NEWPORT, R.I. -- (Saturday, September 6, 2025) -- Salve Regina University football opened its 2025 regular season with a 34-13 conquest of the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth at Toppa Field in Newport, Rhode Island, on Saturday afternoon.
Senior quarterback Thomas Fallon (Freehold, N.J.) completed 18 of 32 passes for 258 yards and three touchdown strikes -- six yards to Jacoby Smith (Middletown, R.I.), 72 yards to Spencer Chapman (Needham, Mass.), six yards to Kyle Crampton (Merrimack, N.H.). Connor McManus (New Bedford, Mass.) put six first half points on the board for the Corsairs with a first-quarter field goal from 22 yards out and a second quarter boot from 37 yards away. Jacoby Smith also answered the Corsairs second field goal of the game with an 87-yard kickoff return and the Seahawks led at intermission, 20-6.
In the second half, both teams earned a first down on their first drives before punting. Those were the last punts of the game.
The Seahawks began their next scoring drive after Patrick Woodford (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) made a fair catch of McManus' punt at the Salve 33 with 10:23 remaining in the third quarter. On 2nd-and-8 at his own 35, Fallon found Crampton for a 14-yard gain. Justan Luzzi (Belleville, N.J.) ran for seven yards and Fallon gained six on the ground for another first down. Fallon connected with Chapman for 14 yards, Luzzi ran another five before Fallon and Crampton hooked up for a 10-yard play to make it 1st-and-goal at the nine. After Luzzi carried the ball to the six, Fallon eluded the Corsair defensive rush and finished the 10-play, 67-yard drive with a TD toss to Crampton.
On the next Corsair possession, freshman Luke Turco (Brockton, Mass.) gained 29 yards on three successive carries before backup quarterback Daunte Melton (Woonsocket, R.I.) passed to Jayden Francois (Quincy, Mass.) for a 46-yard touchdown.
Justan Luzzi, who finished with a game-high 94 yards rushing, made the last 22 the game's last score when he broke free in the middle at 5:49 in the fourth quarter. On the Seahawks' last drive, Michael Polk (Dover, Mass.) gained five yards on his first two carries before ripping off a 12-yarder for a first down and Salve Regina was able to go into victory formation for the final two snaps.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Salve Regina 34, UMass Dartmouth 13
Records: Salve Regina (1-0, 0-0 NEWMAC), UMass Dartmouth (0-1, 0-0 MASCAC)
History: Salve Regina won its fifth straight win against UMass Dartmouth in their first meeting since 2012. Today's triumph evened the overall series, 8-8, with the Seahawks winning the first three meetings (1998-2000) before an eight-year win streak for UMD (2001-2008). It had been 13 years since the teams last met as members of the NEFC Boyd Division. Salve's 57-21 victory on the road in 2012 raised the Seahawks' record to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the division ahead of advancing to the league's championship game at Framingham State University. Today was the first time these schools have had a season-opener against each other. UMass Dartmouth won the MASCAC regular season in 2024 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships.
SUMMARY
- 1st | 07:59 | SRU - Jacoby Smith 6 yd pass from Thomas Fallon (Brody Schaffer kick failed) 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 5:16 | Seahawks 6, Corsairs 0
- 1st | 02:44 | UMD - Connor McManus 22 yd field goal 11 plays, 57 yards, TOP 5:07 | Seahawks 6, Corsairs 3
- 2nd | 13:34 | SRU - Spencer Chapman 72 yd pass from Thomas Fallon (Brody Schaffer kick) 1 plays, 72 yards, TOP 0:12 | Seahawks 13, Corsairs 3
- 2nd | 06:15 | UMD - Connor McManus 37 yd field goal 5 plays, 11 yards, TOP 1:41 | Seahawks 13, Corsairs 6
- 2nd | 06:03 | SRU - Jacoby Smith 87 yd kickoff return (Brody Schaffer kick) | Seahawks 20, Corsairs 6
- 3rd | 05:04 | SRU - Kyle Crampton 6 yd pass from Thomas Fallon (Brody Schaffer kick) 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 5:19 | Seahawks 27, Corsairs 6
- 3rd | 02:12 | UMD - Jayden Francois 46 yd pass from Daunte Melton (Connor McManus kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:52 | Seahawks 27, Corsairs 13
- 4th | 05:49 | SRU - Justan Luzzi 22 yd run (Brody Schaffer kick), 5 plays, 44 yards, TOP 3:28 | Seahawks 34, Corsairs 13
NOTEWORTHY
- Thomas Fallon completed 18 of 32 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns (6, 72, 6).
- Fallon also carried the ball four times for 30 yards.
- Justan Luzzi led all players on the ground with 94 net yards rushing including a 22-yard scamper for the only fourth-quarter score.
- Spencer Chapman had 104 yards receiving on three catches with the 72-yard big gain getting six points.
- Seahawk sophomore James Minotti (New York, N.Y.) led all players with 13 tackles (six solo) while Eli Matthews (Providence, R.I.) paced the Corsairs with 10 stops (eight solo).
- Freshman Brody Schaffer (Westhampton, N.Y.) missed his first career PAT before nailing four straight.
- Vaughn Randle (Leominster, Mass.) averaged over 54 yards on six kickoffs.
- Thomas Gangi (Livingston, N.J.) had a pair of first-down catches (16, 12).
ON THE HORIZON
Salve Regina hosts another former league rival -- Western New England -- next Saturday at noon on the turf on Toppa Field.