IT'S GAME DAY ! BULLDOG FOOTBALL VS. WAGNER 1 PM
Ocotber 3, 2009
BRYANT FOOTBALL GAME DAY
BRYANT FOOTBALL HOSTS WAGNER TODAY AT 1 PM
Wagner Seahawks (2-2, 1-0 NEC) at Bryant Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0
NEC)
GAME
NOTES pdf
LIVE RADIO (WOON 1240
AM)
LIVE
VIDEO (www.bryantbulldogs.tv)
LIVE
STATS
BULLDOGS BACK HOME
The Bulldogs return home this afternoon hosting Wagner
College in a Northeast Conference game. The Bulldogs look to
move to 2-0 in league play after opening with an impressive 20-13
win on the road at Robert Morris last Saturday. Bryant is
currently 1-1 at home this season and 20-7 at home during the past
five years. In addition, the Bulldogs boast a perfect 5-0
record on Homecoming & Reunion Weekend under coach Marty Fine.
Last year, Bryant defeated Merrimack 20-7 on Homecoming before
5,530 fans. Wagner (2-2, 1-0 NEC) makes its first-ever visit to
Smithfield, RI this afternoon as the Seahawks take a 2-2 record
into today's game with Bryant. Last week, Wagner downed Saint
Francis (PA), 56-48 in three overtimes on Staten Island, NY.
BIG WIN AGAINST FOR THE BULLDOGS LAST WEEK AT RMU
Trailing 10-0 after one quarter, the Bulldogs scored 20
unanswered points en route to a 20-13 win over Robert Morris in
Moon Township, Pa. For Bryant, it was the school's first
victory in NEC competition. Senior running back Jerell Smith rushed
for 111 yards on 24 carries, marking the eighth time in Smith's
career with 100 yards rushing in a game. Quarterback Mike Croce
completed 14 of 25 passes for 182 yards and a pair of touchdown
passes. Croce hooked up with senior wide receiver Khalel Pritchard
with a nine-yard touchdown strike midway through the second quarter
to pull the Bulldogs to within 10-7. A 28-yard field goal by
Chris Bird early in the third tied the game at 10-10 but a 21-yard
field goal by Bird at the start of the fourth quarter finally put
the Bulldogs in front, 13-10. Later in the fourth,
Croce and the Bulldogs took advantage of another RMU turnover, this
time connecting with Mike Canfora for an 11-yard touchdown pass to
make it 20-10. Canfora finished the game with a career-high six
receptions for 75 yards. Bryant had 344 yards of total
offense while the defense held RMU to just 167 yards all
together. Jason Riffe led the defensive effort for Bryant,
finishing with a career-best nine tackles including a pair for a
loss and one sack .
LOOKING AT WAGNER COLLEGE
Wagner comes into Saturday's game with a 2-2 overall
record and 1-0 record in NEC play. The Seahawks opened the year
with a 45-42 loss to Division II Stonehill College at home on Sept.
5, but rebounded with a 41-10 win over SUNY-Maritime a week later
on the road. After falling at North Dakota State, 59-28 in
Fargo, ND, the Seahawks bounced back with an incredible 56-48
triple-overtime win over Saint Francis (PA) last weekend. SFU
blew a 24-7 lead in the third quarter as Wagner quarterback Nick
Doscher scored twice to help pull hosts to within 28-31 with just
over five minutes to go. Wagner would regain the lead thanks
to a Frantz Placide punt return for a touchdown to put the Seahawks
up by three, 34-31. The ensuing point after failed and
it would prove costly as Saint Francis kicker Josh Thiel booted a
20-yard field goal with no time on the clock to tie the game and
force overtime. Wagner would prevail in the third extra
period thanks to a Dominique Williams 17-yard touchdown run.
Wagner Stat Leaders:
Rushing
Dominque Williams (Fr., 5-9,
200)
48-376 yards, 7 TD, Ave. 94.0 ypg
Passing
Tyler Newberry (Jr., 6-3,
210) 3 GP, 26-44-2 INT, 3
TD, 377 yards, 125.7 ypg
Nick Doscher (Fr., 6-1,
220)
4???GP, 23-37-3 INT, 1 TD, 277 yards, 69.2 ypg
Receiving
Lon Woods (Sr, 6-0,
180)
14-272 yards, 19.4 ypc, 2 TD, 68.0 ypg
TALE OF THE TAPE Bryant WAGNER
Scoring Offense 21.0 40.8
Scoring Defense 21.0 41.5
Rushing Offense 146.3 179.0
Rushing Defense 111.0 221.5
Passing Offense 186.7 163.5
Passing Defense 189.3 158.3
Total Offense 333.0 342.5
Total Defense 300.3 377.2
THE COACHES
Bryant coach Marty Fine, now in his sixth season, comes into today's game with a 36-19 record since arriving at Bryant in 2004. He has led the Bulldogs to four consecutive winning seasons including an impressive 7-4 campaign in 2008, Bryant's first at the Division I level. Fine led the Bulldogs to back-to-back conference championships and NCAA playoff appearances in 2006 and 2007. Wagner coach Walt Hameline is one of the most successful coaches in NCAA history. Now in his 29th season, he is currently tied for sixth among active Division I FCS coaches with 191 victories. A graduate of Brockport, Hameline coached three teams that qualified for the NCAA playoffs including the 1987 NCAA Division III Championship team.
QUICK HITS
* Today's game with Wagner is the 105th game in the Bryant football history (57-47 overall) and 15th competing at the Division I level.
* With last week's win over Robert Morris, Bryant is now 4-0 against NEC schools from the state of Pennsylvania.
* Bryant defeated Wagner 24-14 last year for the program's first victory against a Division I opponent.
* Mike Croce has completed 50.6 percent of his passes and has thrown just one interception in 86 pass attempts. He has 560 yards passing and six touchdowns after three games.
* Mike Canfora is Bryant's leading receiver. The running back caught a career-best six passes last week against Robert Morris.
* Freshman Jordan Brown is averaging 20.7 yards per kickoff return. He has a season-best long return of 31 yards.
* Linebacker Franck Tebou leads the team with 19 tackles while nose tackle Andrew Regan is next with 18.
*Defensive end Don Smith has three sacks this season. He needs two sacks to move past Jay Stahl for fourth all-time in school history. Smith has 13.5 entering today's game.
* Bryant has just one rushing touchdown this season (Jerell Smith 4yds vs. Hofstra)
* Chris Bird moved past Pete DiMartino Saturday at Robert Morris for first-place all-time with 59 career PATs.
LAST YEAR VS. WAGNER
It was a memorable trip to Staten Island for the Bulldogs
in 2008 as running back Jerell Smith rushed for 143 yards and the
Bryant defense held Wagner to 219 yards in earning a 24-14 win over
the Seahawks on a rainy afternoon. But more importantly, the
victory marked the program's first against a Division I team.
Trailing 7-0, the Bulldogs pulled even with the Seahwaks as Anthony
Castelli scooped up an Andre Whyte blocked punt and returned it for
a touchdown to make it 7-7. Lindsey Gamble would soon follow
with a touchdown run and Anthony DiNaso added a touchdown reception
to lead the way.
GREAT DEFENSIVE EFFORT AGAINST SOUTHERN
Led by sophomore linebacker Franck Tebou, the Bryant
defense held a potent Southern Connecticut offense to just 267
yards of offense including 108 yards rushing. SCSU senior
tailback Jarom Freeman, who ran for 400 yards in a game against
Bryant two years ago, managed just 75 yards on 17 carries in the
game. Tebou led the Bulldogs with a career-best 10 tackles
including six solo stops. Andrew Regan added seven tackles
while senior Paul Polomski and junior Addison Lynch each had five.
SMITH GOES FOR 2,000
Senior runningback Jerell Smith, who is now in his third
season at Bryant after transferring from Howard, became the third
player in school history to go over the 2,000 yard mark in rushing
in a career. He is curently third on Bryant's all-time career
rushing list (program is only in its 11th year) behind Andre McLeod
(3,521) and Lorenzo Perry (3,259). Smith had 121 yards
against Southern Connecticut in the opener and finished with 48
against Hofstra to give him 2,042 for his career. He reached
the 2,000 mark with an 11-yard run on the team's first drive in the
first quarter. Last week against Robert Morris, Smith had
another big game, rushing for 111 yards on 24 carries.
MORE ABOUT THE RECLASSIFICATION
Bryant, located in Smithfield, Rhode Island (7 miles NW
of Providence), is currently in year number two of reclassifying
from Division II to full-time Division I (Football Championship
Subdivision in football) for all of its 22 intercollegiate
sports. Upon completion of the four-year transition
(2012-13), Bryant will become a full-time member of the Northeast
Conference (NEC). This year, Bryant will be included in the NEC
standings for all sports and eligible for weekly honors, however,
Bryant will not be eligible for postseason play in all sports
except field hockey and men's lacrosse which will be eligible for
postseason play in 2010-11. Bryant enjoyed tremendous success
at the Division II level, winning two Northeast-10 Conference
Championships in football and earning back-to-back NCAA playoff
appearances (2006, 2007).
CROCE LOOKING LIKE A VETERAN
Sophomore quarterback Mike Croce (pronounced CROW-ce),
who transferred from Merrimack College last year, looked strong in
his first career start for the Bulldogs, completing 68.2 of his
passes for 169 yards. So far this season, the signal-caller has
completed 43 of 86 passes (50.6 percent) with just one interception
thrown.
Game C-A-I Pct. Yards TD Long
So. Conn 15-22-0 68.2 169 2 36
Hofstra 14-38-1 36.8 209 2 57
RMU 14-25-0 56.0 172 2 34
Totals 43-85-1 50.6 560 6 57
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bulldogs are 20-7 at home over the past five seasons
and 20-6 in regular season games since 2004. The Bulldogs fell to
West Chester in the 2006 NCAA playoffs at Bulldog Stadium.
Bryant was 3-1 at home in 2008.
2004 - 2-3
2005 - 5-0
2006 - 5-2 (including NCAA playoff loss to West Chester)
2007- 4-0
2008 - 3-1
2009 - 1-1
Total 20-7
NEW LOCKER ROOMS FOR THE BULLDOGS
During this past summer, Bulldog Stadium underwent a locker room expansion project that included a new expansive football locker room. The locker room includes new wood lockers, common area, coaches locker room, and LCD televisions. In addition, a new men's lacrosse locker room was built. The previous locker rooms were remodeled during the project, providing new locker rooms for Bryant's field hockey, women's lacrosse and women's soccer. The field hockey locker room will serve as lockers for visiting teams.
NEC PRESEASON POLL 2009
Eligible for the first time in the Northeast Conference
standings, the Bryant University football team has been tabbed to
finish seventh in 2009 following the announcement of the preseason
coaches' poll. Defending champion Albany is the preseason
favorite for the fourth year in a row. The Danes, an
associate member of the league in football, won their fourth
conference championship going a perfect 7-0 (9-3 overall) in NEC
play. Bryant will travel to Albany on Oct. 17.
Monmouth, last year's runners up, were picked to finish second
followed by Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart.
1. Albany
2. Monmouth
3. Central Connecticut
4. Sacred Heart
5. Robert Morris
6. Duquesne
7. BRYANT
8. Wagner
9. Saint Francis (PA)
