WORCESTER, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College football team suffered a 39-14 setback to #18 Assumption College on Friday night at the Multi-Sport Stadium in Worcester, Mass.
Box Score
The Hawks drop to 0-7 overall and 0-6 in the Northeast-10, while Assumption improves to 6-1 and 5-1 in league games. Saint Anselm returns home for their next game on Oct. 22 when they host Pace University at 12 p.m.
Joe Hayman carried the ball 14 times for 53 yards and scored both touchdowns for the Hawks while also catching four balls for 12 yards. Johnny Aylward added eight carries for 43 yards, while Yianni Gavalas had 10 yards on the ground.
Gavalas ended the game going 17-of-35 for 177 yards and two interceptions, with Aylward going 1-for-3 with a pick. Kyle Hill had another monster game receiving, hauling in nine passes for 121 yards. Correy King, Connor Schoske, Ryan Head, James Sullivan and Ben Reiffarth also had receptions in the setback.
Ryan Monette returned five kicks for 90 yards and also had a nine yard punt return with Hayman adding three returns for 67 yards.
Eric Mercer led the Saint Anselm defense with 10 tackles, with Eric Wilson recording eight stops and a sack. Liam Gillis had six tackles, while Isaiah Douglas had five solo stops in the game.
Assumption jumped out to a 17-0 lead to open the contest as Marc Monks and Ashton Grant connected on a pair of short touchdown passes, and Cole Tracy converted a 21-yard field goal after the Hawks put together a stop inside their own six-yard line. Tracy pushed the lead to 20-0 when he nailed a 47-yard field goal to put the Greyhounds on top 20-0 at the end of one quarter.
Joe Hayman ended the first quarter with a 35-yard kick return and Correy King opened the second with a 28-yard completion from Yianni Gavalas to move the ball into Assumption territory at the 37-yard line. After a first down completion to Hayman put the ball at the 27-yard line, the senior took the next carry to the house, putting the Hawks on the board with his fourth touchdown of the year to make it a 20-7 game with 12:28 to play in the first half.
Unfortunately, Assumption answered right back with a 68-yard touchdown strike from Monks to Brandon Swain-Price to go on top, 27-7. The Greyhounds took advantage of a short field after a Saint Anselm fumble and cashed in when Tracy was forced to settle for a 27-yard field goal to put the home team on top 30-7. Tracy connected on a 42-yard field goal with 3:55 to play in the first half to round out the scoring in the opening stanza with Assumption on top 33-7.
The Greyhounds scored the only six points of the third quarter as Tracy knocked down a pair of field goals from 25 and 45-yards out to take a 39-7 lead into the final period.
Saint Anselm would not go away quietly in the fourth as Gavalas and Kyle Hill went to work at their own 29-yard line. The duo picked up a first down after a fourth-and-one play and later connected for a 25-yard gain to move into Assumption territory. Gavalas found Hill for another 17-yard completion to put the ball inside the 10-yard line, and Gavalas later found Ryan Head to put the ball at the four-yard line. After an incompletion, Hayman took a carry up the middle and plunged into the end zone for his second score of the game to make it a 39-14 game.
On the Hawks final possession, Johnny Aylward took over for Gavalas at the Saint Anselm 42 and quickly moved Saint Anselm up the field. Aylward carried the ball five times for 41 yards to move the ball to the Assumption 14-yard line. On fourth-and-eight, Aylward scrambled his way to the 11 yard with a nine-yard carry to keep the drive alive, but Aylward was intercepted on the final play of the game as Assumption picked up the 39-14 win.
The Greyhounds totaled 456 yards of offense, throwing for 333 yards while picking up 123 yards on the ground. Saint Anselm registered 284 yards of total offense, netting 180 yards through the air and 104 yards rushing. The Hawks returned eight kick offs for 157 yards, and controlled time of possession, 34:28 to 25:32.
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