October 26, 2009
Weekly Game Notes (pdf) / Live Stats / Listen Live!
BRYANT FOOTBALL TRAVELS TO MONMOUTH SATURDAY LOOKING TO
SNAP THREE-GAME SKID; KICKOFF AT 1 PM
The Bryant University football team looks to snap a
three-game losing skid, the first such streak under coach Marty
Fine and first since the end of the 2003 season, this Saturday
afternoon when the Bulldogs visit Monmouth University for a 1 pm
kickoff in West Long Branch, N.J. The game will be carried
live on WOON 1240 AM with John McCarthy and Robb Garafalo. Bryant
(3-4, 2-2 NEC) is coming off a tough 24-23 loss at home to a
talented Central Connecticut team last Saturday at Bulldog
Stadium. Monmouth, which defeated Bryant 30-17 in Smithfield,
R.I. last season for the Bulldogs' only loss at home on the year,
is coming off a 35-10 loss at home to Albany.
The Hawks (3-4, 2-2 NEC) finished second in the conference last year with a 6-1 record and are led by fifth-year senior and last year's NEC Offensive Player of the Year in running back David Sinisi who became the Northeast Conference's all-time career rushing leader with 84 yards rushing against Albany. The Bulldogs will travel to Sacred Heart next weekend before returning home Nov. 14 to host Saint Francis (PA) for Senior Day at Bulldog Stadium.
QUICK HITS
* Saturday's game with Monmouth is the 109th game in the Bryant football history (58-50 overall) and 19th competing at the Division I level.
* Bryant has now dropped three-straight for the first time under coach Marty Fine. The three-game skid is the first since the final three games of the 2003 season.
* Bryant is now 22-8 at home under coach Marty Fine (since 2004) and 13-7 in the month of October under coach Fine.
* The combined record of Bryant's last three opponents - 15-7 (Albany 6-2, Cent. Conn 6-1, Fordham 3-4). The combined record of Bryant's final four opponents are 8-22.
* Bryant is 10 for 26 on fourth-down this year. Last year, Bryant was 6 of 18 for the entire season.
* Bryant has missed four extra-point attempts this year (9-13). The Bulldogs missed six all of last year (21-27).
* The three sacks by Bryant was the fifth game this year with three sacks in a game.
* Mike Canfora equaled a career-high with 6 receptions. The junior running back had six against Robert Morris.
* Jordan Brown's 59-yard punt return in the first quarter against Central Connecticut to the Blue Devils' 6-yard line was not only the longest of the season but helped set up a 6-yard TD pass from Mike Croce to Canfora that gave Bryant a 10-7 lead. The school record for longest punt return is 84 yards by Larry Bynum that went for a touchdown against Bentley in 1999. The longest non-scoring punt return is 67 yards by Chris Wohlheter against Pace in 2007.
* The 58 rushing attempts by Central Connecticut were the most by an opponent this season.
* Jerell Smith's touchdown was the 14th of his career, tying him for fifth all-time in school history for rushing touchdowns. It was also the fourth rushing touchdown of the year for Bryant - all by Smith.
* Smith now has 2,542 career rushing years.
* Mike Croce went over the 1,000-yard passing mark for the season. He came into Saturday's game needing just one yard to reach the mark. He has now completed 102 of 202 passes for 1,139 yards and 9 touchdowns. He has thrown just one interception in 203 attempts.
* Sophomore Samad Wagstaff recorded his seventh career interception, tying him with Che Perez for fifth all-time. Jesse Lewis has the school record with 11.
* Paul Polomski moved into second all-time Saturday with 209 career tackles. He is currently just 18 behind all-time leader Greg Wolyniec with 227.
* Aaron Bryant's 13 tackles marked the second-straight game the senior transfer from UConn registered 13 tackles in a game. Against Central Connecticut, Bryant had a sack, nine solo tackles (4 assisted), three tackles for a loss, one blocked punt and two quarterback hurries.
* Mike Croce threw for a career-best 234 yards against Albany, completed 62.9 percent (22 of 35) passes without an interception. He has thrown just one interception all season (vs. Hofstra in week 2). His previous best was 209 yards against Hofstra. Croce has 999 yards passing this season.
* Jason Riffe's 14 tackles against Albany were a season-best and ties him for the fifth-most in school history. The school record is 16 held by Greg Daniel and Greg Wolyniec.
* Don Smith recorded his 15th career sack against Albany, moving him to within a half-sack of Jay Stahl who is fourth all-time with 15.5.
LOOKING AT MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY HAWKS
This will be the second meeting all-time between Bryant
and Monmouth on the gridiron as the Hawks downed the Bulldogs 30-17
in Smithfield, R.I. last year. The Hawks were 7-4 overall last year
and finished second in the conference with a 6-1 mark. This year,
Monmouth is tied with Bryant for fourth in the conference standings
with a 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Northeast Conference. Last
week, Monmouth fell to first-place Albany 35-10 at home but the
story of the game was David Sinisi who became the Northeast
Conference's all-time career rushing leader in the game. The
2008 NEC???Offensive Player of the Year, Sinisi passed Wagner's
Rick Sarille (1996-99) career mark of 4,460 yards rushing with 84
yards against Albany. The Hawks rank fourth in the conference
with 155.4 yards rushing per game and third with 177.3 yards
through the air. Quarterback Kyle Frazier is second in the
NEC in passing efficiency at 152.0. The sophomore has completed 81
of 121 passes for 989 yards. He has six touchdown passes and
has not been intercepted once this season.
2009 MONMOUTH SCHEDULE
Record: 3-4, 2-2 NEC
Sept. 5 at Colgate 23-35 L
Sept. 12 at Coastal Carolina 17-24 L
Sept. 19 DUQUESNE* 17-10 W
Sept. 26 at Old Dominon * 31-28 W
Oct. 10 WAGNER * 24-27 L
Oct. 17 at Sacred Heart * 42-20 W
Oct. 24 ALBANY * 10-35 L
Oct. 31 BRYANT * 1 pm
Nov. 7 at Saint Francis (PA)* 1 pm
Nov. 14 at Central Connecticut * 12 pm
Nov. 21 ROBERT MORRIS * 12 pm
* NEC game
TALE OF THE TAPE Bryant Monmouth
Scoring Offense 16.6 23.4
Scoring Defense 20.6 25.6
Rushing Offense 127.3 155.4
Rushing Defense 142.7 163.4
Passing Offense 164.6 177.3
Passing Defense 164.4 233.9
Total Offense 291.9 332.7
Total Defense 307.1 397.3
BRYANT Stat Leaders:
Rushing
Jerell Smith (Sr., 5-9, 185) 140-734 yards, 4 TD, 5th in league with 95.6 ypg
Passing
Mike Croce (So., 5-11, 200) 102-202, 1139 yards, 9 TD, 1 INT, 2nd in NEC with 162.7 ypg
Receiving
Matt Tracey(Jr., 6-5, 250) 23-318 yards, 3 TD
Mike Canfora (Jr., 5-10, 180) 23-204, 2 TD, 1 TD passing (vs. Albany)
Khalel Pritchard (Sr., 5-9, 170) 18-272, 3 TD
Monmouth Stat Leaders:
Rushing
David Sinisi (Sr., 5-9, 200) 188-867 yards, 9 TD, long 52, 123.9 ypg
Passing
Kyle Frazier (So, 6-3, 210) 81-121, 989 yards, 6 TD, 141.3 ypg
Receiving
Ron Lauch (Sr., 6-6, 235) 23-323 yards, 2 TD, 46.1 ypg
THE COACHES
Bryant coach Marty Fine, now in his sixth season, comes
into Saturday's game with a 37-22 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. Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan is the only
coach in Monmouth football history. He is currently in his
17th season and is 99-70 all-time and has coached Monmouth to five
league titles.
LAST YEAR VS. MONMOUTH
Monmouth running back David Sinisi ran for 171 yards on 26
carries and two touchdowns as the Hawks downed the Bulldogs 30-17
before 2,107 at Bulldog Stadium last season. Lindsey Gamble
had 46 yards rushing for Bryant while Jerell Smith was held to 35
yards on only nine carries. Bryant had just 56 yards rushing
total in the game. Vinton South caught three passes for 41 yards as
quarterback Jay Graber passed for 261 yards and two touchdowns,
both to Jarett Solimando. Anthony DiNaso had 5 catches for 70
yards.
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ESCAPES 24-23 LAST WEEK
Sophomore quarterback Mike Croce completed 15 of 30
passes for 140 yards and two scores - including an impressive
scoring drive in the final seconds into a driving wind, but it was
not enough as visiting Central Connecticut escaped with a 24-23 win
over the Bulldogs on a rainy afternoon. Jerell Smith scored from 13
yards out early in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 17-17 with
12:22 remaining. CCSU's James Mallory scored on a
1-yard dive over the goal line to put the Blue Devils up 24-17 with
only 47 seconds remaining.
Bryant would rally with a late drive as Croce hit tight end Matt Tracey in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 24-23 with 9 seconds remaining. The extra point attempt, however, was wide right and the Blue Devils were able to run out the clock after recovering the on-side kick. Defensively, Bryant's Aaron Bryant had a huge-day with 13 tackles (9 solo) and one of three Bryant sacks on the day. He also had three tackles for a loss and a blocked punt plus two quarterback hurries.
SMITH GARNERS NEC HONORS
Senior running back Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for
a season-high 178 yards in the win over Wagner on Oct. 3 earning
him co-Player of the Week honors in the NEC. For the
Bulldogs, it was the first individual honor in school history as
Bryant, though not officially in the league until the four-year
reclassification end in 2012, is included in the conference
standings and eligible for player honors for the first time this
season. Smith is currently third on Bryant's all-time career
rushing list and has gone over the 100 yard mark in three of
Bryant's five games this season.
BIG WIN AT ROBERT MORRIS
Trailing 10-0 after one quarter, the Bulldogs scored 20
unanswered points en route to a 20-13 road win over Robert Morris
in Moon Township, Pa. back on September 26. 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.
SMITH TOPS 2,000 CAREER RUSHING YARDS
Senior running back Jerell Smith, who is now in his third
season at Bryant after transferring from Howard University in 2007,
became the third player in school history to go over the 2,000 yard
mark in rushing in a career. He is currently 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. He
reached the 2,000 mark with an 11-yard run on the team's first
drive in the first quarter against Hofstra. He has gone over
100 yards in three of Bryant's five games this year including a
season-best 178 vs. Wagner in the rain.
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 SETTLING IN AT QB
Sophomore quarterback Mike Croce, 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
in the win over Southern Connecticut back on Sept. So far
this season, the signal-caller has completed 102 passes with just
one interception thrown.
SENIOR RUNNING BACK JERELL SMITH
Senior runningback Jerell Smith comes into Saturday's game
with 669 yards rushing this season and has all 4 of Bryant's
rushing touchdowns. He has gone over 100 yards in three games
this season: 121 vs. Southern Conn; 111 vs. Robert Morris; 178 vs.
Wagner. He is currently third all-time with 2,542 career yards. He
has 13 career 100-yard rushing games, three shy of the school
record of 16 held by Lorenzo Perry.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bulldogs are 22-8 at home over the past five seasons
and 21-6 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 - 4-1
2009 - 2-2
Total 22-8
