Manchester, N.H. (October 31) -- Despite
holding a nine-point fourth-quarter lead, the Saint Anselm football
team couldn't hold off fast-charging New Haven as the vistors
scored twice late in the fourth for a 47-43 comeback victory at a
blustery Grappone Stadium on Saturday.
It was Saint Anselm that jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the
opening nine minutes as Treavor Jeanson (Acton,
Mass.) rumbled in from 11 yards out and Marcel
Bouie (Stone Mountain, Ga.) fought off a number of
defenders for a 20-yard touchdown reception. New Haven got on the
board when Josh Smart (Miami, Fla.), who finished
with a career-high 151 yards, outran the Hawk defense for an
80-yard score to cut the lead to 14-7 with 1:39 left in the opening
quarter.
In the second quarter, the two teams traded scores as freshman
Zack McCabe (East Freetown, Mass.) kicked a
30-yard field goal, Jeanson rushed for a two-yard touchdown and
Joe Robichaud (Madison, Conn.) hauled in a sliding
six-yard touchdown reception. The Chargers countered with a
touchdown rush from Victor Jones (Patterson, N.J.)
and the first of five touchdown passes from Ryan Osiecki
(Seymour, Conn.) for a 30-20 Saint Anselm lead at the
break.
After halftime, it was Osiecki for New Haven and Saint Anselm
sophomore Marc Wilson (Farmington, Conn.) that
battled it out as Osiecki threw for two scores and Wilson ran for
one and caught a touchdown from Michael Pierce (Andover,
Mass.) to make it 43-34 Saint Anselm with under 10 minutes
to go in the game. New Haven wasn't done though as Sharieff
Hall (Brockton, Mass.) pulled down a 12-yard Osiecki TD
pass, dragging his feet down just inside the back line of the
end zone.
Just four minutes later, after forcing a Saint Anselm punt,
Kameel Lashley (Boston, Mass.) pulled down a
screen pass to the left from Osiecki and found the end zone from 32
yards out for a 47-43 lead. The two-point conversion failed, making
it a four-point game with just 1:13 left on the clock. Saint Anselm
took over at their own 30 yard line late, but were unable to come
up with the game-winning score.
Pierce finished with a single-game school-record 397 yards as he
completed 37-of-63 passes for three touchdowns to go along with one
interception. He also added a team-high 64 yards on the ground.
Jeanson posted his first two-touchdown game of his career with two
scores on 10 carries for 46 yards. Robichaud caught a career-high
nine passes for 131 yards and one touchdown, while Wilson had a
game-high 13 catches for 89 yards and accounted for two touchdowns
(one rush, one pass). He ended up with 153 all-purpose yards.
Osiecki was spectacular for the Chargers as the top-rated
quarterback in the Northeast-10 completed 25-of-40 passes for 362
yards and five touchdowns. Smart also picked up a career-high
151 yards on 18 rushes. Hall, the team's top receiver, had eight
catches for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
On defense for Saint Anselm, senior All-America candidate
Dan Bohenek (Bridgewater, Mass.) had his eighth
double-digit tackle game of the season with 13 stops, including 10
solo, to go along with two pass breakups. Moses White
(Gordon Heights, N.Y.) led the Chargers with 12 total
tackles for the afternoon.
Saint Anselm falls to 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the Northeast-10,
while New Haven now sits at 5-4 overall and completes it's first
Northeast-10 schedule with a 4-4 league mark. Saint Anselm returns
to action on Saturday, November 7th as the Hawks host Southern
Connecticut for Senior Day beginning at Noon. Prior to the game,
this year's Senior Class will be honored for their contributions to
the Saint Anselm football program during their careers.
