September 8, 2008
BULLDOGS HOST MERRIMACK SATURDAY AT 1 PM
Game 3 - Bryant (1-1) vs. Merrimack (1-0)
WJMF 88.7 BROADCAST
/ WOON AM-1240
/ PENN
ATLANTIC (VIDEO)
DATE: Saturday, September 13, 2008
TIME: 1:00 pm EST
SITE: Bulldog Stadium (3,400), Smithfield, RI
SERIES: 6-3 Merrimack
COACHES: Bryant, Marty Fine, 5th year, 28-15; Merrimack, John
Perry, 1st year, 1-0
RECORDS: Bryant 1-1, Merrimack 1-0
RADIO: WOON-AM 1240, www.bryantbulldogs.com. John
McCarthy calls the live action with Pat Sullivan providing
analysis.
For the first time this season, the Bryant University football
team will play a team from a state other than Connecticut this
weekend when the Bulldogs host former Northeast-10 Conference rival
Merrimack College Saturday afternoon for Homecoming & Reunion
Weekend. Bryant (1-1) is coming off a big 39-36 win over a
tough Southern Connecticut team last Saturday at Bulldog
Stadium. Junior Jerell Smith rushed for a career-high 221
yards in the win for the Bulldogs. Merrimack (1-0) opened its
season with a convincing 42-7 win over Division III Husson College
last weekend.
THE BRYANT - MERRIMACK SERIES
This will be the 10th meeting all-time between Bryant and Merrimack
College this afternoon. The Warriors lead the overall series,
six games to three, but Bryant has won the last two matchups
including a thrilling 37-34 overtime victory last season in North
Andover, MA. The Bulldogs defeated Merrimack 34-7 the last
time the Warriors visited Bulldog Stadium back in 2006. That
matchup was also on Homecoming & Reunion Weekend.
Last year's meeting was a break-out game for Lindsey Gamble. The
Bulldog running back rushed for a career-best 177 yards including
the game-winner.
LOOKING AT THE WARRIORS
Merrimack is coming off a 42-7 win in the first game for coach John
Perry as coach of the Warriors. Quarterback Kurt Leone threw
for 334 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Leone
threw three TD's in the first quarter alone as the Warriors led
35-0 at the half and cruised from there. Receiver Chris Laham
caught 11 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns as the Warrior
defense held Husson to just 99 yards rushing and 75 yards passing.
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 28-15. Merrimack coach John Perry, a
former star at the University of New Hampshire, is in his first
season at Merrimack. He is 1-0 entering today's game.
He was an associate head coach at UNH last season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bulldogs are 15-1 at home in regular season games in
the past four seasons. The Bulldogs were 4-0 last season and
5-1 in 2006. The lone 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.
10 YEARS OF BULLDOG FOOTBALL
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. Saturday's game is
the 93rd game in the history of Bryant football with the Bulldogs
owning a 49-43 record.
SMITH RUNS WILD IN WIN OVER SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT LAST
WEEK
Junior running back Jerell Smith rushed for a career-best
221 yards on 34 carries in Bryant's hard-fought 39-36 win over
Southern Connecticut last Saturday. Smith, a transfer from
Howard University, helped the Bulldogs overcome a fourth quarter
deficit with a pair of rushing touchdowns while also adding 83
yards of kick returns. Quarterback Jay Graber completed 13 of
25 passes for 164 yards and threw a pair of TDs. But it was
the defense that came through down the stretch as Paul Polomski's
fourth quarter interception helped seal the victory. The
Bulldogs did a magnificent job in holding Southern's star running
back Jarom Freeman to just 70 yards rushing. Bryce Martins
had 11 tackles in the game. Bryant forced Southern
Connecticut into seven turnovers in the game. Smith's 221
yards is the seventh-best single game rushing total, tying him with
Lorenzo Perry who rushed for 221 against Assumption in 2005.
MILESTONES:
Junior running back Lindsey Gamble went over the 1,000-yard mark
against Central Connecticut in the season opener August 30.
He becomes the sixth player in school history to reach 1,000 yards
in his career. Teammate Jerell Smith is now 7th all-time with
933 yards, needing just 67 yards to reach 1,000. Kicker Chris Bird,
who missed his first PA attempt in his career against Southern
(39-for-40 all-time), is second all-time with nine field
goals. The sophomore, who set a school record with a
46-yarder against Central Connecticut, trails all-time leader Peter
DiMartino's record of 15 career field goals.
CAREER RUSHING YARDS
1.
3,521 Andre
McLeod (2000-03)
2.
3,259 Lorenzo
Perry (2005-06)
3.
1,555 Chris
Peaks (2003-07)
4.
1,335 Austin
Martin (1999-00)
5.
1,272 Tony
Granieri (1999-02
6.
1,049 Lindsey
Gamble (2006-pres.)
7.
933
Jerell Smith (2007-present)
THEY'LL BE JUST FINE
If there is anyone who knows what it takes to compete at the
highest level, it's Bryant's fifth-year coach Marty Fine.
Fine came to Bryant in 2004 after coaching at Iowa State and
Indiana University. In fact, Fine has coached at all levels.
Prior to his stint at Indiana (1996-2000) where he coached the
offensive line and special teams, Fine was the offensive line coach
at Colgate (1995-96), offensive coordinator at Indiana State
(1990-95), and head coach at Navy Prep and Sonoma State (1987-88).
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINES
Coach Fine added several new faces to his staff this
offseason. Defensive line coach Chris Woods was previously at
Harvard and was the head coach at Mansfield and Stonehill College.
Wide receivers coach Mark DeBrito comes to Bryant from Bentley
College. Offensive line coach Joel Rodriguez was an assistant
at Mississippi and was a standout player at the University of Miami
and played for the Tennessee Titans. Defensive backs coach Chad
Walker coached with Nick Saban at LSU and the Miami Dolphins.
Graduate assistant Tom Woznicki joined the program this summer
after concluding his career at Yale.
NEXT UP
Bryant will host future Northeast Conference foe Monmouth College
follows on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs will visit Wagner and
Marist before returning back to Bulldog Stadium to face Robert
Morris for Parents & Family Weekend October 18.
BULLDOGS ON WOON-AM 1240
All eleven 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.
THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
While Bryant will be playing a majority of Northeast Conference
schools in the next couple of years, the Bulldogs won't become
official members until the fall of 2012 when the school's four-year
reclassification process towards Division I membership is
complete. Central Connecticut was picked to finish third
overall with Albany and Monmouth picked to finished first and
second in the preseason coaches' poll. Albany, one of just
two NEC schools Bryant won't play this year, garnered five
first-place votes after an undefeated conference record last
year. The Danes are searching for their fourth conference
title. Five-time champion Monmouth earned two first-place
votes with CCSU earning one first-place vote.
2008 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
1. Albany (5)
2. Monmouth (2)
3. Central Connecticut (1)
4. Wagner
5. Duquesne
6. Robert Morris
7. Sacred Heart
8. Saint Francis (PA)
PLAY CALLING RIGHT ON THE MONEY
If the Bulldogs were looking for a balanced attack offensively,
they sure got it against Central Connecticut. Bryant rushed
the ball 37 times for 134 yards and passed the ball 37 times for
216 yards in the game.
TOUGH MAN IN THE POCKET
Senior quarterback Jay Graber played a solid game in his first-ever
game as a starter against Central Connecticut. The transfer from
Hofstra completed 19 of 36 passes for 216 yards and threw three
touchdowns. Two of his touchdown passes were to Mike Canfora
for touchdown strikes of 15 and 20. Graber hit eight
different receivers in the game with Canfora and South each
finishing with four receptions.
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
The backfield duo a junior running backs Jerell Smith and Lindsey
Gamble helped move the Bulldog offense in the opener vs. Central
Connecticut. The pair combined for 174 of the team's 134
yards with Smith finishing with 93 yards including a long of
32. With Gamble out of the lineup against Southern
Connecticut, Smith picked things up with a career-high 221 yards
against the Owls.
SOUTH CATCHES ON
Junior receiver Vinton South caught four passes for 57 yards
against Central Connecticut in the opener. South scored
Bryant's first Division I touchdown by hauling in a 24-yarder from
Graber with 2:41 left in the first quarter pulling the
Bulldogs to within 21-10. South would haul in a two-point
conversion from Graber with 12:41 left in the fourth, tying the
game up at 21-21. South had three catches for 64 yards
including a 48-yarder against Southern Connecticut last week.
SACK CITY
Despite the high August humidity at Central Connecticut, the Bryant
defense clamped down on a speedy Central Connecticut offense in the
opener, holding the Blue Devils scoreless in the third
quarter. With strong play from the Gauthier twins, Andre
Whyte, Michael Morgan, Don Smith, Dan Curci, Paul Polomski and
company, the Bulldogs registered four sacks in the game.
SCORING DRIVES IN 2008
Opponent Plays-Yds Time Type Scoring Play
CCSU 7-61 1:43 FG Bird 37 yd FG
CCSU 5-58 1:36 TD South 24 yd eception
CCSU 4-36 0:56 FG Bird 46 yd FG
CCSU 9-68 3:29 TD Canfora 15
yd reception
CCSU 3-16 1:11 TD Gamble 1 yd run
CCSU 8-70 2:48 TD Canfora 20 yd reception
SCSU 5-41 2:32 TD Solimando 15 yd reception
SCSU 8-61 1:37 TD Canfora 1 yd run
SCSU 5-33 1:51 TD Branch 6 yd reception
SCSU 3-54 0:48 TD Smith 10 yd run
SCSU 3-19 1:03 TD Smith 5 yd run
SCSU 5-23 2:04 TD Canfora 1 yd run
THE BULLDOGS in 2008
The Bulldogs return six starters on offense and five on
defense from last year's squad that went 8-3. The big holes to fill
will be at quarterback where Charlie Granatell graduates after
starting every game since his freshman year in 2004. Sean Bergin,
who along with Granatell graduated this past spring, was the
quarterback's main go-to receiver in '07, setting a school record
with 46. The defense lost two key defensive linemen to
graduation, but the linebackers are all back along with two
starters in the secondary, Bryce Martins and Michael Morgan.
OFFENSE
Jay Graber will be the starting quarterback heading into the
season. A transfer from Hofstra, the senior was the backup
the last two seasons, seeing limited action. Junior Kurt
Spear is the backup. The running back position strong, thanks to
the return of juniors Lindsey Gamble and Jerell Smith. Gamble
led the Bulldogs with 941 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns while
Smith added 619 yards on the ground. Smith is a transfer from
Howard University. The offensive line has starters John Tashjian
(center), Jacob Meyers, and Pete Krafka back. Ryan Buckley is
the veteran receiver (10 catches in '07) while sophomore Anthony
DiNaso (18 catches) will look to use his speed to be the deep
threat.
DEFENSE
The defensive front is led by the Patrick and Peter Gauthier
brothers while defensive end Don Smith is due for a breakout year.
The Bulldogs graduated two key defensive linemen from last year but
the position looks healthy. Linebackers Dan Curci, Paul
Polomski and Nick Candito are back and give the team excellent
experience. Bryce Martins and Michael Morgan will be counted on
this year to come up big in the secondary.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Bryant has all three kickers back this year: Brian Donnelly
(punter), Chris Bird (place kicking) and Karl Turner
(kickoffs). Donnelly was second in the Northeast-10
Conference a year ago with 38.0 yards per punt average. Bird made 7
of 11 field goals and was a perfect 33-for-33 on PATs.
