FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) Chuck Webb rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, and linebacker Myles Hamilton forced a safety in a 12-7 Sacred Heart Pioneers University win over Stonehill Skyhawks College in a Northeast Conference season opener on Saturday.

It was Sacred Heart’s first win against Stonehill since 2022, and the program’s first win in a season opener since beating Bucknell in 2021, the last time Sacred Heart finished with a winning record (8-4).

Stonehill’s lone win in a 1-10 campaign last season was a 35-21 victory over Sacred Heart.

Sacred Heart quarterback John Michalski was 11 for 21 for 119 yards with an interception.

Receiver Dean Hangey accounted for 67 of those yards on three receptions. Hangey also returned a kick for 55 yards after Hamilton's safety, starting the drive that ended with Webb's touchdown.

Neither team scored in the first half. Hamilton's third-quarter safety were the first points of the game.

Stonehill's only score came on Jack O'Connell's 10-yard connection to Zachary Kim.

O'Connell was 30 for 39 for 212 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for 20 yards on five carries, including a 9-yard scramble on fourth down with 51 seconds remaining. The game ended on a false start with a 10-second runoff at the Sacred Heart 3-yard line.

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