BRYANT FOOTBALL GAME NOTES
Weekly Notes (PDF)

Bryant Football Hosts Pace Saturday at 1 p.m.
Bryant University Bulldogs (2-1, 2-1 NE-10)
vs. Pace Setters (1-2, 1-2 NE-10)

Date:             Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005
Time:             1:00 p.m. kickoff
Location:         Smithfield, RI.
Stadium:          Bulldog Stadium (4,400)
Radio:            www.Northeast10.org  “GAME OF THE WEEK”
Series:           Bryant leads 4-1
Last Meeting:    Bryant 24-19, 2004
Coaches:          Bryant - Marty Fine, 2nd year (6-6).
                  Pace - Mike Iezzi, 1st year (1-2)

THE GAME: The Bryant University football team hosts Pace University Saturday afternoon for 2005 Homecoming & Reunion Weekend. The Bulldogs are off to a strong start to the season and bring a 2-1 record into Saturday¹s game.  Last week, Bryant racked up 491 yards of total offense in a 48-38 win on the road at Assumption.  Pace is coming off an impressive win at home, 44-14 over Saint Anselm last week in Pleasantville, NY.  Bryant has won five-straight against Pace including a 24-19 win last season.

BRYANT'S LORENZO PERRY NAMED NORTHEAST-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bryant University junior tailback LORENZO PERRY (Providence, RI / La Salle) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Football Player of the Week for Monday, Sept. 19.  Perry, a transfer from UMass Amherst during the spring, rushed for a career-high 221 yards on 27 carries in Bryant's 48-38 win over Assumption College last Saturday in Worcester, Mass.  In addition, Perry tied a school record with three rushing touchdowns on the afternoon, scoring on runs of 23, 35, 61.  

BULLDOG UPDATE: Lorenzo Perry rushed for a career-high 221 yards on 27 carries last week as Bryant rolled to a 48-38 win over Assumption in Worcester last weekend.  The 221 yards were the third-most in school history.  Perry added three rushing touchdowns to tie a school record while quarterback Charles Granatell equaled a school record with four touchdown passes.  Granatell had 185 yards passing.  Bryant¹s 48 points were the most the Bulldogs have scored in a game since a 52-36 win over Assumption during the 2001 season. The last time Bryant opened the year with a 2-1 record was in 2001.  In 2000, Bryant went 3-1 to open the year while the 1999 squad was 4-1 to start the season.

THE SETTERS OF PACE: Pace is under the direction of first year coach Mike Iezzi who replaced Greg Lusardi after an 0-10 season in 2004.  Iezzi was Lusardi¹s defensive coordinator for six seasons.  Last week, Pace scored 20 first quarter points en route to a 44-14 win over Saint Anselm.  Quarterback Mike Timmerman rushed for 164 yards on 11 carries including a 59-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.  In addition, he completed 13 of 30 passes for 143 yards.

Bryant - Pace Series at a glance:
1999    7-13 Pace    @ Pace
2000    34-21 Bryant    @ Bryant
2002    26-0 Bryant    @ Bryant
2003    32-24 Bryant    @ Bryant
2004    24-19 Bryant    @ Pace

LAST YEAR VS. PACE: Chris Peaks rushed for a career-high 118 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 24-19 win in Pleasantville, NY.  The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest as Peaks scored from 12 yards out to make it 7-0 and would later score on a short screen pass that he turned into a 59-yard touchdown to make it 17-6.  Granatell completed 15 of 24 passes for 162 yards in the game. Mike Timmerman had 124 yards passing and 21 yards rushing for Pace.

PLENTY OF OFFENSE EARLY: After just three games, Bryant is averaging 410 yards of total offense and 36.3 points per game.  The Bulldogs blanked AIC 21-0 in the opener and scored 40 points in a loss to Merrimack and followed with 48 points last week against Assumption.  Fourth quarters have been the most productive with Bryant outscoring opponents 41-19 in the final period.

QUICK KICKS: Punter Mike Lajterman is averaging 39.2 yards per punt this season and has five punts downed inside the 20 yard line. The junior all-conference punter had two downed inside the five against AIC and had a season-best 55 yard punt last week at Assumption.

NEXT UP: Bryant will head to Long Island next weekend as the Bulldogs will take on Northeast-10 preseason favorite C.W. Post in Brookville, NY for a 12 p.m. game.  The next home game will be Saturday, Sept. 8 against Stonehill.

QUITE THE CROWD:  Bryant, which has led the Northeast-10 Conference in attendance in four of the last five years, had 4,310 fans on hand for the opener vs. AIC Sept. 3.  It was the fifth-largest crowd to see at game at Bulldog Stadium. Opened in 1998 and completed in 1999 for Bryant¹s first varsity season, Bulldog Stadium seats 4,400.  The most fans on hand to see a game was 5,561 in 1998 in a game vs. Assumption during Bryant¹s club season. The only crowds larger than last Saturday¹s turnout were homecoming games which coincidently is Bryant¹s next scheduled home game as the Bulldogs will host Pace on Sept. 24th for Homecoming & Reunion Weekend.

RECORDS WATCH:
Bryant has set or equaled several school records and on pace for a few more to fall before the end of the 2005 season. Here¹s a look so far:
 - Pass completions (29 by Charles Granatell vs. Merrimack)
 - Pass atttempts (57 by Charles Granatell vs. Merrimack)
 - Receptions  (11 by Justin Kix vs. Merrimack)
 - Receiving Yards (127 by Justin Kix vs. Merrimack)
 - Rushing TDs in a Game (Lorenzo Perry tied record with 3 vs. Assumption)
- Passing TDs in a Game (Charles Granatell tied the record with 4 vs. Assumption)
 - Total Plays in a Game (57 by Charles Granatell vs. Merrimack)

BULLDOG BITS: 
 * Bryant started the 1999 season 4-1 and the 2000 year 3-1
 * Bryant has scored on 10 of 12 trips into the RED ZONE this year , all touchdowns (6 rush and 4 pass).  Opponents are 9 for 13 in the Red Zone
 *  Bryant has just three turnovers after three games and PLUS 3 in turnover margin after forcing opponents into six turnovers
 * Last year Bryant had 10 turnovers after three games
 * Charles Granatell is ranked No. 3 in the Northeast-10 in passing yards per game (217.7) and total offense (237.0)
* Mike Lajterman is second in the conference with 39.2 yards per punt.