Manchester, N.H. (October 13, 2001)-The Saint Anselm football team used a dominating second half to turn back Bryant College, 31-16 on Homecoming in a Northeast-10 Conference game at Grappone Stadium on Saturday. The game was played in front of 3,622 fans, the largest crowd in the NE-10 this year.
Saint Anselm has now won its last three games and stands at 4-3 overall, 4-3 in NE-10 play. Bryant has lost two straight as well as its last six October games dating back to last year. The Bulldogs see their record fall to 2-3 overall, 2-3 in conference play.
The game was a story of two halves with Bryant taking a 16-7 lead into the intermission before Saint Anselm asserted itself in the latter stages.
Saint Anselm took the opening drive of the game 80 yards with
Jon Turner (Foxboro, Mass./ Foxboro) capping the 10-play drive with a 24-yard scamper. That was the only success the Hawk offense would enjoy in the first half however, as Bryant continuously pinned the home team deep in its territory.
Bryant took a 9-7 lead on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Tony Granieri (Atlantic City, N.J./ Holy Spirit) to Brandon Dillingham (Madison, N.J./ Madison) early in the second period. Granieri put the Bulldogs ahead, 16-7 with a one-yard plunge with under a minute remaining before the half to silence the Saint Anselm faithful.
The Bulldogs could well have had a much bigger advantage but the much-maligned Saint Anselm defense was up to the task. The defense stopped Bryant on a 4th and goal from the Hawk one- yard line in the first quarter and
Justin Peledge (Wakefield, Mass./ Malden Catholic) intercepted a pass in the end zone in the second to keep Saint Anselm in the game. It was Peledge's third straight game with an interception and the fifth straight game in which he has recorded a turnover.
The second half as all Saint Anselm as the Hawks held Bryant to just 99 yards of total offense in the second half and turned two Bulldog turnovers into 14 points.
Promising freshman tailback
Ryan Kajander (Portsmouth, N.H./ Portsmouth) put the Hawks ahead for good, 17-16, on a nice 17-yard individual effort with five minutes remaining in the third. A little more than a minute later, the Saint Anselm defense took over.
Defensive end
Gavin Russell (Gaylordsville, Conn./ New Milford) sacked Granieri on the Bryant 28-yard line and forced a fumble that was recovered by James Ward (Westerly, R.I./ Westerly), who returned it 15 yards for a Hawk touchdown and a 24-16 advantage.
Ward struck again early in the fourth quarter, intercepting a pass off an amazing pass deflection by
Ryan Sullivan (Windham, N.H./ Bishop Guertin) at the Bryant 47. The offense capitalized with its final score of the day, a 12-yard run by Turner.
Saint Anselm finished with 359 total yards including 219 through the air on 16-for-33 passing from
Keith Comeau (Marblehead, Mass./ Marblehead).
Peledge led the Saint Anselm defense with his interception and 14 tackles, including a game-high seven solo efforts. Bryant's Greg Wolyniec (Rockville, Conn./ Rockville) had 15 tackles (five solo) to pace the Bulldogs.
Saint Anselm returns to action next Saturday when the Hawks travel to N. Andover, Mass. for a 1:00 PM kickoff against Merrimack.
