Nov. 2, 2009

BULLDOGS TRAVEL TO SACRED HEART SATURDAY;
TEAM TO RETURN HOME NEXT WEEK FOR SENIOR DAY

GAME NOTES /  SACRED HEART VIDEO / LIVE STATS

The Bryant University football team looks to snap a four-game losing skid, the first such streak under coach Marty Fine and first since the 2000 season when the Bulldogs dropped five in-a-row, this Saturday afternoon when the Bulldogs travel to Fairfield, Conn. to face the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University for SHU’s Homecoming. The game will be carried live on WOON 1240 AM with John McCarthy and Robb Garafalo. Bryant (3-5, 2-3 NEC) is coming off a tough 10-6 loss at Monmouth last weekend in New Jersey.

The Bulldogs got 139 yards rushing from Jerell Smith but turnved the ball over three times in the loss last week. This will be the second meeting all-time between Bryant and Sacred Heart and the first since Bryant’s second season of varsity competition back in 2000. The Pioneers were 8-3 last season 4-3 NEC), winning eight of their first 10 games but have struggled this season and bring a 1-7 overall record (1-5 NEC) into this weekend’s game with the Bulldogs. Last week, SHU held Robert Morris to just three field goals and 115 yards of offense but still came up short, 9-7 in a defensive battle in Moon Township, Pa. Sophomore standout linebacker Chris Mandas had 15 tackles in the loss. Bryant will return home next weekend to host Saint Francis (PA) for Senior Day at Bulldog Stadium.

QUICK HITS
- Bryant has lost its last three games by a total of just 8 points.
- Saturday’s game with Sacred Heart is the 110th game in the Bryant football history (58-51 overall) and 20th competing at the Division I level.
- Bryant dropped its fourth-straight in the loss to Monmouth, the most since the 2000 season when Bryant dropped five-straight.
- This will be the second meeting all-time between the Bulldogs and Pioneers and the first since the 2000 season. That year, Bryant’s second as a varsity program, the Bulldogs fell 19-15 in Fairfield in what was the season opener.
- Bryant is now 0-2 all-time against Monmouth, falling last year 30-17 in Smithfield, R.I.
- After throwing just one interception all season (205 pass attempts), Mike Croce threw three against Monmouth .
- Jerell Smith rushed for 139 yards, marking the fourth-time this season Smith has gone over the 100-yard mark in a game and the 13th time in his career. Smith needs one more 100-yard game with three games remaining to tie Lorenzo Perry for the most in a single season. Perry had 10 in 2006.
- Smith now has 2,681 career rushing yards, third all-time in school history. He is also tied for 5th with 14 career rushing touchdowns and first with 4,041 all-purpose yards.
- Junior Chris Bird made two field goals against Monmouth to give him 24 for his career (first all-time in school history).
- Senior linebacker Paul Polomski is currently 3rd all-time with 212 career tackles. He needs 16 to move into second and 18 to become Bryant’s all-time career tackles leader.
- Senior defensive end Don Smith registered two sacks against Monmouth Saturday, moving him into fourth all-time with 17 career sacks. Mark Gunther holds the school record with 23.
- Defensive back Michael Morgan has 26 career pass breakups, just one shy of all-time leader Bryce Martins who has 27 from 2005-08.

LOOKING AT SACRED HEART
The Pioneers come into Saturday’s game with a 1-7 overall record and 1-5 mark in the NEC this season. Last year, SHU won its first six games and eight of 10 enroute to an 8-3 record.  Bryant and SHU did not meet last year. The second-most penalized team in the NEC 45.8 yards per game), Sacred Heart is averaging just 100.0 yards on the ground per game this season and last in the league in turnover margin (10 gained/16 lost) at (-0.75). Quarterback Dale Fink has completed sixty-percent of his passes (171-287) for 1,644 yards and nine touchdowns but the junior has thrown 13 interceptions on the season. The lone win this season for SHU came against Saint Francis (PA), 29-7 at home back on Oct. 10.


2009 SACRED HEART
Record: 1-7, 1-5 NEC
Sept. 5 MARIST 12-31 L
Sept. 12 at Holy Cross 21-52 L
Sept. 26 at Albany* 9-22 L
Oct. 3 at Central Conn* 12-24 L
Oct. 10 SAINT FRANCIS (PA)* 29-7 W
Oct. 17 MONMOUTH* 20-42 L
Oct. 24 at Wagner* 28-49 L
Oct. 31 at Robert Morris * 7-9 L
Nov. 7 BRYANT
Nov. 14 DUQUESNE *
* NEC game

TALE OF THE TAPE Bryant SHU
Scoring Offense 15.2 17.2
Scoring Defense 19.2 29.5
Rushing Offense 133.4 100.0
Rushing Defense 141.9 174.4
Passing Offense 153.9 220.2
Passing Defense 159.6 188.4
Total Offense 287.2 320.2
Total Defense 301.5 362.5

BRYANT Stat Leaders
Rushing
Jerell Smith 172-808 yards, 4 TD, 3rd in league with 101.0 yards per game
Passing
Mike Croce 110-221 for 1,218 yards, 9 TD, 4 INT, 4th in NEC with 152.2 ypg
Receiving
Mike Canfora 26-222, 2 TD, 1 TD passing (vs. Albany)
Matt Tracey 25-345 yards, 3 TD
Khalel Pritchard 18-272, 3 TD
Defense
Jason Riffe 61 tackles / 7.6 per game

SACRED HEART Stat Leaders
Rushing
Brian Friedman 83-375, 3 TD, 46.9 average yards per game
Passing
Dale Fink 171-287 for 1,644 yards, 9 TD, 13 INT, 205.5 ave. per game
Receiving
Steve Tedesco 49-645 yards, 13.2 ave. / 80.6 average per game
1st in NEC with 6.12 rec/gm and 2nd in NEC with 80.6 yards /gm
Defense
Chris Mandas 67 tackles / 8.4 per game

THE COACHES
Bryant coach Marty Fine, now in his sixth season, comes into Saturday’s game with a 37-23 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. Sacred Heart coach Paul Gorham is 24-37 in six seasons at SHU.

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT ESCAPES 24-23
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 Oct. 24. 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. Central would knock off previously undefeated Albany at home the following week, 31-29.

BULLDOGS COME UP SHORT AGAINST ALBANY
After falling to Fordham, 35-7 two weeks ago, the Bulldogs rebounded with a strong showing at two-time NEC champion Albany last Saturday afternoon. Albany came into the game winners of 16-straight conference games but had a tough battle with the Bulldogs. A 13-yard touchdown pass by running back Mike Canfora to Vinton South in the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 9-6 lead. After two touchdowns by the Great Danes that put the hosts up 20-9, the Bulldogs marched 44 yards in under three minutes to pull within 20-17 thanks to a Jerell Smith 2 yard touchdown run with 3:13 left. Albany was able to chew up nearly the rest of the clock before turning the ball over on downs inside Bryant territory. Quarterback Mike Croce connected with James Mullane for a 20 yard gain on the final play of the game. Croce had a career day, passing for 234 yards on 22 of 35 passing. He was sacked five times in the game. Matt Tracey had five catches for 66 yards while Khalel Pritchard had four catches for 82 yards. Linebacker Jason Riffe recorded a career-high 14 tackles in the game - tying him for the second-most tackles in a game in school history The record is 16. Aaron Bryant added 13 tackles plus a blocked punt and recovery in the second quarter that helped set up Bryant’s first score.


SMITH TOPS 2,000 CAREER RUSHING YARDS
Senior runningback 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 with 2,681 yards (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 four of Bryant’s eight 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 running back Jerell Smith (Brooklyn NY) comes into Saturday’s game with 808 yards rushing this season and has all 4 of Bryant’s rushing touchdowns. He has gone over 100 yards in four games this season 121 vs. Southern Conn; 111 vs. Robert Morris; 178 vs. Wagner; and 139 at Monmouth. He is currently third all-time with 2,681 career yards. He has 14 career 100-yard rushing games, two shy of the school record of 16 held by Lorenzo Perry.

CAREER UPDATES
Rushing Yards
1. Andre McLeod, 2000-03 3,521
2. Lorenzo Perry, 2005-06 3,259
3. Jerell Smith, 2007-present 2,681
4. Lindsey Gamble, 2006-pres. 1,948

Rushing Touchdowns
1. Lorenzo Perry, 2005-06 36
2. Lindsey Gamble, 2006-pres. 21
3. Andre McLeod, 2000-03 20
4. Chris Peaks, 2003-07 15
5. Tony Granieri, 1999-01 14
Jerell Smith, 2007-present 14

PATs
1. Chris Bird, 2007-pres. 62
2. Pete DiMartino, 1999-04 58

Tackles
1. Andrew McLarty, 2003-06 229
2. Greg Wolyniec, 1999-01 227
3. Paul Polomski, 2006-pres. 212
4. Chris Wohlheter, 2004-07 206
- Greg Daniel, 2002-05 206

Sacks
1. Mark Gunther, 2004-07 23.0
2. Ben Wellington, 1999-02 19.5
3. Delano Dryden, 2000-03 19.0
4. Don Smith, 2006-pres. 17.0
5. Jay Stahl, 2004-07 15.5

BRYANT AGAINST DIVISION I OPPONENTS
Bryant is currently 7-12 all-time vs. Division I-AA teams, earning the school’s first win over a Division I opponent on Sept. 27, 2008 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) in the fall of 2012.