• Sat, 11/19 | Football vs. Central Connecticut L, 42-21 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 11/12 | Football vs. Saint Francis (PA) W, 45-34 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 11/05 | Football at Albany W, 31-17 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 10/22 | Football at Robert Morris W, 34-27 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 10/15 | Football vs. Monmouth L, 40-35 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 10/08 | Football vs. Stonehill W, 42-7 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 10/01 | Football at Duquesne L, 31-28 (Final) BX | BX | RC
  • Sat, 09/24 | Football vs. Wagner W, 30-28 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Fri, 09/16 | Football at Sacred Heart W, 26-6 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 09/10 | Football vs. American Int'l W, 27-16 (Final) BX | RC | PH
 

November 16, 2006

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL: Football: R.I. trio leading Bryant into NCAA playoff history

Football: R.I. trio leading Bryant into NCAA playoff history

Thursday, November 16, 2006 / PROVIDENCE JOURNAL WEB SITE BY MIKE SZOSTAK
Journal Sports Writer

 
 Justin Benevides (Portsmouth)
 
 Chris Reels (Warwick)
 
 Lorenzo Perry (Providence)

SMITHFIELD -- As Rhode Island high-school stars, they played to cheers at Portsmouth, West Warwick and La Salle. Now college seniors, they're still playing to cheers, this time as members of the best football team in Bryant University history.

And Saturday at noon, Justin Benevides, Chris Reels and Lorenzo Perry and their teammates will go where no Bryant players have gone before: the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Bulldogs (8-2) will kick off against West Chester University (8-3) of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in the first round of the national tournament.

This will be the first time in 21 years that a Rhode Island football team has played in an NCAA tournament. URI won the Yankee Conference in 1985 and participated in the I-AA playoffs.

"It's definitely special. It will be exciting and fun, and I'm looking forward to it," Perry, the record-breaking tailback, said yesterday. He was the MVP of the 2000 Super Bowl while a sophomore at La Salle and this year is the MVP of the Northeast-10 Conference.

"I've played eight years in Rhode Island," said Reels, the defensive lineman who played on West Warwick's championship team in 2002, "and looking back on it, it's really special. We've put the state on the map, and there are not a lot of people like us who can say they have done it."

"We're from all different parts of the state so we're bringing more Rhode Islanders to the game," added Benevides, the Portsmouth linebacker who has missed most of this season with a broken left arm but will be in the lineup Saturday. "People are coming to see Portsmouth kids or La Salle kids or West Warwick kids help the team."

Bryant was 7-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference and earned a share of the championship with Merrimack, Southern Connecticut and C.W. Post. The Bulldogs are ranked third in the Northeast Region and No. 25 nationally by D2Football.com, a first for the program. Fourth-ranked Merrimack and fifth-ranked Southern Connecticut will play each other in the first round. West Chester, ranked No. 24, is sixth.

Bryant ripped Southern Connecticut, 49-20, in the season opener and defeated Merrimack, 34-7, after losing to AIC in the second game. Perry and Benevides knew then that they had something special going.

"When we beat a team," said Perry, "that is consistently at the top of our league and beat them convincingly, I knew we had the potential to do something special."

"How well we rebounded after the AIC loss, after that game, there was no doubt in my mind," said Benevides.

Reels needed more convincing, which he received during Bryant's 24-21 loss to No. 22 C.W. Post, the 2005 NE-10 champion.

"Even though we lost, we played them right up," said Reels. "You couldn't tell which was the better team. It hurt, but it showed us we can do it, we can play up to their level."

Playing at Bulldog Stadium is an advantage for Bryant. The Bulldogs are 10-1 there the last two years.

Having a running back like Perry is another advantage. He is third in the nation in rushing with a 179.2 average and is extremely difficult to tackle when he gets beyond the line of scrimmage.

"Any good running back says the offensive line is the key to his success . . . my confidence in them has grown tremendously. Their blocking gives me the space I need. When I get in that space, my eyes light up," Perry said.

And having a solid defense is a third advantage. Bryant is allowing 245.7 yards total defense and has 27 sacks and 15 interceptions.

Both teams feature balanced attacks, although Bryant favors the run slightly more than the pass, thanks to Perry.

"It's going to be a great matchup. The strengths and weaknesses are similar," Benevides said.

Sharing the conference crown and playing in the Division II tournament isn't enough for these Bulldogs.

"We got to take it one game at a time," Perry said. "West Chester is out of a tough conference. Records get thrown out the window. We know we'll have our hands full, and we've got to worry about this one. But I'll say this: we're not just happy to be here. We know what we're capable of doing. A loss this weekend, and we wouldn't feel like we had a great year."

"A loss would be devastating, a complete disappointment," Reels said.

Benevides is confident.

"It better stay warm for Dec. 16," he said with a smile. That's the date of the championship game in Florence, Ala.

mszostak@projo.com/ (401) 277-7340

 

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