AMHERST — Three games, three wins.
What seemed like wishful thinking just a few weeks ago is now reality after the UMass football team beat Stonehill, 36-14, at McGuirk Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.
The victory moves the Minutemen to 3-0, the best start since 2007 and best since joining the FBS ranks in 2011.
“I told them, we’re happy with the result, just not really happy with how we got there at times,” UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak said. “But we really haven’t faced a storm yet, per se, we had one at halftime there going in and we responded, we did what we had to do to win that game.”
UMass’ ground game found the end zone three times against the Skyhawks while its defense took advantage of three Stonehill turnovers and translated that into 13 points on the board.
The visitors hung around until the third quarter, trailing 13-7 at halftime, before 33 straight points locked this one up for the Minutemen.
“I would say the main difference with this team in particular, even all my teams at UMass, is the connection, the camaraderie of this team,” UMass wide receiver T.Y. Harding said. “We really want to play for each other. We want to play for the coaches. Everyone is just so connected.”
Harding had the two longest scores of the afternoon, first cashing in on a 56-yard rush off a reverse during the first quarter, then hauling in a 51-yard score less than five minutes into the fourth.
Harding concluded with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, plus the end around touchdown gave the Cambridge native 129 total yards of offense.
“It felt good seeing the other guys happy,” Harding said regarding his touchdown catch. “That’s probably the best part of it, seeing all my teammates happy.”
Minutemen quarterback William “Pop” Watson III turned it on in the second half tossing 119 of his 160 total passing yards in quarters three and four. The Springfield product finished 15-for-25 with one touchdown and one interception.
“[Stonehill] obviously did some things to give him trouble,” Harasymiak said. “I think, just hearing it over the headset, he could be better, obviously, but we got to watch it…I know the young man he is. I know he’ll come back hungry.”
UMass kicker Derek Morris was a perfect 3-for-3 in field-goal attempts against the Skyhawks, nailing a 30-yarder, a 55-yarder and a 33-yarder.
Morris’ shortest boot put the Minutemen out front, 3-0, at 12:09 of the first, but the lead was short-lived as Stonehill scored on a 13-yard catch from Alijah Turner and a successful extra-point to lead 7-3.
Harding’s explosive scurry down the right sideline occurred less than two minutes later as UMass retook the lead at 10-7. However, the hosts struggled to extend drives the rest of the half as Stonehill plugged up any extra opportunities and even picked off Watson III just before the break.
Morris’ 55-yard field goal made it 13-7 after 30 minutes of action.
The start of the second half saw the Minutemen march 59 yards down the field in five minutes, 26 seconds on 10 plays for a 19-7 advantage. Curtis Kimmons IV punched in the 1-yard rush, but UMass couldn’t convert on the 2-point try.
Morris’ third and final field goal capped off the scoring in the third quarter for a 22-7 Minutemen lead.
A 1-yard keeper from Watson III inflated UMass’ edge to 29-7 at 13:37 of the fourth, after the made extra-point, before Harding’s nifty grab at 10:54 all but sealed the Minutemen’s fate.
“It’s fun,” Minutemen defensive back Tyler Martin said. “Me and [Harding] have been here a long time and we’ve never been 2-0, definitely never been 3-0, so, I feel like I can speak for both of us, it’s pretty exciting.”
UMass will turn its attention to Sacramento State, who serves as its first Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent of the season, next week.
Kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Hornet Stadium is set for 9 p.m.
