WATERBURY, Conn. -- For the first 58 minutes of the afternoon, Post University Football committed just one penalty for 15 yards during an extra-point attempt by Saint Anselm College in Saturday afternoon's conference matchup at Municipal Stadium. But with under two minutes left in regulation and the Eagles ahead by only one, two costly penalties totaling 15 yards on the potential game-ending drive following second-and-five on the Hawks' side of the field gave junior quarterback Drew Forkner one final chance at a game-winning drive.

Capitalizing on the chance, Forkner drove Saint Anselm 86 yards down the field for the game-winning touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Domingo Meade with 27 seconds left to stun Post and end their 3-0 start to the season with a 30-23 loss. 

THE BASICS

Post University 23, Saint Anselm College 30

Post University (3-1, 1-1 NE10)

Saint Anselm College (3-2, 2-1 NE10)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In one of the more wild first quarters of action at Municipal Stadium, junior kicker Michael Guarnieri kicked what looked like an onside kick, which was recovered by junior defensive back Jon Hosney, giving the Hawks the first possession of the game after Post elected to receive the kick. The short field allowed Forkner to waste no time finding the end zone with pass plays at the beginning and end of the drive, leading to the 16-yard passing scoring to junior wide receiver Kyle Verriest and the extra point from Guarnieri to give the visitors a quick 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. 

A three-and-out for the Eagles gave Saint Anselm the chance to go up two scores, but punting on fourth-and-four, a botched snap sent the ball caroming back to the Hawks' own 29 line, setting Post up in prime field position to put points on the board. That opportunity would last only two plays as pressure from the Saint Anselm defense forced junior quarterback Tyler Phommachanh to throw on the run, and he would be picked off by graduate defensive back Devin Lee, ending the drive. Another stall out by Forkner and the offense gave way to a Post score just before the end of the first as freshman wide receiver Israel Hiraldo's 43-yard punt return brought the Eagles down to the 27-yard-line of Saint Anselm.

Senior quarterback Malakai Taylor proceeded to hit sophomore wide receiver DJ Lisbon with the 17-yard scoring play, which was challenged by the Hawks, but upheld as Lisbon tapped a foot in bounds, tying the game at seven all. Post's offense would hit a wall in the second quarter while two scores, both inside of two minutes in the half on pass plays from Forkner to graduate wide receiver Malaki Jones sent the Hawks into halftime with a 12-point lead, 19-7, after a missed extra point and a failed two-point conversion, which was picked off by sophomore Shakir Price and nearly returned to the end zone before being tripped up by senior quarterback Ronan Noke. That second score was set up by another muffed kick by Post, this time by senior wide receiver Dylan McCollough, leading to the Hawks recovering the ball at midfield. 

But coming out of the half, the Eagles would get the ball right back as senior defensive back Givanni Flaccavento forced Jones to fumble the ball, which was picked up by sophomore outside linebacker Sir-Paris Jones with Post sitting two yards outside the red zone. Freshman kicker Nathan Hawkins would end up coming in for a 30-yard field goal as the drive would only move seven yards to the 15-yard line of the Hawks, cutting the Eagle deficit down to nine points, 19-10. Later in the quarter, with Saint Anselm driving, junior safety Michael Gabettie picked up Forkner near midfield, leading to a touchdown drive from Phommachanh and Taylor that made it a two-point game. 

After several chunk gains from Phommachanh and sophomore running back Adonis White, Taylor came in for a first down on the 28-yard line, delivering a 28-yard strike to Hiraldo for the score as Post would end up heading into the fourth down only 19-17. Despite his kickoff and extra point struggles, Guarnieri would extend the Hawk lead to five points, 22-17, with 8:52 left in the fourth quarter when he connected on a 40-yard field goal try after a 17-play, 53-yard drive that lasted 11 minutes for his team, which would be met with what was nearly the game-winning drive for Post in response.

Only two plays after the field, the Eagles found themselves at the three-yard line of Saint Anselm after Phommachanh rushed for 13 yards and Taylor hit Hiraldo for a 49-yard catch and run play. Sophomore running back Edward Bandy rushed for two more yards, setting up two straight quick tush push plays by Post to try forcing their way into the end zone, which were turned away by the Hawks' defense. Following a timeout by Post, Phommachanh would try the tush push once more, this time successfully, to give the Eagles their first lead of the game, 23-22, after the two-point conversion failed.

With the Hawks having possession with 5:45 left, the Eagles needed a big defensive stand, and they would get it as Forkner threw two incompletions for around five rushing yards by him and senior Hugo Silsby, forcing a turnover on downs back to Post with 2:44 left in regulation with a one-point lead in hand. Rushing for five yards before the two-minute warning with White, just five yards stood between Post and a 4-0 start until a flag for holding set them back to second-and-15 on a rush play where White gained enough for the first down that would have all but iced the game. Following a three-yard rush by Phommachanh to bring up third-and-12, another penalty, this time for a false start, set Post back five more yards, leading to them needing to punt with 1:37 to go after only gaining three yards on the next down.

Needing only a field goal to take the lead, Saint Anselm started their drive from their own 14-yard line, and after a few short yardage gains, Post would have the Hawks on the ropes after back-to-back incompletions brought up fourth-and-sixth. Forkner would dial up a play to Verriest for 15 yards down to the Post 30-yard line and still working no huddle, hit Meade in the end zone on the very next play for the 25-yard game-winning touchdown after Noke hit Verriest for the two-point conversion, expanding the lead to seven points with 27 seconds left.

Needing to move quickly with 24 seconds left, Taylor looked for three deep passes to both Hiraldo and Lisbon in Saint Anselm territory, one of which would go off Hiraldo's hands, setting up fourth down with 10 seconds to go. Again launching it deep down field to the 30-yard line of the Hawks, Taylor could not connect with Hiraldo, who was hampered by graduate defensive back Kaleb Lewis, ending the last-ditch effort by Post, who fell 30-23 behind a four-touchdown afternoon from Forkner, who completed 22-of-38 attempts for 252 passing yards. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Drew Forkner led Saint Anselm College under center with four touchdown passes and one interception while throwing for 252 yards during a 22-for-38 afternoon
• Michael Gabettie finished with a team-high 11 total tackles as well as his second interception of the season -- Gabettie is responsible for causing two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and recovering a fumble defensively so far this season
• Kevin White finished the game with two sacks and three tackles for loss, which tied him for the program records in both categories 
• In the last two seasons, Post University is now 1-5 in one-score games, with the one win coming against Pace University this season, 27-19, on the road

WHO'S NEXT
Heading to Massachusetts for their only road game during October, Post University will face Bentley University next Saturday at 2:00 PM. The Eagles have lost all three of their matchups with the Falcons by multiple scores, with last year's home game ending in a 61-28 defeat.