COMPLETE GAME NOTES
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College football team will look to get into the win column as they play host to Southern Connecticut State University on Friday, Sept. 27 (7 p.m.) at Grappone Stadium. Links to live stats and live video are available on the football schedule page. All students, faculty and staff with a valid Saint Anselm ID are eligible to receive a raffle ticket at the upper ticket booth behind the baseball press box upon entrance by 7 p.m. The winning raffle ticket number will be drawn sometime prior to the start of the fourth quarter and the winner will take home a brand new iPad mini.
This will be the 15th meeting between the two teams, with Southern Connecticut owning a 12-2 advantage in the series. The Owls have won 10 straight overall and are a perfect 8-0 at home. The last win for Saint Anselm came Nov. 16, 2002 when it captured a 36-18 victory on the Hilltop. In the most recent meeting Sept. 29 of last season, Southern Connecticut posted a come-from-behind 45-34 win at Jess Dow Field.
Sophomore WR Justin Bernard set a school record for receiving yards, freshman QB Andrew Murphy posted a new rookie school record for passing yards and sophomore WR Ahkeen Williams amassed nearly 200 yards of all-purpose offense as he set five personal career highs in the loss.
The Hawks dropped to 0-5 on the season, including 0-4 in the Northeast-10, while the Owls recorded their first victory to improve to 1-4, 1-2 NE-10.
Bernard caught 13 passes for 226 yards and a career-high two touchdowns. The 226 yards eclipsed the school record of 187 set by Marc Wilson against Plymouth State University on Sept. 5, 2009.
Murphy, in his first collegiate start, completed 29 of 43 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing just one interception. The 405 yards were the most in program history for a freshman, surpassing Michael Pierce's 397 against the University of New Haven on Oct. 3, 2009, and just three yards short of matching Pierce's overall school record of 408 that he set against Pace University on Sept. 25, 2010. The four touchdowns matched Pierce's four in the Plymouth State contest for most by a Saint Anselm freshman and are also the most in school history for a true freshman.
Williams, meanwhile, set personal career bests in receptions (9), receiving yards (96), receiving touchdowns (2), rushing attempts (8) and rushing yards (82).
Senior K/P Shea Cerio connected on a 25-yard field goal that pushed the Saint Anselm lead to 34-23 with 14:53 left in the fourth quarter, but Southern responded by going 83 yards in 10 plays, as Vaughn Magee capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run. Jacob Jablonski hit Jerome Cunningham on a two-point conversion try and the Owls were within 34-31 with 11:47 to go.
Following a three-and-out and a punt by Saint Anselm, Southern moved the ball 81 yards in four plays, with 61 of those yards being eaten up by Magee, including 44 on a touchdown run that gave the Owls a 38-34 advantage after the PAT with 8:10 on the clock.
On their next drive, the Hawks picked up a first down, but were again forced to punt. Despite Cerio's punt being downed inside the 1-yard line, the Owls went the length of the field to seal it. Magee was responsible for 78 of those 99 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left that made it 45-34 after the kick.
The Hawks gained a season-high 500 yards of total offense, with 405 coming through the air and 95 on the ground. The Owls put up 583 yards – 292 passing and 291 rushing. Magee ran for 187 yards in the fourth quarter, which set a Division II single-quarter record.
The Hawks recorded a season-high four sacks and held the Owls without a third-down conversion in the first half (0-7). Southern went 6-for-7 in that category in the second half, however. Senior LB Chris Bent tallied a game-high 14 tackles to add to his team lead.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore QB Andrew Murphy tossed four touchdown passes, including three to junior WR Justin Bernard, but the Hawks were handed a 70-26 defeat by New Haven on Sept. 20 at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks dropped to 0-3 on the season, including 0-2 in Northeast-10 play, while the Chargers – the defending Northeast-10 Champions – improved to 2-1, 2-0 NE-10.
Murphy put together his best game of 2013 as he finished 31-for-42 for 275 yards, four TDs and an interception. That coincided with Bernard's finest performance of the year as he caught 14 passes for 134 yards and three scores, which matched his own school record that he set three times a season ago. Senior RB Keith Charles went over 200 all-purpose yards again with 12 rushes for 83 yards and four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, as well as four kick returns for 63 yards. The offense as a whole seemed to take a large step forward in getting back to the high-octane unit they were last season, amassing 385 yards of total offense.
The first quarter nearly went scoreless until New Haven ripped off a four-play, 80-yard drive in 1:12 that was capped by Mike DeCaro's 46-yard TD run. Anthony Greenfield added the extra point and the Chargers led 7-0 with 2:02 on the clock.
The Hawks answered by moving the ball 72 yards in nine plays, with Murphy finding Bernard across the middle for a 27-yard score just 45 seconds into the second quarter that made it 7-6 after the snap on the extra-point was fumbled. Murphy went a perfect 7-for-7 on the drive.
After junior DB Tyrel McDonald came up with a huge interception at the New Haven 34-yard line on the ensuing possession, Murphy fumbled the snap on the second play of the following series and New Haven regained control of the ball. Ronnie Nelson connected with Courtney Moshood on a 72-yard strike that set up a two-yard TD toss to Nick Music just two plays later, which pushed the lead to 14-6 with 11:11 remaining in the second stanza after Greenfield's point-after.
Saint Anselm responded just 24 seconds later after freshman WR Ryan Monette set the Hawks' up with great field position following an 81-yard kick return that went down to the five-yard line. Murphy found Bernard again for a touchdown on the next play that cut it to 14-13 after the PAT from sophomore K/P Shane Grayson.
DeCaro helped keep the Chargers in front on the ensuing drive. After a 41-yard kick return, he ate up 32 yards on four rushes during a five-play, 54-yard drive, including his six-yard TD scamper that opened it to 21-13 after the Greenfield kick with 8:43 left before the break.
After the Hawks' ensuing drive of 12 plays and 52 yards stalled out deep in New Haven territory following a questionable spot on fourth-and-three, the Chargers went 74 yards in six plays and found the end zone on Nelson's 25-yard touchdown pass to Michael Flacco with 1:36 left in the opening half. Greenfield tacked on another extra point and New Haven went into the locker room with a 28-13 advantage.
The Chargers took advantage of a short field to open the second half after they recovered Saint Anselm's surprise onside kick attempt at the host's 44-yard line. It took New Haven just three plays to go the distance as Nelson found Music from 34 yards out to make it 35-13 just 38 seconds in after the Greenfield PAT.
The teams would continue to trade scores as Bernard's two-yard touchdown reception at the 11:31 mark and Charles' 30-yard catch-and-run score kept the Hawks within striking distance at 42-26, but DeCaro's 51-yard TD jaunt closed the third-quarter scoring and began a string of four unanswered touchdown runs to close the game.
Junior LB Isaac Jorgensen led all Saint Anselm tacklers with nine stops, while sophomore DB Carroll Bailey made eight tackles, including two for a loss of seven yards.
DeCaro finished with 205 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, as part of a 286 all-purpose yard performance. The Chargers as a team racked up 821 yards of total offense, including 509 yards on the ground.
PULLING RANK
Senior RB Keith Charles leads the conference and is 10th in the country with 211.3 all-purpose yards per game. Senior DL Lou Licciardi's 2.5 tackles-for-loss per game lead the league and place him sixth, nationally. Junior WR Justin Bernard leads the league and is sixth in the nation with 9.7 receptions per game. Bernard also ranks second in the league and ninth, nationally, with five touchdown catches. Finally, sophomore QB Andrew Murphy's 25.7 completions per game place him second in the league and 20th nationwide, while his eight TD passes are good for third in the conference and 19th in the country.
FORCING THE ISSUE
The Saint Anselm defense has forced the third most turnovers (8) in the conference this season and is tied for the lead league in interceptions (4).
KICKING IT AROUND
In the Hawks' 52-24 loss at Stonehill on Sept. 14, sophomore K/P Shane Grayson booted a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter that registered as the sixth longest in program history.
TAKING IT AWAY
The Hawks forced four turnovers with two interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries in their 42-28 season-opening defeat against Bowie State on Sept. 7. It was the second straight game the defense racked up four takeaways as they intercepted three passes and forced a fumble in the 2012 season finale Nov. 10 at Merrimack on Northeast-10 Championship Weekend.
BALL HAWK
In the Hawks' 42-28 loss in their 2013 opener against Bowie State on Sept. 7, junior DB Mike Tatro made 10 tackles, in addition to a 39-yard fumble return and a 35-yard interception return. Tatro had eight total tackles in his entire career coming into the contest.
PREDICTING THE FUTURE
The Hawks were picked to finish ninth in the Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Aug. 29. AIC, which earned a berth into last season's Northeast-10 title game, topped the poll with 75 points and five first-place votes as it narrowly beat out defending Northeast-10 Champion New Haven, which amassed 73 points and a trio of first-place votes. Bentley grabbed the third spot with 61 points – just one ahead of LIU Post, which totaled 60 points and a pair of first-place votes after re-joining the league over the summer after a five-year stint in the PSAC. Merrimack nailed down the fifth spot with 44 points, while Southern Connecticut and Stonehill followed with 42 and 41 points, respectively. Assumption was picked eight with 24 points, while Pace rounded out the poll in 10th with nine points.
ESPN NEW HAMPSHIRE PARTNERSHIP RENEWED
The Saint Anselm College Department of Athletics has partnered with ESPN New Hampshire Radio for the second straight year in 2013-14. As part of the agreement, ESPN New Hampshire will feature the Saint Anselm Coaches' Show every Tuesday. The show will take place live from the dining hall on campus from noon-1 p.m. and will then be aired on ESPNNH.com, 1250 AM Manchester and 900 AM Nashua from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Nick Anastos, a Bedford, N.H., native, will again host the show. Anastos has served as the color analyst for the Hawks' Pack Network broadcasts of football, men's and women's basketball and men's and women's ice hockey since 2010. The show will highlight what is happening in the world of Saint Anselm athletics, as Anastos will chat with both a head coach and student-athlete during the hour-long segment.
LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
Saint Anselm Athletics and Pack Network will once again team up for the 2012-14 season to offer an industry-leading streaming video solution. The service will feature live event productions that include multiple cameras, an on-screen scoreboard and graphics so that fans can still be part of the action even when they can't make it to the game. And starting this season, fans can stream games live on their ipad or iphone. This season, all football, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's hockey games will be streamed live at SaintAnselmHawks.tv. The Hawks All-Access Pass, available for $69.95, gives fans the opportunity to watch not only all the live coverage of various Saint Anselm home athletic events, but also premium content not available to view without the All-Access Pass. The premium content includes an in-depth archive section of all video available. Single-event subscriptions for all live events will be available throughout the season for $6.95.
