MANCHESTER, N.H. – Fresh off a 24-16 victory over Pace last time out, the Saint Anselm College football team takes on the American International College Yellow Jackets at 1 p.m. on Senior Day this Saturday.

SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (2-5, 2-4 NE10)
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AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE YELLOW JACKETS (3-5, 1-5 NE10)
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Saint Anselm picked up a 24-16 victory over visiting Pace University last Saturday at Grappone Stadium, moving to 2-5 overall on the year and to 2-4 against Northeast-10 Conference opponents.

American International began its season with a 3-0 record, defeating Millersville and Pace in non-league play before opening the conference schedule with a 38-19 victory over Franklin Pierce. Since then, the Yellow Jackets have dropped five in a row, including three games at home.

SETTING THE STAGE

• The Hawks jumped ahead by a 17-0 margin in the first half and eventually scored on four drives in that time frame, building an 11-point lead at halftime. Pace responded with three of the game's final four scores, but the early advantage established by the Hawks offense created the eight-point margin of victory.
• Saint Anselm limited Pace to just 27 net rushing yards, the fourth-lowest conceded by the Hawks in program history. The Setters averaged less than one yard per carry on the day, thanks to a Saint Anselm defense that combined for 13 tackles for a loss of 66 yards.
• The Hawks also sacked the Pace quarterback six times for a combined deficit of 47 yards. So far in 2021, Saint Anselm has gotten to the quarterback 21 times – a stout offensive line for the Hawks has given up just 10 sacks on the season. 

SALUTING THE SENIORS

• Saint Anselm will honor and recognize 22 graduating student-athletes on Saturday in a pre-game ceremony. The Hawks will also salute the three members of the Saint Anselm Dance Team. 

HAWKS QUICK HITS

• Saint Anselm boasts the nation's sixth-best passing offense, averaging 328 yards per game across the team's first seven games. The team also ranks seventh nationally in team tackles for a loss, averaging 8.7 per game to lead the NE10 as well.
• Sophomore quarterback Drew Willoughby (Austin, Texas) is second nationally in completions per game (29.29) and third in passing yards per game (324.4). Junior Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas) checks in by averaging 16.2 yards per punt return, the sixth-best in NCAA Division II. Brown also averages 88.1 receiving yards per game, good enough to rank in the top 30 in the nation.
• Among active NCAA Division II student-athletes entering the game, Brown is sixth with 123.22 all-purpose yards per game in his lengthy career.
• Saint Anselm ranks in the top three in the NE10 in both third down conversion percentage (42.2%) and fourth down conversion percentage (50.0%). The Hawks also rank second in the league with just 1.14 sacks conceded per game, trailing only Bentley and its league-leading figure of 0.57 per tilt.
• Fifth-year senior Ryan Sullivan (Stoughton, Mass.) is seventh among active student-athletes in NCAA Division II with 8.85 career tackles per game.

TAYLOR MADE

• Junior Taylor Pawelkoski (Bradenton, Fla.) earned the Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday.
• Pawelkoski helped the Hawks to a 24-16 victory over Pace on Saturday and was part of a defense that limited the Setters to just 27 rushing yards on the afternoon. He is just the second NE10 Defensive Player of the Week award recipient from Saint Anselm in the last five seasons.
• In the game, Pawelkoski had four solo tackles and three assisted tackles for seven on the day. He also logged 1.5 sacks for a combined loss of 12 yards – in total, Saint Anselm posted six sacks on the day for a combined loss of 47 yards.
• The week prior, he posted 11 tackles at Stonehill to lead Saint Anselm defensively. On the season, he ranks in the top 20 in the NE10 with 5.9 tackles per game and is one of just 20 student-athletes across the league with 40 or more tackles on the year. He recovered a fumble in the season-opener at NCAA Division I Merrimack as well.
• Across 15 games for Saint Anselm in his career, Pawelkoski has posted 59 total tackles, including six for a combined loss of 19 yards. He has two fumble recoveries in his career.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS

• Conceding just three rushing touchdowns in the team's 3-0 start, American International has allowed 12 rushing scores during the team's five-game losing skid. The Yellow Jackets defense has only conceded five aerial touchdowns in that span.
• AIC quarterback Jayson DeMild is ranked third in the nation with 16.99 passing yards per completion while Rady Rojas-Potilla is averaging 43.8 yards per punt, the country's third best figure. Jaysen Thompsen ranks sixth in NCAA Division II with 11.4 tackles per game on defense.
• American International leads the NE10 in passing yards per completion with 16.33 per catch, on average. The team is also third in the league for team tackles for loss (5.9) - Saint Anselm is the league-leader in that metric (8.7).
• American International has lost 20 turnovers, leading the NE10 - the team is also ranked last in kickoff return defense, giving up an average 25.86 yards on kick returns. The Yellow Jackets are also the most penalized team in the league, averaging 9.12 per game and north of 82 yards via penalty per tilt.