Football
BRYANT FOOTBALL GAME NOTES
November 5, 2007
BRYANT FOOTBALL HOSTS BENTLEY SATURDAY AT NOON
Conference Title Up For Grabs For Bulldogs
Game 10 - BENTLEY Falcons (7-2, 6-2 NE-10) at BRYANT Bulldogs
(7-2, 7-1 NE-10)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007 / 12 Noon Kickoff
Location: Bulldog Stadium (3,400), Smithfield, RI
Radio/TV: www.bryantbulldogs.com (John McCarthy, Pat
Sullivan), www.ne10.tv
UPDATE:
The Bryant University football team returns home this Saturday
afternoon looking to snap a two-game losing skid as the Bulldogs
host rival Bentley College at Bulldog Stadium. Kickoff is at
12 noon. This will be the ninth meeting between the two
schools since Bryant's first varsity season in 1999. Bentley
holds a 5-3 series lead but Bryant has won the last two meetings.
The Bulldogs won 27-14 in Smithfield, RI in 2005 and earned a 36-15
win at Waltham, Mass. last season. The Falcons come into the
game 7-2 overall and 6-2 in league play while Bryant is 7-2 and 7-1
in the NE-10. A win by Bryant would give the Bulldogs their
first NE-10 Conference title after earning a share of the league
title last year. Bentley, Southern Connecticut, and AIC are
all at 6-2 in the league heading into the final week.
Southern Connecticut travels to winless Saint Anselm while AIC
visits Stonehill.
MORE TIDBITS
* Saturday's game will be the 89th game for Bryant since
becoming a varsity program in 1999.
* Bryant owns a 47-41 all-time record covering eight seasons.
* Head Coach Marty Fine owns a record of 26-13 in his fourth year,
the most wins for a coach at Bryant.
* Bryant is 22-7 in its last 29 regular season games, not including
last year's postseason loss. The Bulldogs were 7-3 in 2005
and were 8-3 last year including a loss to West Chester in the
NCAA's.
* Bryant needs a win over Bentley to equal last year's school
record for wins in a season.
BRYANT - BENTLEY SERIES:
This will be the ninth meeting on the gridiron between the Bulldogs
and Falcons since Bryant's first varsity season in 1999. The
Bulldogs won the first meeting, 44-39 in Smithfield during that
first year in 1999, but Bentley won the next five including a 42-0
shutout during Marty Fine's first year at Bryant in 2004.
Since that loss, the Bulldogs won 27-14 in the 2005 season finale
at home and a 36-15 win in Waltham, MA last year. Fine is 2-1
all-time against Bentley.
LAST WEEK'S RECAP VS. SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
Southern Connecticut freshman running back Jerom Freeman rushed for
an NCAA Division II record 418 yards on 34 carries to lead the host
Owls to a 56-28 win over the Bulldogs last Friday at Jess Dow
Field. Southern Connecticut (7-3, 6-2 NE-10), the preseason
favorite to win the Northeast-10, rode the back of the conference's
top tailback, scoring on its first two possessions on touchdown
runs of 12 and 48 by Freeman to jump out to a 14-0
lead. Lindsey Gamble would add two touchdown runs of
his own to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. Down
28-14 at the half, the Bulldogs would come out the locker room with
all of the momentum on their side to start the third. A
Gamble 25 yard touchdown run followed by a Charlie Granatell 13
yard touchdown pass to Chris Arnold in the back of the end zone
tied the game 28-28 with 9:17 left to go in the third. But
that would be all of the scoring for the Bulldogs as Southern
Connecticut's Chris Bergeski hauled in a 39 yard touchdown pass and
Robert Felder followed with a 68-yard touchdown reception and the
Owls would cruise from there. Gamble finished with 90 yards
on 20 carries and three touchdowns in the game while Granatell
completed 24 of 41 passes for 275 yards with six passes going to
senior Sean Bergin who had 68 yards in the game. The two
teams combined for 1,041 yards of total offense with Southern
totaling 635 yards on 61 plays.
A GLANCE AT THE FALCONS OF BENTLEY
Bentley brings a three game win streak into Saturday's game and
will be looking for a share of the conference title with a win over
the Bulldogs. The Falcons (7-2, 6-2 NE-10) are coming off a
17-10 non-conference win at Millersville (Pa.) last Saturday.
Quarterback Henry Morris completed 18 of 44 passes for 245 yards
and pair of scores while Luis Cotto rushed for 66 yards to lead the
Falcons. Bentley won the game on a Henry Morris 15 yard
touchdown pass to Jehan Murphy with 30 seconds left in the
game. Bentley boasts the best defense in the Northeast-10,
leading all statistical categories, including Total Defense
(272.2), Passing Defense (167.4), Rushing Defense (104.8), and
scoring defense (18.0 points per game allowed). The Falcons
are second with a 1.11 turnover margin, forcing a total of 25
turnovers this year (11 fumbles, 14 interceptions) while just
giving the ball away 15 times.
TALE OF THE TAPE - BRYANT AND BENTLEY
Bryant
Bentley
Scoring Offense 27.2 (4th) 30.0
(2nd)
Scoring Defense 24.1 (5th) 18.0
(1st)
Rushing Offense 184.9 (2nd) 124.3
(7th)
Rushing Defense 178.3 (8th) 104.8 (1st)
Passing Offense 183.3 (7th) 231.8 (3rd)
Passing Defense 172.9 (2nd) 167.4 (1st)
Total Offense 368.2 (3rd) 356.1 (6th)
Total Defense 351.2 (4th) 272.2 (1st)
THE COACHES:
Bryant coach Marty Fine is currently in his fourth season
coaching the Bulldogs. Since his first year in Smithfield in
2004, Fine owns a coaching record of 26-13. Bentley Coach Peter
Yetten is in his 29th season at Bentley and owns a 213-72-2
record.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Bryant is currently No. 2 in the conference in rushing offense with
184.9 yards per game this season thanks in part to the three-headed
monster of sophomores Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA), Jerell Smith
(Brooklyn, NY), and senior Chris Peaks (Silver Spring, MD) in the
backfield. Gamble, a Gold Helmet Award recipient earlier this
season, leads the Bulldogs with 831 yards and 13 touchdowns this
season. Gamble, second in the conference with 92.3 ypg, has gone
over the 100-yard mark twice this season including 182 yards and
four touchdowns in a win at Merrimack. Smith, a transfer from
Howard University is second with 496 yards and two scores. He
had three-straight games of 100 yards earlier this year (CW Post,
Stonehill, Saint Anselm). Peaks, a hard-nosed running back,
had a season-best 95 yards vs. Saint Anselm. Charlie
Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) is seventh with 176.3 yards per game
this year.
MILESTONES AND RECORD BOOK UPDATE
* Chris Peaks is currently third in career rushing yards
with 1,486.
* Lindsey Gamble needs 142 yards rushing to reach 1,000
* Peaks is tied for third with 14 career TDs while Gamble is fifth
with 13. Lorenzo Perry holds the record with 36 career
TDs.
* Sean Bergin is second with 1,372 receiving years (Justin Kix is
first with 1,650).
* Bergin is second with 86 career receptions, trailing only Kix'
112.
* Chris Wohlheter (8) needs three INTs to tie the school record of
11 held by Jesse Lewis.
* Wohlheter is currently 4th with 191 career tackles. He needs 16
to move into third.
* Mark Gunther holds the career sack record with 23. He has
2.5 this year.
OFFENSE RUNS THROUGH CHARLIE
Senior quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ / Ramapo)
enters this week's game with 6,614 career passing yards and 54
career passing touchdowns. He is the holder of 15 school
records. On the season, Granatell has completed 133 of
220 passes (60.5 percent) for 1,587 yards and 11
TDs. He has started every game (37) since coming to
campus as a freshman in 2004. Granatell's junior year was his
best yet, passing for a career-best 1,975 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Granatell finished the season ranked second nationally with a 167.5
efficiency rating.
WINNING WAYS:
Bryant has put together two consecutive winning seasons since a 4-5
slate in Fine's first year as coach in 2004. In 2005, Bryant
went 7-3 overall followed with an 8-3 campaign in 2006. The
only other winning season was in 1999 when the team went 5-4.
Bryant is 22-7 in its last 29 regular season games, not including
last year's NCAA playoff loss.
NCAA SELECTION SHOW SUNDAY, NOV. 11
The NCAA will select the 2007 Division II playoff field on Sunday,
November 11 at 11:30 a.m. on ESPNU. There will be eight first
round games starting on November 17 on campus sites. The
second round will take place Nov. 24 with quarterfinals scheduled
for Dec. 1, semifinals Dec. 8 or 9 and the championship set for
December 15.
BRYANT RANKED NO. 5 REGIONALLY
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the region three weeks ago, enter the
week ranked No. 5 in the Northeast Region. The Bulldogs were
No. 1 entering the Saint Anselm game Oct. 20 but dropped to third
despite a win over the Hawks. Last week, the Bulldgos were
No. 4 but a loss to Southern Connecticut has Bryant No. 5.
Bentley, Saturday's opponent, is No. 7.
1. California PA
2. Shepherd
3. West Chester
4. Southern Connecticut
5. BRYANT
6. Indiana (PA)
7. Bentley
8. Slippery Rock
9. West Liberty
10. Charleston WV
11. AIC
12. Edinboro
