’t want to do. We even played Neil Johnson (fourth string QB) a little at running back. We did everything we could in terms of getting all our personnel quality playing time, and we certainly substituted pretty freely.”
The game was a change of pace from the quality the Huskies usually see in the Atlantic-10 Conference.
“We were definitely quicker than them,” preseason All-American candidate Liam Ezekiel said. “I mean, I outweighed most of their offensive line at linebacker so you don’t see that too much either. That was the big difference: the size and speed.”
Next week, Albany travels to Brookline to face the Huskies in a Division I-AA matchup. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.
NOTES: Defensive end James Abosi got his first crack at replacing sack-leader Steve Anzalone on Saturday. The junior had a strong showing, recording 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks … Sean Cassidy, a Michigan transfer last year, performed well as the starting quarterback, going 7-for-8 for 137 yards and connecting on tight-spiral touchdowns to Cory Parks and Marc Thomas … NU went 5-of-8 on third downs and was a perfect 6-for-6 in the red zone … Stonehill won the turnover battle, forcing one fumble … Despite amassing only 119 yards, the Chieftains recorded 13 first downs … After going 2-for-12, Stonehill starting QB Kevin Burke was knocked out of the game after aggravating a high-ankle sprain.
