November 17, 2008

Bulldogs Travel to Saint Francis PA Saturday To Wrap Up 2008 Season

November 17, 2008

BRYANT TRAVELS TO SAINT FRANCIS PA SATURDAY
Game 11 - Bryant (6-4) at Saint Francis PA (0-10)

DATE: Saturday, November 22, 2008
TIME: 1:00 pm EST
SITE: Loretto, Pa.
SERIES: First Meeting
COACHES: Bryant, Marty Fine, 5th year, 33-18; St. Francis PA coach Dave Opfar, 15-49 in his 7th season.
RECORDS: Bryant 6-4, Saint Francis PA 0-10 (Bryant 2-3 away / SFPA 0-4 home)
RADIO: WOON-AM 1240, www.bryantbulldogs.com. John McCarthy calls the live action.

The Bryant University football team, playing in its first year as a Division I school, makes the journey to Loretto, Pa. this Saturday afternoon to face the Red Flash of Saint Francis (PA) at 1 p.m. The game is the season finale for the Bulldogs who last week clinched a winning record for 2008 with a 23-7 win over Iona College. Junior Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) rushed for a season-high 163 yards and scored on a 75-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to lead the way. Junior Jerrell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) added two touchdowns and 105 yards rushing in the game highlighted by a 50-yard TD run of his own in the fourth quarter.

THE BULLDOGS

The Bulldogs come into the game with a balanced offense that is averaging 173.9 yards rushing per game and 158.6 yards passing. Quarterback Jay Graber has completed 136 of 240 pass attempts (56.7 percent) for 1,516 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior Ross Giffune has been his primary target this season. The senior from Foxboro, MA has 25 catches for 281 yards. In the backfield, the Bulldogs have a powerful one-two punch of juniors Jerrell Smith and Lindsey Gamble. Smith went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season against Iona and enters Saturday's game with 1,104 yards rushing this season (110.5 yards per game) while Gamble is next with 738 yards and team-best 7 touchdowns. Defense has been steady all season long. The Bulldogs are giving up just 105.8 yards rushing per game. Junior linebacker Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) has a team-best 63 tackles and three interceptions while defensive back Bryce Martins (Uncasville, CT) is next with 58 trackls. Defensive end Don Smith (Attleboro, MA) has 42 tackles on the year including 10 for a loss and team-best 7 1/2 sacks.

THE RED FLASH OF SAINT FRANCIS PA

Saint Francis will be looking for its first win of the season as the Red Flash are 0-10 on the year after falling to Robert Morris, 35-20 at home last weekend. The Red Flash led the Colonials 20-14 heading into the fourth quarter but Robert Morris would score 21 unanswered points to pull out the win. Jude Yearwood rushed for a career-high 106 yards on 27 carries while junior quarterback George Little completed 10 of 24 pass attempts for 167 yards. But four fumbles in the game hurt the hosts chances. Standout linebacker Scott Lewis had 11 tackles and two sacks. The sophomore leads the team with 130 tackles on the year. Earlier this season, he was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week with 23 tackles against Wagner. Last year, he was named the 2007 ECAC Rookie of the Year and NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned First Team All-NEC honors.

TALE OF THE TAPE Bryant SFPA

Scoring Offense 21.6 12.5

Scoring Defense 22.9 33.4

Rushing Offense 173.9 73.6

Rushing Defense 105.8 190.9

Passing Offense 158.6 187.4

Passing Defense 258.7 157.9

Total Offense 332.5 261.0

Total Defense 364.5 348.8

THE COACHES

Bryant coach Marty Fine is in his fifth season coaching the Bulldogs. Since his first year in Smithfield in 2004, Fine owns a coaching record of 33-18. Saint Francis PA coach Dave Opfar is 15-49 in seven seasons. He is a 1983 graduate of Penn State.

TALKING POINTS

*Bryant is tied for first nationally with 27 take-aways

*Bryant is 7-15 all-time in month of November / 5-5 under coach Fine

* Bryant clinched a winning record in the team's 23-7 win over Iona last week.

* Bryant has surpassed last year's sack total of 25 with 27 this season

* This Saturday's game will be the latest Bryant has played a football game in November

* This will be the first trip to the state of Pennsylvannia for a game. So far, Bryant is 2-0 this season against teams from PA (wins over Robert Morris and Duquesne) and 2-1 all-time, losing to Gannon (Erie) at home to end the 2003 season.

* Bryant has two players from Pennsylvania:Sophomore offensive lineman Randall Angel (Emmaus / Avon Old Farms) and junior linebacker Dan Weaver (Bloomfield / West Perry).

* Bryant's 260 pass attempts is the third-most in a season behind 296 (2005) and 275 last year in 2007.

* Bryant's 143 completions is also third all-time behind 168 (2007) and 159 (2005).

* Bryant's 16 field goals attempted this year is a school record and the 9 made field goals ties the school record set in 1999.

ABOUT THOSE SACKS VS. ROBERT MORRIS

Bryant's eight sacks against Robert Morris is the fourth-best single game performance in FCS this season, tying Northern Arizona's eight against Sacramento State. Bryant also had six against Wagner earlier this season and have 22 on the year. Senior rush end Don Smith (Attleboro, MA) has a team-best five. He has 7.5 in his career, moving him up to fifth all-time in school history. Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) and Pat Gauthier (Woonsocket, RI) each have three. Gauthier was named to the Boston Herald Weekly Honor Roll for his three-sack performance against Robert Morris.

BRYANT VS. DIVISION I

Bryant is currently 4-6 all-time vs. Division I-AA teams earning the school's first win over a Division I opponent back on Sept. 27 at Wagner. Bryant is in its first season competing in Division I. The Bulldogs are independent during their four-year transition year and will join the Northeast Conference (NEC) once the transition is complete in the fall of 2012.

Date Opponent Score W/L Att.

9/9/00 at Sacred Heart 15-19 L 2,173

8/31/02 at Rhode Island 0-28 L 3,346

10/27/07 at Stony Brook 0-30 L 2,238

8/30/08 at Central Conn. 35-42 L 3,218

9/20/08 MONMOUTH 17-30 L 2,107

9/27/08 at Wagner 24-14 W 1,467

10/11/08 at Marist 7-34 L 2,347

10/18/08 ROBERT MORRIS 20-7 W 5,630

10/25/08 at #17 UMass 7-42 L 12,521

11/1/08 DUQUESNE 24-10 W 2,104

11/15/08 at Iona 23-7 W 483

The Bulldogs are 18-2 at home in regular season games in the past four seasons and posted a 4-1 record at home in 2008. The Bulldogs were 4-0 last season and 5-1 in 2006. Before the loss to Monmouth, the previous loss was a 24-21 defeat to C.W. Post in 2006. The Bulldogs fell to West Chester in the NCAA Playoffs that same year.

MAKING THE GRADE

Senior punter Brian Donnelly (East Dennis, MA) is one of 164 semifinalists (FOR ALL DIVISIONS) for the 2008 National Football Foundation Draddy Trophy as a national scholar-athlete. The award recognizes individuals for academic success, football performance and community leadership. The finalists will be announced Oct. 29.

DEFENSIVE RANKINGS

While Bryant is currently listed among the transition schools in the NCAA statistics, the Bulldogs would rank in several categories defensively if listed among the rest of the FCS in the national team report.

Sacks T23rd 27

Turnovers Gained T5th 28

Turnover Margin 7th 1.30

Interceptions T18th 15

Rushing Defense 24th 107.4

10 YEARS OF FOOTBALL - BULLDOGS NEAR 100TH GAME

TEAM GETS 50TH ALL-TIME WIN

Bryant is celebrating its 10th season of varsity football this season. The Bulldogs, who fielded a club team in 1998, started its first varsity season in 1999. The win over Merrimack College back on Sept. 13 was Bryant's 50th all-time victory. Saturday's game is the 101st game in the history of Bryant football with the Bulldogs owning a 54-46 record.

FOOTBALL BANQUET DEC. 6

The Bryant football team will hold its annual Football Awards Banquet on Saturday, December 6 at 3 p.m. For more information, please contact the Bryant Athletics Marketing department at 401-232-6513.

CAREER MILESTONES:

* Chris Bird (Monument Beach, MA) needs 1 field goal to tie Peter DiMartino's all-time record of 15 career field goals (1999-01). Bird has made 14 of 25 in two seasons and is 7-for-14 this year.

* Bird is first all-time with 51 career PAT kicks. He has converted on 51 of 54 PATs in his career.

* Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) recently moved into second all-time with 21 career touchdowns. Lorenzo Perry holds the record with 36.

* Gamble is also second all-time with 126 career points (Perry is first with 228).

* Jerell Smith's (Brooklyn , NY) and Gamble are No. 3 and No. 4 respectively all-time with 1,723 and 1,706 career rushing yards.

* Quarterback Jay Graber (Clarksburg, NJ) has the school's top pass completion percentage at 57.4 percent (140-244-9). Charlie Granatell is close behind with 56.8 percent. Granatell is the all-time pass efficiency leader at 129.2.

* Anthony DiNaso's (Staten Island, NY) four catches vs. Iona pulls him in tie for fifth all-time with 39 career receptions.

* Bryce Martins (Uncasville, CT) needs only one more interception return yard to tie Chris Wohlheter with the most INT return yards in school history with 243. With eight INTs in his career, Martins need one to tie Wohlhter's 9 and three to tie Jesse Lewis's record of 11. Paul Polomski also has eight career INTs.

* Don Smith (Attleboro,MA) is currently tied for fifth all-time with 10 career sacks. Mark Gunther holds the record with 23.

CAREER RUSHING YARDS

Running backs Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) and Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) both moved up a pair of spots in Bryant's all-time career rushing list.

1. 3,521 Andre McLeod (2000-03)

2. 3,259 Lorenzo Perry (2005-06)

3. 1,723 Jerell Smith (2007-present)

4. 1,706 Lindsey Gamble (2006-pres.)

5. 1,555 Chris Peaks (2003-07)

CAREER ALL-PURPOSE YARDS

Running back Jerell Smith has been a utility man for the Bulldogs this season. In addition to his team-best 1,104 yards rushing, Smith has 53 yards receiving and 556 yards in kick returns.

1. 3,749 Andre McLeod (2000-03)

2. 3,650 Lorenzo Perry (2005-06)

3. 3,049 Jerell Smith (2007-present)