Saturday, October 24, 2009
BRYANT FOOTBALL DROPS HEARTBREAKER TO CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
24-23
Bulldogs rally late only to come up short
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| Linebacker Aaron Bryant had a big day defensively for Bryant against Central Connecticut. The senior had 13 tackles, a sack, three tackles for a loss, blocked punt and two quarterback hurries. www.dspics.com |
SMITHFIELD, R.I - Bryant sophomore quarterback Mike Croce (Waterbury, Conn.) 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 in Northeast Conference action Saturday afternoon.
Battling a steady rain and wind gusts all afternoon, Bryant's Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) scored from 13 yards out early in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 17-17 with 12:22 remaining. From there, both team's defenses stood strong in turning the game into a battle of field position. Forcing Bryant to punt from deep in its own territory late in the quarter, Central Connecticut took over at the Bulldog 46 and put together what would prove to be the game-winning scoring drive.
An Aubrey Norris 10-yard run on third down moved the ball to the Bryant 15 yard line. After failing to score on two runs from inside the Bryant 5-yard line, 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.
Despite having the wind to their backs, Central Connecticut (6-1, 4-0 NEC) opted for a short, line-drive kickoff that Bryant's Mike Canfora (Verona, NJ) fielded cleanly at his own 35 yard line and returned it close to midfield, giving the Bulldogs excellent field position to attempt to tie the game.
Croce hit Khalel Pritchard (Boston, Mass.) for a 6-yard gain on the first play to the CCSU 47 and was able to get out of bounds to stop the clock with 37 seconds left. On the very next play, Croce hit Vinton South (Dumont, NJ) for a 33-yard completion down to the CCSU 14 yard line with 26 seconds left.
Two plays later, Smith rushed seven yards to the CCSU 7-yard line as the Blue Devil's Ray Saunders made a touchdown-saving tackle on the play.
Following a Bryant timeout, Croce hit tight end Matt Tracey (Bow Mar, Colo.) in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 24-23 with 9 seconds left. The extra point attempt, however, was right and the Blue Devils were able to run out the clock after recovering the on-side kick.
Smith finished with 81 yards rushing on 18 carries while Canfora equaled a career-best with 6 receptions for 28 yards. Mallory, one of the NEC's leading rushers coming into the game with 102.5 ypg, finished with 89 yards on 25 attempts. CCSU quarterback Hunter Wanket had 66 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Defensively, Bryant's Aaron Bryant (New London, Conn.) had a huge-day with 13 tackles (9 solo) and one of three Bryant sacks on the day. Aaron Bryant also had three tackles for a loss and a blocked punt plus two quarterback hurries.
Andre Whyte (Bennington, Vt.) had eight tackles while Jason Riffe (Newton, Mass.) added six tackles.
Central Connecticut out-gained the Bulldogs 240 to 68 on the ground in net yards rushing but were held to just 74 yards passing on the windy afternoon as the Blue Devils finished with 314 yards of total offense. CCSU was also 9 for 19 on third-down conversions compared to Bryant which was just 2-for-12 on third down.
Bryant will travel to Monmouth next Saturday for a 1 pm NEC game in West Long Branch, N.J. Central Connecticut will host first-place Albany next Saturday in New Britain, Conn.
