Football Takes 2-0 Record on The Road Saturday at Assumption
September 18, 2007
BRYANT FOOTBALL GAME NOTES
September 18, 2007
2-0 BULLDOGS TRAVEL TO ASSUMPTION SATURDAY FOR 1 P.M. GAME
Game 3 - Bryant University (2-0, 2-0 NE-10) at
Assumption College (1-2, 1-1 NE-10)
Saturday, September 22, 2007, Multi-Sport Stadium, Worcester,
Mass.
Game Notes (pdf)
Radio/TV: http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/ (John McCarthy, Pat Sullivan), http://www.ne10.tv/
UPDATE:
Off to its best start in school history, the Bryant
University (2-0, 2-0 NE-10) football team heads to Worcester, Mass.
this Saturday for a Northeast-10 Conference showdown with the
high-scoring Greyhounds of Assumption College (1-2, 1-1 NE-10).
Kickoff at the Multi-Sports Stadium is at 1 p.m. Fans can catch the
action live with The Voice of the Bulldogs John McCarthy and
Patrick Sullivan starting at 12:55 p.m. Bryant, which has
never started a season with two wins since becoming a varsity
program in 1999, opened the year with a win over AIC on Sept. 8 and
last Friday rallied for a thrilling 37-34 overtime win at Merrimack
College. Bryant is 8-0 against Assumption and 4-0 all-time in
Worcester, MA since 1999. Following Saturday's game, Bryant
will return home to host Pace University Sept. 29 for Homecoming.
MORE TIDBITS
* Saturday's game will be the 82nd game for Bryant since
becoming a varsity program in 1999.
* Bryant owns a 42-39 all-time record covering eight seasons.
* Last Friday's win at Merrimack was Marty Fine's 21st
at Bryant. He needs one more win to pass Jim Miceli's coaching
victories of 21. Miceli coached Bryant from 1999 to 2003 (5
seasons), going 21-28 during that span. Fine owns a
record of 21-11 in his fourth year.
SERIES:
This will be the ninth meeting all-time between Bryant
and Assumption since the school's first varsity season in 1999. The
Bulldogs are 4-0 all-time when driving up Rte. 146, including a
48-38 win in 2005. Last year, Bryant recorded a 45-21 win at
Bulldog Stadium, a game in which the Bulldogs were also coming off
a win against Merrimack from the week before. Lorenzo Perry
had 124 yards and Chris Peaks added 56, but
quarterback Charlie Granatell was an efficient 17
of 27 passing for 267 yards and a school record four touchdown
passes. Assumption had just 26 yards rushing in the game.
A GLANCE AT ASSUMPTION COLLEGE:
Assumption has one more game under their belt having lost
to Sacred Heart 41-20 at home on August 30. The Greyhounds
would fall to Stonehill, 20-14 at home a week later.
Five-foot-seven running back Herb Woodward, the NE-10 Offensive
Player of the Week, is averaging 105.0 yards per game
rushing. Last week, Woodward rushed for 277 yards against
Saint Anselm College in the Greyhounds tight 71-21 win. The
Greyhounds amassed 498 yards of total offense, scoring on a
Woodward 70-yard TD run on the first play of the game and adding
another Woodward 30-yard TD three plays into the team's second
possession. Assumption led 43-7 after one quarter and 57-7 at
the half. Woodward leads the conference in scoring with five
touchdowns for 30 points. Assumption leads the
conference in several categories, including kickoff returns with an
average of 25.5 yards per return including one touchdown. The
Greyhounds also lead the conference with nine sacks this year and
have allowed a league-best one sack after three games.
BULLDOGS IN THE NE-10
Rushing Lindsey Gamble, 3rd, 113 yards per game
Passing Charlie Granatell, 6th, 151.5 yards per game
Receptions Sean Bergin, 7th, 4.50 receptions per game
BULLDOGS AND GREYHOUNDS BY COMPARISON
Bryant Assumption
Scoring Offense 25.0 35.0
Scoring Defense 20.0 27.3
Rushing Offense 147.0 193.0
Rushing Defense 233.0 171.0
Passing Offense 163.0 206.3
Passing Defense 102.5 167.0
Total Offense 310.0 399.3
Total Defense 335.5 338.3
NE-10 STANDINGS
Team Conf. All
Bryant 2-0 2-0
Stonehill 2-0 2-0
So. Connecticut 1-0 2-1
CW Post 1-0 1-1
Bentley 1-1 1-1
Assumption 1-1 1-2
Merrimack 0-1 0-2
St. Anselm 0-1 0-2
AIC 0-2 0-2
Pace 0-2 0-3
THE COACHES:
Bryant coach Marty Fine enters his
fourth season coaching the Bulldogs. Since his first year in
Smithfield in 2004, Fine owns a coaching record of 21-11.
Assumption fourth-year coach Cory Bailey is 10-23 overall and 0-3
against Marty Fine and the Bryant Bulldogs.
THE MERRIMACK GAME: Bryant 37, Merrimack
34 OT, Sept. 14 @ North Andover, MA
Sophomore tailback Lindsey Gamble rushed for a career-high 177
yards on 26 carries (6.8 ave.) and two touchdowns including a
12-yard scamper in overtime which proved to be the game winner as
Bryant stormed back from down 31-17 to defeat Merrimack 34-31 in
overtime. The Warriors, picked to finish third in the conference
after returning 22 starters from its NCAA playoff run to the second
round, led 24-10 at the half and stretched its largest lead of the
night early in the fourth, only to see Bryant score a pair of
touchdowns to tie it to force overtime. The Bulldogs had a chance
to win it in regulation but Chris Bird's 40-yard field goal attempt
with six seconds left was wide. The Warriors struck first in
the first OT, connecting on a 40-yard field goal to go up
34-31. But on Bryant's ensuing possession, the Bulldogs moved
the ball to the 12 yard line and Gamble rambled in with the
winner. Charlie Granatell completed 16 of 31 passes for 199
yards and had three touchdowns. Sean Bergin had five
receptions for 71 yards.
GAMBLE PAYS OFF:
Bryant has been going with a three-back rotation in the
backfield with Chris Peaks (29 yards vs. Merrimack), Howard
University transfer Jerell Smith (52 yards on 20 carries this
year), and Lindsey Gamble, sophomore who had just 27 yards on 9
carries in 2006 behind the Lorenzo Perry Show. But Gamble has
come into his own. After rushing for 49 yards on 14 carries
in the opener vs. AIC, Gamble ran for 177 yards on 26 rushes
against Merrimack last week. He averaged 6.8 yards per carry
and had two touchdowns, the second coming on a 12-yard run in
overtime which proved to be the game winner.
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.
MILESTONES:
Senior WR Sean Bergin (New Windsor, NY/Newburgh
Free) needs just 35 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for his
career. Bergin enters Saturday's game at Assumption 60 career
receptions for 965 yards, third all-time. Brandon Dillingham
is second with 1,000 and Justin Kix is first with 1,650.
RECORD BOOK UPDATES:
* Chris Peaks (5th all-time with 1,245 yards) needs 28
rushing yards to move into fourth all-time, passing Tony Granieri's
1,272.
* Peaks (10 TDs) needs five touchdowns to move into third all-time
for career TDs
* Bergin (third in receiving yards with 894) needs 107 yards to
move into second.
* Charlie Granatell moved into first all-time with 910 career total
plays of offense vs. Merrimack.
* Chris Wohlheter (2nd, 7) needs five interceptions to
become all-time career INT leader (11).
* Wohlheter is currently 7th with 144 career tackles. He is
one behind Delano Dryden (6th with 145) and 9 behind David Boak
(5th with 153).
GRANATELL ON THE MARK:
Senior quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin
Lakes, NJ / Ramapo) has started every game (32) 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. He enters this week's game
with 5,330 yards and 47 touchdowns, plus the holder of 15 school
records. On the season, Granatell has completed 27 of 48
passes (56.2 percent) for 303 yards and 4 TDs. He has thrown
just 2 interceptions.
GUNTHER SETS SEASON AND CAREER SACK RECORD:
Senior defensive end Mark Gunther (Clarksburg, NJ
/ Notre Dame) set a school single season record with 11.5
sacks, giving him the school career sack record with 20.5.
Gunther had three sacks in two different games last year (vs. Saint
Anselm and Assumption).
THE AIC GAME: Bryant 13, AIC 7, Sept. 8 @ Smithfield,
RI
Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ)
completed 11 of 17 passes for 104 yards and sophomore linebacker
Paul Polomski (Franklin, Mass.) intercepted two
passes (one returned 44 yards for a touchdown) and had a fumble
recovery to help lead Bryant to a 13-6 win before 2,242 at Bulldog
Stadium in the opener Sept. 8. Bryant had just 181 yards of
offense but the defense came through, forcing four Yellow Jacket
turnovers in the game. Sophomore transfer Jerell
Smith (Brooklyn, NY / Howard University) rushed for 49
yards on 19 carries while Sean Bergin (New Windsor,
NY) caught a team-best four passes for 75 yards.
NE-10 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore LB Paul Polomski (Franklin,
Mass.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference Defensive
Player of the Week after recording six tackles, a fumble recovery,
and intercepting two passes, one of which was returned 44 yards for
a touchdown in the fourth in Saturday's win over AIC.
Polomski earned his first start at linebacker last year as a
freshman in Week 2, playing against of all teams AIC.
Incidentally, Polomski had a goal-line interception in the first
half of that game as well.
NEW ON THE STAFF:
Bryant returns all but one coach from last year's
coaching staff. Marc Klaiman, defensive coordinator for the
past three seasons, left last spring for an assistant position at
Merrimack College. In his place steps first-year coach
Ben Morie who will coach the team's quarterbacks
and receivers. Morie, a 2000 graduate of Bemidji State in
Minnesota, comes to Bryant from Upper Iowa University where he was
recently the team's offensive coordinator. Also joining the
staff this year is first year coach Art Bell (Rhode Island
'85). Bell, who will coach the Bulldogs' defensive
line, is a native of Newport and graduate of Rogers HS. He
played one year at Bridgewater State and played three years at URI
where he was a member of the Rams' 1981 Yankee Conference
Championship team. Prior to coming to Bryant, Bell coached at
Salve Regina and Middletown HS.
RHODE ISLAND ASSISTANCE
In addition to newcomer Art Bell to Fine's coaching staff,
other assistant coaches with Rhode Island ties include outside
linebackers coach Jay Monteiro (Rhode Island '89)
who was an assistant for 16 years at East Providence HS before
coming to Bryant three years ago. Also back is running backs coach
Jay Jones (Rhode Island College '94) who
previously was an assistant at Cranston West and is currently the
wrestling coach at RIC.
ROOKIE RHODE ISLANDERS:
Bryant has five local freshman on this season's roster
heading into opening week: Fullback Kyle Bell (Middletown, RI
/ Middletown); linebacker Joe Heiberger (Westerly, RI / Westerly);
tight end Matthew Kelly (Lincoln, RI / Bishop Feehan); wide
receiver Brendan Rice (Providence / La Salle); and kicker Karl
Turner (Woodriver Junction, RI / Chariho).
