MANCHESTER, N.H. – Saint Anselm College senior quarterback Yianni Gavalas (Manhasset, N.Y.) went 21-of-41 and threw three touchdown passes, but the Hawks dropped their home opener, 35-21, to Bentley University on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
Box Score
Saint Anselm falls to 0-2 on the young year and moves to 0-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Falcons pick up their first win of the year to improve to 1-1 and 1-0 in the NE-10.
Kyle Hill (Upper Marlboro, Md.) caught 12 of Gavalas' passes for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Zach Bartak (Greenfield, Mass.) added six catches for 76 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown, and Ryan Monette (Hampton, N.H.) hauled in three grabs for 37 yards.
On the ground, Joe Hayman (Brandywine, Md.) had 32 yards rushing, while Monette also added a pair of runs for 16 yards. Hayman returned five kicks for 136 yards that also included a 53 yard scamper where he was tripped up just before breaking it for a huge touchdown. Ryan Monette returned a pair of punts for 16 yards as well.
Andy Klouda (Solon, Iowa) led the defense with nine tackles, while Eric Mercer (Melrose, Mass.) added eight of his own. Kyrel Jaundoo (Mattapan, Mass.) and Eric Wilson (Dover, N.H.) registered six tackles apiece, while Nate Lewis (Lanham, Md.) and Josh Garrett (Riviera Beach, Fla.) had five tackles each, respectively.
Bentley's CJ Scarpa went 14-of-20 for 185 yards and two scores, while also adding a five-yard rushing touchdown, to lead the Bentley offense. Sean Myers caught six passes for 55 yards and a score, while Brendan Burke had two grabs for 49 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown.
Martin Bannerman Jr. carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards and a touchdown, while George Craan finished the day with 11 carries for 34 yards and a score.
Junior Chery led the Falcons' defense with eight tackles and also grabbed an interception. Bryan Hardy registered seven tackles, and Joey Piatnik had five tackles and a sack. Lamar Hardy had four stops on the day, including two pass-breakups, and had the other Bentley interception on the day.
Bentley scored the only points of the first quarter as Scarpa hit Myers for a five-yard touchdown with less than five minutes to play in the opening period. Saint Anselm answered back in the second quarter as their next drive ended with Gavalas hitting Hill with a back-shoulder throw to knot the game at 7-7 with 12:41 remaining in the half.
The Falcons responded on their next drive as they took advantage of several Hawks penalties to move down the field and into scoring position. With the ball at the seven-yard line, George Craan took a carry up the middle and through the defense for the go-ahead score. Bentley extended their lead to 21-7 following a Gavalas pick that led to a 16-yard touchdown scamper for Martin Bannerman Jr.
On the ensuing Hawks possession, Joe Hayman rattled off a 53-yard kick return to put Saint Anselm at the Bentley 41 with just under eight minutes to play. Gavalas and Hill went to work as the senior found the sophomore for an 18-yard gain to get to the 23, and the later connected again from 18 yards out with Hill finding a hole in the Falcons' secondary for a touchdownto make it a one score game at 21-14.
The two teams traded empty possessions until Bentley got the ball back with 2:33 to play in the half. Bannerman Jr. set the Falcons up with a first down at the 30-yard line, and after an incomplete pass, Scarpa found Brendan Burke on the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown that gave the visitors a 28-14 lead headed into the half.
After a fairly quiet third quarter, Bentley extended their lead to 35-14 as Scarpa took a quarterback-keeper into the end zone from five-yards out with no time remaining in the third stanza.
Looking for a quick answer, the Hawks went to the air as Gavalas completed two passes to Bartak and two passes to Hill to move the ball into Bentley territory. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Gavalas dropped back to pass and found Bartak over the middle and the senior fought off a couple of tackles and scored from 33-yards out to pull the Hawks back to within 35-21.
The Hawks forced a punt on the next Bentley possession, and on their ensuing drive, Gavalas was intercepted by Lamar Hardy on the far sideline. Hardy thought he had an easy pick-six, but Gavalas stayed with the play and hustled to force a fumble at the one-yard line with the ball bouncing off the pylon and giving the Hawks back possession with just under four minutes to go.
Saint Anselm got to midfield and were forced to go for it on fourth down, but Bentley's Piatnik sacked Gavalas on the final play of the drive for Saint Anselm, giving possession back to the Falcons, who kneeled out the clock to end the game.
The Hawks controlled the clock as they held the ball for 33:51 compared to 26:09 for Bentley. Saint Anselm also had more total offense (304) than Bentley (302), as they threw for 238 yards and rushed for 66 compared to 185 yards passing and 117 yards on the ground for the Falcons.
The difference in the game came in turnovers as the Hawks had a pair of miscues to just one for the Falcons. Saint Anselm also committed 15 penalties for 108 yards, while Bentley only had five flags for 54 yards. Both teams were efficient on third down as Bentley was 8-of-12 (67%) and the Hawks were 11-of-18 (61%).
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