2006 Football Preview: Bulldog Football Looking To Build on Record Breaking Season

2006 BRYANT FOOTBALL PREVIEW 

This fall, coach Marty Fine will begin his third season as Bryant University's head football coach.  Nearly every summer, football programs across the country head into August camp looking to fill positions vacated by those who have graduated.

With new names and faces lining the depth chart. Bryant, however, won't need to spend nearly as much time as the Bulldogs will return nearly the same team from '05.   

For Bryant football fans, that's good news.  The 2005 squad set numerous school records on both sides of the ball.  And the program won a school best seven games, en route to a 7-3 record, finishing the year ranked 11th in the final NCAA regional poll.  

In looking at how the Bulldogs will shape up this season, it's easy to see that experience will be a factor.  While the Bulldogs lose some talented individuals on both sides of the ball, the talent pool will be deep and balanced. 

A total of 18 starters return with 10 offensive starters back and eight on defense hungry for the chance to push Bryant towards its first-ever playoff invitation come November.  

This year, the Bulldogs will look for an offensive spark from senior tailback Lorenzo Perry (Providence, R.I.).  Displaying tremendous speed out of the backfield and the ability to change direction effectively, Perry re-wrote all of Bryant's rushing records with 1,335 yards rushing and rushing touchdowns with 16. 

Perry was named first team all-Northeast-10 and was tabbed All-New England by the New England Football Writers. 

A game-breaker who can bust loose at any moment, Perry went over the 100-yard mark in six games.  He rushed for 221 yards in a win over Assumption and later set a school record with 313 yards against Stonehill.  

RUNNING BACK:

There's no question the one player to watch will be the number five jersey in Lorenzo Perry.  Perry was an all-conference tailback in his first season with the Bulldogs and will be a major component once again.

Senior Chris Peaks (Silver Spring, Md.) is a hard-nosed experienced back who can pick up key yardage when needed.  Junior Kevin Anderson (Plainville, Conn.) filled in nicely during the second week of the season when the Bulldogs were without Peaks and Perry and is expected to be strong option in the backfield again.

FULLBACK:

A trio of half backs return with seniors Drew Shaw (Gladwyne, Pa.) and Casey Factor (West Warwick, R.I.) joining junior Andrew Salinger (Wyckoff, N.J.) looking to use their size and experience as blocking backs to pave the way for the Bulldog offense and provide protection in the pocket.  Shaw was an All-Northeast-10 Conference pick last season. 

QUARTERBACK

The Bulldogs will have the luxury of two-year starter Charles Granatell (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) back at quarterback once again. The engineer of the Bryant offense, Granatell has shown the ability to distribute effectively.  He'll have a strong core of receivers back plus the talented Perry behind him ready to exploit any opposing defenses.

Last year's backup, James Hickey transferred leaving redshirt freshmen Ross Giffune (Foxboro, Mass.) as the primary backup.  Sophomore Trey Little (New Bloomfield, Pa.) will also challenge for the backup slot.

WIDE RECEIVER / TIGHT END

Four starters are back including seniors Justin Kix (Shoreham, N.Y.) and Vince Norris (Washington, D.C. / Archbishop Carroll) joining juniors Sean Bergin (New Windsor, N.Y.) and Jon Zenquis (Northbridge, Mass.), giving the Bulldogs not only the ability to spread the field, but move the ball into scoring position.  Kix caught 41 passes last season including a record 11 for 127 yards against Merrimack.  

Tight end Alex Chaparro (North Bergen, N.J.) caught 14 passes, three of which went for touchdowns, for 105 yards. 

A 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior with excellent hands and blocking ability, Chaparro will be a good target for short yardage situations on third down and inside the red zone.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The foundation of Bryant's steady offense that averaged 400 yards of offense per game returns nearly intact from 2005.  The Bulldog offensive line will need to fill the shoes left to the graduation of all-conference lineman Saddi Williams, but a veteran group that has worked together for the past three seasons returns, giving Coach Fine excellent talent and stability up front. 

Seniors David Soranno (Hackensack, N.J.), Mike Thompson (Oxford, Conn.), Junior Jabbie (Silver Spring, Md.) and junior Ralph Squitieri (Orangeburg, N.J.) form one of the conference's most cohesive units.  Squitieri earned all-conference honors in 2005 and was an honorable mention selection as a freshman in '04.

With Barrington Little (Washington, D.C. / Dematha), Ryan Callahan (Barrington, R.I.), and Jordan Levesque (Fall River, Mass.) providing solid depth, the offensive line is poised to once again open holes and provide plenty of protection in the pocket.  

DEFENSE

LINEBACKER

Defensively, Bryant will have the luxury of returning a strong group along the defensive line and linebackers, but will have to replace one its all-time best linebackers in Greg Daniel (84 tackles, 4 sacks), who graduated this past spring along with team captain David Boak (43 tackles, 5 sacks).    

In their place will step senior Andrew McLarty (College Park, Md. / Parkdale), who was second on the team last season with 61 tackles. One of the team's most athletic players, McLarty should be in the running for all-conference honors by the end of the 2006 season.

His strength (3.5 sacks) and quickness (3 interceptions) draws the attention from opposing coaches and he'll be looked up to be a team leader defensively for the Bulldogs. 

Seniors Justin Benevides (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Andrew Howlett (Windsor, N.Y.) have valuable playing experience while junior Zach Herman (New Cumberland, Pa.) and senior Damian Gonsalves (Mashpee, Mass.) will look to lead a youthful group that will include sophomores Steve Branch (Montclair, N.J.) and Chris Beckler (Harwich, Mass.).

DEFENSIVE LINE

The most experienced position this season will rest in the defensive line up front.  Six starters are back led by senior tackles Chris Reels (West Warwick, R.I.) and Joe Knight (Billerica, Mass.) while James Lewis (New Haven, Conn. / Hill House) is coming off perhaps his best season for the Bulldogs with 26 tackles and six sacks in '05. 

Reels and Knight combined for 59 tackles and 10 sacks a year ago and they'll be joined by junior Jay Stahl (Methuen, Mass.) who earned first team all-conference honors in 2005 with 40 tackles and 7 sacks.

Defensive end Mark Gunther (Clarksburg, N.J.) enjoyed a breakout sophomore season, finishing with 32 tackles to go with 8 1/2 sacks.   

SECONDARY

One of the youngest positions on the squad a year ago, the Bulldogs will hope that a year of playing time will help out in the defensive secondary.

Inexperience, however, will not be a problem for two-year starter Chris Wohlheter (Newark, Ohio) who is a hard-hitting and very quick free safety.  Wohlheter was third on the team in tackles with 38 and finished with five pass breakups and three interceptions.  

He'll be joined by starters, Michael Morgan (New London, Conn.) and Marcus Lindsay (Bridgeport, Conn.), while Andrew Verdura (Haverhill, Mass.) and Daniel Willis (Aiken, S.C.) give the team strong depth. 

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Bulldogs will have to replace kicker Mike Lajterman who earned all-conference honors as a punter last season. 

Senior kicker Brian Donnelly (East Dennis, Mass.) will compete with highly touted freshman Bobby Heilmann (Wyckoff, N.J.) for the team's kicking game this fall.