Manchester, N.H. (October 30) -- In the fifth annual Battle For The Ol' Bronze Hawk, Saint Anselm dropped a 41-27 final to visiting Stonehill College on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium. The Skyhawks now own a 7-5 lead in the all-time series over Saint Anselm. Prior to the game, the Saint Anselm football program honored eight seniors who were making their final career appearances at Grappone Stadium.
Saint Anselm got off to a quick start as the Hawks jumped out to an early 13-0 lead. After sophomore Michael Pierce (Andover, Mass.) scored on a quarterback keeper for the 7-0 lead, the Hawks added to that lead early in the second when Pierce found Craig Dennis (Atlantic City, N.J.) across the middle for a 15-yard scoring pass. The remainder of the second quarter was all Stonehill however as the Skyhawks scored 19 unanswered points, led by a pair of scoring runs by Jemetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.), for the 19-13 lead at the half.
Early in the third quarter, the Hawks regained the lead as Pierce found freshman Justin Bernard (Cambridge, Mass.) on a route to the left, with Bernard pulling the ball down at the 10-yard line and finding his way inside the pylon for the 20-19 advantage. The Skyhawks quickly regained the lead however as Troy found the end zone for a third time, followed by a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tim Bennett (Fillmore, Calif.) for the 34-20 Skyhawk edge after three quarters.
Pierce got the Hawks back to within 34-27 on a 14-yard scoring run early in the fourth, but that was quickly answered by Stonehill as Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass.) ran back the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for his fourth kickoff return for a touchdown this season and eighth in his career.
Pierce led the Hawks with 320 yards passing with two passing touchdowns and a pair of running scores. Bernard was the team's leading receiver with 10 catches for 104 yards, his first career 100-yard receiving game. Sophomore linebacker Chris Bent (Dracut, Mass.) led the Hawks with 12 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss. Senior Jason Nguyen (Methuen, Mass.) also finished with 10 tackles on the afternoon.
Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass.) led the Stonehill offense with a 135-yard effort as he set the Stonehill career rushing mark in the victory.
With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the Northeast-10, while Stonehill evens its record at 4-4 overall and 2-4 in league play. The Hawks are back in action on Saturday, November 6th as the team travels to the University of New Haven for a Noon start.
