Pleasantville, N.Y. (September 22) -- On
Saturday afternoon at a rainy Pace Field, the Saint Anselm football
team fell to Pace University by a 20-9 final in Northeast-10
Conference play.
Defense struck first as Ricky McCollum picked
off a pass from Saint Anselm's Nick Barese (Braintree,
Mass.) and took it back 50 yards for a 7-0 Pace lead
with 8:13 remaining in the opening quarter. The Setters extended
the lead just 2:39 into the second quarter when Justin
Polanis scampered in from one yard out for a 14-0
advantage. The Hawks got on the board late in the opening half when
Dylan McSparren (Portsmouth, R.I.) knocked home a
34-yard field goal and the teams went into the break at 14-3 in
favor of Pace.
Saint Anselm came out fired up to start the second half and
gained some momentum quickly as junior cornerback Melvin
Perdue (Jonesboro, Ga.) picked off a pass on the near
sideline and took it back 70 yards for the touchdown. The Hawks
were unsuccessful on the extra point attempt, but pulled within
14-9 with the touchdown. The Saint Anselm defense held the Setters
thoughout the third quarter and much of the fourth as Pace went
scoreless on eight straight possessions, including a trio of
three-and-out drives. Pace did find the end zone one last time
though as Polanis ran the ball in from the four yard line to seal
the win at 20-9.
Pace was led in rushing by Polanis with 72 yards and a pair of
touchdowns. For Saint Anselm, senior wide receiver Corey
Williams (Billerica, Mass.) led the team with four
receptions for 37 yards and also had four kickoff returns for 87
yards, including a long of 34 yards in the second half. Defensively
for the Hawks, four players posted double-digit tackle totals, led
by Tyson Bailey (Gilbert, Ariz.) with 12 tackles.
Senior All-America candidate Casey Larson (Pascoag,
R.I.) had a monster day with 10 tackles, including three
sacks for a loss of 20 yards. That marked the fourth three-sack
game of Larson's career.
With the loss, the Hawks fall to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in
Northeast-10 play, while Pace improves to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in
the league. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday, September
22nd when the Hawks host C.W. Post in their homecoming game
beginning at 1 p.m. at Grappone Stadium.
