Waltham, Mass. (September 11) -- In a rainy
Northeast-10 Conference opener, the Saint Anselm football team
dropped a 24-0 final to Bentley University in Waltham in front of a
weary crowd at the Bentley Football Field. The Falcons are now 9-0
against the Hawks in the all-time series.
Bentley took the opening drive deep into Saint Anselm territory
before Jordan Colas (North Plainfield,
N.J.), making his first career start, ended the drive with
his first career interception. The Falcons did find the end zone in
the quarter though as Wade Critides hauled in an
18-yard scoring pass from quarterback Bryant
Johnson for the early 7-0 advantage. Bentley had a chance
to add to the lead early in the second, but Tyler
McNamara's kick flew just wide right and it remained a 7-0
Bentley lead.
The Hawks managed to force their second Bentley turnover of the
game as senior linebacker Kevin Flynn (Wakefield,
Mass.) recovered a fumble at the 36-yard line and took it
10 yards down to the Bentley 26-yard line. The fumble was forced by
senior All-America candidate Dan Bohenek (Bridgewater,
Mass.), who drove his helmet into the football to knock it
out.
The Saint Anselm offense continued to struggle with the wet and
windy conditions though as the Falcons held the Hawks on fourth
down. Bentley added the final points of the first half as they
picked up a safety with 47 seconds left in the period as the snap
went over the hands of punter Joseph Robichaud (Madison,
Conn.) and through the back of the end zone for a 9-0
score.
The first half was lopsided in every sense as the Falcons
outgained the Hawks 199-25 in total offense, as well as holding a
21:44-8:16 edge in time of possession.
The two sides forced turnovers in the opening seven minutes of
the second half as Michael Pierce (Andover, Mass.)
was picked off deep in Bentley territory, his first interception of
the game. The Hawks took the ball right back though as
Ethan Sylvain (East Montpelier, Vt.) forced a
fumble that was recovered by Chris Bent (Dracut,
Mass.).
Saint Anselm made a key defensive stand as McNamara missed a
42-yard field goal that hit the right upright, but the Hawks were
called for a running into the kicker penalty. The Falcons
capitalized on the mistake as Kelley Rowe pulled
in a five-yard TD and just stuck the ball over the upright. Bentley
converted the two-point conversion as well to make it 17-0 with
4:55 left in the period.
The Falcons added another TD as Brad Poirier
picked off a Hawk pass and took the ball 36 yards up the far
sideline to make it a 24-0 lead with 12:47 left in the game.
For Saint Anselm, sophomore Marc Wilson (Farmington,
Conn.) pulled in six catches for 36 yards, while Pierce
was 18-for-48 for 159 yards. Bohenek led the Hawks with 12 tackles,
including two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble, while Bent
also posted a career-high 11 tackles.
With the loss, the Hawks drop to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the
Northeast-10, while Bentley remains unbeaten at 3-0 overall and is
1-0 in league play. Saint Anselm returns to action on Saturday,
September 19th as the Hawks travel to Pace University for a Noon
start at Pace Field.
