Football Visits Iona Saturday For 100th Game All-Time
November 6, 2008
BULLDOGS IDLE THIS WEEK; VISIT IONA NOVEMBER 15
Game 10 - Bryant (5-4) vs. Iona
(3-6)
November 13, 2008
BRYANT TRAVELS TO IONA SATURDAY FOR 100TH GAME
Game 10 - Bryant (5-4) vs. Iona (3-7)
DATE: Saturday, November 15, 2008
TIME: 1:00 pm EST
SITE: New Rochelle, NY
SERIES: First Meeting
COACHES: Bryant, Marty Fine, 5th year, 32-18; Iona coach Fred Mariani is 46-68 in his 11th season.
RECORDS: Bryant 5-4, Iona 3-7 (Bryant 1-3 away /Iona 2-3 home)
RADIO: WOON-AM 1240, www.bryantbulldogs.com. John McCarthy calls the live action.
After wrapping up a 3-1 record at home this year, the Bryant University football team wraps up the 2008 regular season with a pair of road games at Iona (Nov. 15) and St. Francis, PA (Nov. 22). Bryant, playing it's first season of Division I, brings a 5-4 record into the game. The Bulldogs are coming off a 24-10 win over Duquesne at home on Nov. 1 behind Jerell Smith's 129 yards rushing and two more defensive interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal the game. Quarterback Jay Graber completed 18 of 26 passes for 213 yards while Lindsey Gamble also ran very well, rushing for 94 yards on 21 carries including a 29-yard touchdown.
THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs come into the game with a balanced offense that is averaging 165.9 yards rushing per game and 161.7 yards passing. Quarterback Jay Graber has completed 125 of 220 pass attempts (56.8 percent) for 1,385 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 has 999 yards rushing this season (111.0 yards per game) while Gamble is next wtih 575 yards and team-best 6 touchdowns. Defense has been steady all season long. The Bulldogs are giving up just 104.6 yards rushing per game and currently tied for first nationally with 27 take-aways and own a plus-13 turnover margin. Last week, Bryant intercepted two Duquesne passes that led to scores. The first by Paul Polomski led to a field goal while Cheyenne Ray picked off a late fourth-quarter pass and returned it 29 yards for his first career touchdowns and seal the victory.
THE GAELS OF IONA COLLEGE
Iona fell to Stony Brook 68-7 at home last Saturday, one week after falling to Maine, 55-7 in Orono, ME. Jason Washington rushed for 67 yards while Warren Smith completed 7 of 17 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown. The Gaels are averaging only 93.8 yards per game rushing and giving up 297.9 per game. Quarterback Warren Smith has played in all eight games this season, completing 97 of 182 passes for 1091 yards and 8 touchdowns. Nick Rossetti has 959 yards passing in six games and 7 touchdowns. Tim Mastrino has 51 receptions for 577 yards and five touchdowns. Nick Groth is next with 33 catches for 410 yards and four TDs.
TALE OF THE TAPE Bryant Iona
Scoring Offense 21.4 20.3
Scoring Defense 24.7 39.7
Rushing Offense 165.9 93.8
Rushing Defense 104.6 297.9
Passing Offense 161.7 208.1
Passing Defense 257.2 187.3
Total Offense 327.6 301.9
Total Defense 361.8 485.2
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 32-18. Iona coach Fred Mariani is 46-68 in his 11th season at Iona.
TALKING POINTS
* Bryant is tied for first nationally with 27 take-aways
* Bryant is 6-15 all-time in month of November / 4-5 under coach Fine
* Iona has recorded only 9 sacks this season and allowing 298 yards rushing per game
* Jerell Smith needs 1 yard rushing for 1,000 for the season.
* Bryant equaled a school record with 8 sacks against Robert Morris, the most since recording 8 against Assumption in 2003. Bryant has 22 sacks this season and recorded 25 all last year.
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 3-6 all-time vs. Division I-AA teams coming into the UMass game, earned 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
HOME SWEET HOME
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.
BULLDOGS A BIG DRAW
Bryant, which led the Northeast-10 Conference in average attendance for four-straight seasons, filled the stands of Bulldog Stadium once again with a crowd of 5,630 - the second-most in school history - for Parents & Family Weekend on Saturday (Oct. 18) against Robert Morris. Earlier in the season, Bryant drew 5,530 fans at the Sept. 13 Homecoming & Reunion game. At the time, it was the second-largest in school history, just behind the 5,561 fans that showed up for Bryant's first-ever football game, a 30-14 win over Assumption in 1998. The total eclipsed last year's season-best of 5,434 against Stonehill.
No. Att: Opponent
1. 5,561 vs. Assumption (9/26/98)
2. 5,630 vs. Robert Morris (10/18/08)
2. 5,530 vs. Merrimack (9/13/08)
3. 5,434 vs. Stonehill (10/13/07)
4. 5,234 vs. West Chester (11/18/06)
5. 4,854 vs. Merrimack (9/19/06)
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 T13th 25
Turnovers Gained T1st 27
Turnover Margin 2nd 1.44
Interceptions T8th 14
Rushing Defense 22nd 104.6
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 100th game in the history of Bryant football with the Bulldogs owning a 53-46 record.
NEXT UP
Bryant will close out the year with a road game at Saint Francis (PA), at 1 pm.
BRYANT FOOTBALL ON WOON AM 1240
All 11 Bryant University football games will be heard live on WOON-AM 1240 this season. Fans can also listen in online at www.bryantbulldogs.com during the season. John McCarthy returns for his seventh season calling the action. The WOON-AM 1240 signal reaches throughout Northwestern Rhode Island, reaching south to North Providence and Pawtucket and as far as Bellingham, Attleboro, Mansfield, and Milford, Massachusetts. Don't forget to tune into the Marty Fine Coaches Show each Wednesday night at 6 pm.
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.
MILESTONES:
* Chris Bird (Monument Beach, MA) needs 2 field goals to tie Peter DiMartino's all-time record of 15 career field goals (1999-01). Bird has made 13 of 26 in two seasons and is 6-for-13 this year.
* Bird is first all-time with 49 career PAT kicks.
* Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) needs 2 touchdowns to move into second all-time with 21.
* Lindsey Gamble's touchdown run was the 20th of his career, tying him for second all-time in school history. Lorenzo Perry rushed for 36 during his career from 2005-06.
* Jerell Smith's 129 yards moves him into third all-time in school history with 1,618 career rushing yards. Smith now has 999 yards rushing this season, needing just one more to reach 1,000 for the season.
* Quarterback Jay Graber has the school's top pass completion percentage at 57.6 percent (129-224-8). Charlie Granatell is close behind with 56.8 percent. Granatell is the all-time pass efficiency leader at 129.2.
* Jarett Solimando needs just 4 yards to move into sixth all-time in receiving yards. The senior has 463.
* Paul Polomski's interception in the fourth quarter was the 8th in his career, tying him with teammate Bryce Martins for third all-time. Jesse Lewis holds the career record with 11 from 2001-04. Chris Wohlheter (2004-07) is second with 9.
* Polomski needs three tackles to move into 6th all-time in total tackles. The junior has 182 tackles, trailing Scott Murphy (1999-02) by two (184).
* Don Smith's fourth quarter sack gives him 8 1/2 for his career.
BULLDOGS ON WOON-AM 1240
All 11 Bryant University football games will be heard live on
WOON-AM 1240 this season. Fans can also listen in online at
www.bryantbulldogs.com during the season. John McCarthy
returns for his seventh season calling the action. He'll be
joined by Patrick Sullivan who will provide color analysis.
The WOON-AM 1240 signal reaches throughout Northwestern Rhode
Island, reaching south to North Providence and Pawtucket and as far
as Bellingham, Attleboro, Mansfield, and Milford,
Massachusetts. In addition, the station will air the Marty
Fine Coaches Show on Wednesday night starting at 6 p.m. The
half-hour call-in show will take a look at this week's opponent as
well as a look back at last week's game.
