November 10, 2007
NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONS
BRYANT FOOTBALL DEFEATS BENTLEY 29-3
Bulldogs Claim First Outright Northeast-10
Conference Championship;
Await NCAA Tournament Bid
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| An overflow crowd filled Bulldog Stadium to see the Bulldogs
capture the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Championship. (Mary
Sanker Photo)
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SMITHFIELD, RI - Senior quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin
Lakes, NJ) completed 15 of 23 passes for 202 yards and two
touchdowns to lead the Bryant University football team to a 29-3
win over Bentley College before 4,748 Saturday. The win gives
Bryant its first-ever outright Northeast-10 Conference Championship
in the program's ninth season of varsity football. Bryant
earned a share of the Northeast-10 Conference title in 2006 and
earned an NCAA bid for the first time that same season.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 5 in the region, will await word on a
possible second consecutive NCAA berth when the 24-team bracket is
announced Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET (ESPNU).
In Saturday's game against Bentley, played on a blustery,
37-degree afternoon before a full house at Bulldog Stadium, Bentley
opened the scoring on the Falcons' first drive of the game as Tyler
McNamara (Medway, Mass.) connected on a 35-yard field goal into the
wind, his 14th field goal this season, giving him the
New England football record, passing Central Connecticut's Paul
Flynn's previous mark of 13.
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| Chris Wohlheter's interception helped set up the go-ahead
touchdown. (Mary Sanker Photo)
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The Bulldogs would answer, thanks in large part to a short
Bentley punt that gave Bryant the ball on Bentley's 34 yard line.
Bryant was unable to get into the end zone but settled for a
Chris Bird (Monument Beach, Mass.) 36-yard field
goal to make it 3-3 with 3:55 left in the first.
Bryant's defense played an exception game. Late in the
second quarter, senior Chris Wohlheter (Newark,
Ohio) picked off a John White (Kingston, Mass.) pass near
midfield and returned it to the Bentley 17 yard line where the
Bulldogs would finally get into the end zone. Facing a
fourth and one from the Bentley 8-yard line, Charlie
Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) faked an inside handoff and
hit tight end Tyler DiGiovanni (Columbia, Conn.)
alone in the back of the end zone to make it 10-3 with 4:09 left.
In the second half, the Bulldogs stepped up the defensive
pressure on the Falcons, plus used a bit of trickery to set the
tone for the remainder of the game.
Junior defensive end Don Smith (Attleboro,
Mass.) stripped White at the Bentley 10 yard line where
teammate Mark Gunther (Clarksburg, NJ) picked up
the ball and ran it in for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 20-3
lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs caught Bentley by surprise
with a perfectly executed onside kick that was recovered by
Bryant's Marcus Lindsey (Bridgeport, Conn.) at the
49 yard line. The Bentley defense would hold, forcing Bryant
to punt, but the punt by Brian Donnelly was a good one, pinning the
Falcons back on their own 5 yard line. On Bentley's first
play on their ensuing possession, Jay Stahl (Methuen,
Mass.) sacked White in the end zone for a Bulldog safety
to make it 22-3.
Sean Bergin (New Windsor, NY) would put the
game away with a 39-yard touchdown reception from Granatell late in
the fourth, sending the Bulldogs to their first out-right
conference championship.
Bergin led the Bulldogs with four catches for 91 yards.
Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for 71 yards on 18 carries.
Bentley was held to just 143 yards of offense as White
completed 15 of 33 passes for 115 yards.
Stahl had a huge game defensively, finishing with six tackles
including two sacks and three tackles for a loss.
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