Springfield, Mass. (October 3) -- On a rainy
Saturday afternoon, the Saint Anselm football team dropped a narrow
17-14 final to American International in Northeast-10 Conference
action. The Hawks used two second-half touchdowns to pull to within
three late before an onside kick attempt failed and wrapped up the
AIC victory.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Hawks had their best
scoring chance midway through the second as the Hawks took over on
their own 20 yard line. Behind a number of completions by freshman
quarterback Michael Pierce (Andover, Mass.), the
Hawks drove down inside the AIC red zone before the drive came up
empty on an incomplete pass on fourth down and long. It was the
Yellow Jackets who scored the lone points of the first half though
as Kertis Hussey (Paterson, N.J.) returned a punt
90 yards up the near sideline for the 7-0 halftime lead.
The two teams were nearly identical in total offense in the
first half, with AIC outgaining the Hawks by a 149-131 margin.
After the Hawks came up empty on the opening drive of the second
half, AIC quickly got into Saint Anselm territory with a 65-yard
pass to Devon LeGrier (Paterson, N.J.). The drive
was capped by a two-yard scoring run by freshman Fateen
Brown (Philadelphia, Pa.) to make it a 14-0 game with
10:37 left in the third quarter. Junior Dan Bassani
(Naples, Fla.) completed the third-quarter scoring as he
booted a 21-yard field goal with 2:14 left in the period for a 17-0
lead after three quarters.
Saint Anselm got on the board early in the fourth quarter though
as Pierce found a wide open Chris Chapman (Bronx,
N.Y.) for his second touchdown in as many games to cut the
lead to 17-7 with 13:21 on the clock. After a turnover for each
team, the Hawks got the ball back and drove deep into AIC territory
behind a first-down run by Marc Wilson (Farmington,
Conn.) and a 15-yard AIC personal foul. The Hawks cut the
lead to three with 2:53 left as Wilson found junior Marcel
Bouie (Stone Mountain, Ga.) in the end zone for Bouie's
third touchdown reception of the season.
A Saint Anselm onside kick attempt failed as the Yellow Jackets
recovered and held off the Hawks for the 17-14 victory.
Wilson led the Hawks with 71 rushing yards, while Pierce was
19-for-44 for 206 yards and one touchdown. Wilson was also the
leading receiver with 70 yards on six receptions. Bouie also had
six catches for 61 yards and one touchdown. Senior All-America
candidate Dan Bohenek (Bridgewater, Mass.) led all
players with 14 tackles overall, including nine solo stops.
With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the
Northeast-10, while American International now sits at 4-2 overall
and is now 2-2 in the league. Saint Anselm is off next week before
hosting Assumption for its Homecoming game on October 17th at
Grappone Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
