MANCHESTER, NH (Sep. 15) --- Coming off a disappointing start to the 2000 campaign, the Saint Anselm football team will look to bounce back as they travel to Oneonta, NY to face the Hawks of Hartwick College Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.

The Hawks will be looking to correct a number of mistakes that led to a 25-13 setback to UMass-Lowell last Saturday in Lowell, while building upon the positives left behind.

Despite falling into a 19-0 hole in the first half, the Saint Anselm defense and running game improved in the second half, limiting the River Hawks to just one score which came off a turnover deep in the Hawks end.

Turnovers will be a priority for Saint Anselm's coaching staff. Saint Anselm committed six turnovers last week with three interceptions and three fumbles. Three turnovers led directly to UMass-Lowell scores.

"That was a key to the game obviously," said Hawks Head Coach Geoff Harlan. "We cannot turn the ball over that many times and expect to win any games."
Harlan addressed the fact that Saint Anselm's running defense was also a priority after watching the team allow over 250 yards on the ground. UMass-Lowell controlled the clock well, limiting Saint Anselm's offense any opportunity to build momentum.

"Last week, we struggled to establish a strong defensive presence in the first half and our offense was not clicking," said Harlan. "We were able to execute some adjustments in the second half and I think we saw improvement in how we limited their running game and improved our own ground game. But if we are going to be successful week in and week out, we need to make fewer mistakes ourselves and force our opponents into making mistakes."

Despite a slow start, the Hawks rebounded to put up better numbers in the second half as running back Jon Turner finished the day with 101 yards on 22 carries for a 4.8 average and ran touchdowns of six and nine yards. Quarterback Keith Comeau, who was picked off three times, finished 18 of 32 and spread his passes out evenly as Travis Pelletier (Deerfield), Jason Case, Turner, and Jeff Farragher all had three catches.

Harlan commented that the passing game will also need to be more consistent. "Our offense needs to play with more confidence," said Harlan. "We are looking to be more balanced in our attack, but to do so we must secure the football and execute at a much higher level."

The Hawks will face a Hartwick club that sports a 1-1 overall record. Hartwick, despite it's NCAA Division III status, is a strong program, having outgunned Division I-AA Siena College 33-10 in week one and followed succumbing to King's College in a 51-32 slugfest last week.

Dartmouth College alumnus Steve Stetson mans the sidelines for the Hawks and guided Hartwick to a 21-10 victory over Saint Anselm in week two of last season, a game Harlan and his squad have not forgotten and will use as motivation for this meeting.

"Hartwick did a good job against us last season," said Harlan. "But in that game, I think we also made some mistakes that cost us and we came out a little lackluster. We never really established any tempo in that game. We're looking forward to an opportunity to give Hartwick a better game this time around."

Hartwick can run the ball as evidenced by Mike Onorata's 14 carry, 107 day last week. Onorata has shown he can scramble and cause problems for defenses, having already scored three times on keepers for Hartwick this season.

Quarterbacking the offense, Dan Pincelli has passed for 451 yards and four touchdowns thus far and has found favorite targets in Ryan Soule, who has caught eight passes for 115 yards, while Greg Balcavage (seven receptions for 108 yards) has pulled in two touchdowns.

"Hartwick's strengths are their passing offense and multiple look defense," said Harlan. "As this is their home opener, they're sure to be well prepared for us. We'll be looking to pressure their offense throughout the game and establish a physical ground attack in the early quarters," he said.