• 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
 

September 28, 2006

Bryant Football Travels To Pace Saturday For Battle of 3-1 Teams; Game To Be Broadcast On NE10.tv Only

BRYANT FOOTBALL VISITS PACE SATURDAY
Battle of 3-1 Teams On Tap This Week 

PROGRAM NOTE ... Saturday's game will be broadcast list online at www.NE10.tv

LIVE STATS AVAILABLE http://livestats.prestosports.com/pace/

Records: Bryant 3-1 (3-1 NE-10)    Pace 3-1 (2-1 NE-10)
Date:  Saturday, September 30, 2006
Time: 1:00 p.m. kickoff
Location: Pleasantville, NY
Stadium: Pace Field (1,500)
Radio: None
TV: www.NE10.tv
Series: Bryant leads 5-1
Last Meeting: Bryant 20-19, Sept. 24, 2005
Coaches:  Bryant - Marty Fine, 3rd year (14-9)
 Pace - Mike Iezzi, 2nd year (6-8)

THIS WEEK
The Bryant football team will hit the road this Saturday afternoon with a Northeast-10 Conference game at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y.  This will be the second road contest of the season for the Bulldogs who are 3-0 at home and 0-1 away from Bulldog Stadium.  The one loss was a 20-7 decision at American International back in week 2.    Bryant (3-1, 3-1 NE-10) is coming off a 45-21 win over Assumption College last Saturday while Pace (3-1, 2-1 NE-10) edged Saint Anselm 7-2 in Manchester, NH.  This will be the seventh meeting all-time between Bryant and Pace with the Bulldogs leading the overall series 5-1.  The Bulldogs won last year's meeting 20-19 on Homecoming last year in Smithfield, RI.  A win Saturday would equal the best start to a season since the 1999 team (Bryant's first year as a varsity sport) went 4-1 to open the year.  Last season, Bryant was 3-1 before falling to CW Post on the road.

BULLDOGS DEFEAT ASSUMPTION 45-21 IN LAST OUTING
 Bryant University quarterback Charles Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) completed 17 of 27 passes for 267 yards and equaled a school record with four passing touchdowns to lead the host Bulldogs. Bryant got 124 yards rushing on 24 carries from senior running back Lorenzo Perry (Providence, RI) as the Bulldogs racked up 453 yards of total offense against the Greyhounds.   The Bulldog defense, led by Andrew McLarty's seven tackles, held Assumption to just 199 yards of offense including only 26 yards rushing. Bryant led 17-7 at the half, but Assumption would pull to within 17-14 early in the third quarter following a Jake Beers 38-yard touchdown reception. 
     Assumption would force the Bulldogs to punt on their next possession, however after mishandling the snap, punter Brian Donnelly (East Dennis, Mass.) picked up a couple of key blocks for a 10-yard gain to the Assumption 47, and a Bryant first down.  One play later, Granatell found receiver Justin Kix (Shoreham, NY) cutting across the middle for a 47-yard touchdown and the Bulldogs never looked back.
  
THE BULLDOGS VS. SETTERS
 This will be the seventh meeting all-time between the two schools with Bryant holding a 5-1 all-time series lead.  Bryant has won five straight since fall to the Setters 13-7 in 1999 in Pleasantville, New York.  Last year,  Lorenzo Perry had 122 yards and caught four passes for 57 yards as Bryant pulled out a 20-19 win before 4,820 homecoming fans in Smithfield, RI.    A total of 14 points have been the difference in the last three meetings with the last two decided by just six.
 

All-Time Series History
Year Location Result
1999 Pleasantville, NY 7-13 L
2000 Smithfield,RI 34-21 W
2002 Smithfield,RI  26-0 W
2003 Smithfield, RI 32-24 W
2004 Pleasantville,NY 24-19 W
2005 Smithfield, RI 20-19 W
* note - the 2001 game was cancelled due to Sept. 11.

 QUICK GLANCE AT PACE
The Setters, under the direction of second-year coach Mike Iezzi, are coming off a 7-2 win over Saint Anselm Saturday in a defensive battle.  Dan Reilly's interception in the second quarter setup a PJ Columbo 3 yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.  The two points came on a bad snap over the head of punter Adam Headley that went out of the end zone for a safety.  The Setters opened the year with a 27-14 win over Husson and fell to C.W. Post, 28-7 in the second week.  The team has scored 14 points in its last two games (7-0 win over Stonehill and 7-2 win over Saint Anselm). Scott Shuryn has 111 yards rushing on the season while Daniel Moyer and Adam Headley have split time at quarterback.  Moyer has 208 yards passing and 1 touchdown.

BRYANT'S GOLDEN BOY
Senior tailback Lorenzo Perry was named the Northeast-10 Conference Offensive Player of the Week back on Sept. 5 after rushing for 190 yards and four touchdowns in the Bulldogs' win over Southern Connecticut in the season-opener. In addition, Perry was named the Boston Globe Gold Helmet winner as the Division II Player of the Week in New England by the New England College Football Writers.  Perry is the first football player at Bryant to win the Gold Helmet Award. 

WOHLHETER MAKES LIKE A RECEIVER
Although he lines up on the defensive side of the field, free safety Chris Wohlheter of Newark, Ohio has looked more like a receiver for the Bulldogs.  Wohlheter, the conference defensive player of the week back in Week 1 thanks to a school-record 75-yard interception return against Southern Connecticut, had a repeat performance against Merrimack.  The junior picked off a Colin Temple pass and returned it 74 yards only this time found the end zone, giving Bryant a 21-7 lead in the third quarter.

FEW TIDBITS AFTER THE ASSUMPTION WIN
* Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri was on hand for the pregame ceremony of Saturday's game vs. Assumption.  Carcieri spoke to the Bulldog Stadium crowd as part of Military Appreciation Day
* Bryant is now 8-0 all-time vs. Assumption, 3-0 under coach Marty Fine
*  The 4 touchdown passes by Granatell tied a school record held by Granatell (4 vs. Assumption in 2005) and Tony Granieri (4 vs. Stonehill in 2001).
* Justin Kix's 101 yards receiving were a season-high this season for Bryant.  Kix' personal best is a school record 127 set last year vs. Merrimack.
* Granatell's 17 completions, 27 attempts, and 267 yards were a season-high for the junior quarterback.  Granatell's career-best is 29-for-49 for 296 yards vs. Merrimack in 2005.  Granatell now has 3,755 career passing yards, No. 1 all-time at Bryant.
* Bobby Heilmann's (Wyckoff, NJ) 33 yard field goal in the second quarter was his first as a member of the Bulldogs and the team's first attempted field goal in 2006. 

2006 Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches Poll
     Team  Points  Record This year
1.    LIU / C.W. Post (6) 96  10-3, 8-1
2.   Southern Conn. (2) 88  8-3, 7-2  49-7 W
3.    Bentley (1)   79  7-3, 7-2
4.    Bryant  71  7-3, 6-3
5.    American Int'l  58  5-4, 5-4  7-20 L
6.    Merrimack 43  4-6, 3-6  34-7 W
7.    Pace (1)                  37   3-7, 2-7
8.    Stonehill  35  4-6, 4-5
9.    Assumption 30  4-6, 3-6 45-21 W
10.  Saint Anselm 13  1-9, 0-9

NOTABLES ...
*  Bryant is 16 for 20 (80.0 percent) when inside the opponents red zone (20 yard line).  Last year, Bryant's red-zone defense was third-best in the conference, holding opponents scoreless 11 times when in the red-zone (26 for 37).  This year, opponents have scored six tImes on 11 trips inside the Bryant 20 (54.5 percent).
  *Lorenzo Perry has 2,014 yards rushing in two-plus seasons and has gone over the 100-yard mark in all four games   .... Perry became Bryant's all-time rushing touchdown leader with his 21st career TD vs. AIC ... He now has 24  ... Senior Justin Kix (8 career) needs six touchdown receptions to pass Adam Ewing  for the all-time record.  Ewing had 13 from 1999-03. 
*Bryant has won eight-straight at home dating back to last seasons 5-0 record in 2005 at Bulldog Stadium.
*Bryant has held opponents to just six points in the third quarter in four games this season and 14 in the third.  

BULLDOGS DRAW A CROWD:
Bryant has led the Northeast-10 Conference in attendance in five of the last six seasons including 2005. In five games last season (all wins), Bryant averaged 2,799 fans.  This year, Bryant is averaging 3,616 fans after three games including 4,854 for homecoming under beautiful, sunny skies in Smithfield. 


2005 NE-10 rankings by average attendance:  
 1. BRYANT  2,799      
 2. Bentley 2,361
 3. CW Post 1,895
 4. Merrimack 1,885
 5. So. Conn. 1,794
 6. Stonehill 1,494
 7. Assumption 1,438
 8. Pace 1,202
 9. St. Anselm 1,028
10. AIC 772

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