New passing game helps Assabet in romp.

AuthorSuhoski, Shaun
PositionSports

Byline: Shaun Suhoski

FITCHBURG -- After bolting out to a 3-0 start on the season, the Monty Tech Bulldogs showed more bark than bite Saturday while falling, 56-26, to Assabet Valley Regional in a twilight matchup of Colonial Athletic League foes.

The Aztecs' formidable offense -- both through the air and on the ground -- muzzled the Bulldogs as the visitors scored touchdowns on eight of their nine possessions, the last averted only because they elected to kneel on the ball and wind down the clock.

Assabet coach Ken Stukonis noted that his team has added more passing to the arsenal to combat teams crowding the line of scrimmage to stuff their traditional running attack.

"We're trying to loosen up the box a bit by trying to pass,'' he said. "It's worked real well for us the last two weeks. But we're a run team (and) it's easier to run when you only have six or seven players in the box rather than nine or 10.''

Assabet QB Marty Henry connected on seven of his 13 throws for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns to keep the defense guessing.

The balanced attack also featured senior John Stake (106 yards rushing, 36 receiving yards; 2 TDs) and junior Kyle Fernandes (87 yards, 12 carries, 3 TDs), who made gritty runs between the tackles.

In all, Assabet put up 426 yards of total offense to 182 for Monty Tech in a game that wasn't as close as the score, though the pesky hosts tried to stay close with a handful of big plays.

"We had sparks. There were times when we were down and the kids were answering back with our passing game,'' Monty Tech coach Matt Salilla said. "Normally we wouldn't have had that and...

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