MANCHESTER, N.H. – Playing at home for the first time in over a month, the Saint Anselm College football team welcomes Assumption University, a squad receiving votes in the National Coaches' Poll, to campus for Homecoming Weekend.

SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (5-3, 2-3 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News | Game Notes

RV ASSUMPTION UNIVERSITY GREYHOUNDS (6-2, 5-1 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News | Game Notes

The Hawks, who will also celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, have won nine of their last 11 games played at Grappone Stadium. The two defeats have come against nationally-ranked opponents - the first loss was to No. 24 Bentley on Oct. 2, 2021 where the Hawks rallied from a 27-0 deficit but could not complete the comeback, falling 34-21. On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Hawks posted a narrow 21-10 defeat to No. 24 New Haven.

Assumption University, who is receiving votes in the American Football Coaches' Association National Poll, comes to town with two signature victories on its resume, holding No. 13 Kutztown scoreless in its season opener before recording a 14-13 victory over No. 25-ranked New Haven last Saturday. The latter victory has pushed Assumption into the NE10 lead with a 5-1 conference record, ahead of Bentley (4-1) and New Haven (4-1) who have games in hand.

Admission to Saturday's game is $10, payable by credit card only at the gate. As a reminder to all fans, pets are not allowed within the confines of the Grappone Stadium fencing and field turf access is limited to those with pre-approved credentials only.

NOTABLES

• TOP ROOKIE HONORS: Sophomore quarterback Anthony Santino (Woodbridge, N.J.) was selected by the Northeast-10 Conference as its Rookie of the Week on Monday. Without making a single pass attempt in his career prior to Saturday, Santino came off the bench in Saturday's game at Pace to deliver 202 passing yards and two touchdowns versus the Setters. Santino completed just shy of 65% of his passes in the narrow road defeat in NE10 play. Including a rushing touchdown in the Oct. 1 contest at home against Post, Santino has now had a hand in three scores for the Hawks in the month of October. He becomes the eighth quarterback in Saint Anselm history to be honored by the NE10 with Rookie of the Week honors.
• POSTED UP: With a 24-20 victory on the road at Post on Saturday, Oct. 22, the Hawks reached five wins in a campaign for the first time since 2014. No Saint Anselm football team since 1894 has logged seven wins in a campaign - there are two games left in the regular season.
• NOT "OUT OF OUR LEAGUE": The team's victory over Post gave Saint Anselm a perfect 3-0 record in non-conference play for the first time in the team's modern-day history. With the departure of Stonehill to the NCAA Division I ranks, the Hawks had the opportunity for three non-league games in one season for the first time.
• SENIOR DAY: Saint Anselm will honor 22 senior student-athletes from the football team on Saturday with a pre-game ceremony, slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. The Hawks also will recognize the five members of the Saint Anselm dance team for their support of Hawks athletics throughout the academic year.
• SETTING THE STAGE: The Hawks will play their ninth game of the season on Saturday and still remain nationally-ranked in several major statistical categories. Saint Anselm ranks second in NCAA Division II in turnovers gained (24) and checks in with the nation's 14th-best opposing third down conversion percentage (28.9%). The Hawks have also recovered 12 fumbles, the fourth-best rate in the country.
• PICKS GALORE: The Hawks have logged 12 interceptions on defense this season, the sixth-most in a single season with two games to play in the season. The single-season Hawks record was set in 2004 and 2013 with 19 defensive interceptions. Among NE10 institutions, the Hawks lead with 12 picks on the season.
• WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas) has caught a pass in each of his 28 career games at Saint Anselm, the fourth-longest streak in Hawks history. Justin Bernard '15, the all-time NCAA Division II leader for career passes caught (386), had a program-record streak of 41 games with at least one reception from Sept. 9, 2010 through Nov. 15, 2014. Brown has hauled in 16 career touchdowns, needing two on Saturday against Assumption to pass Marc Wilson '12 for third place on the all-time list.
• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Anselm was unable to complete a dramatic comeback over the host Setters from Pace University on Saturday, falling by a 17-14 margin. Down by three points following a 30-yard touchdown reception by sophomore Carson Goda (Bradenton, Fla.) with 9:52 left in regulation, Saint Anselm had multiple opportunities to tie the game or push ahead. However, Saint Anselm failed to convert twice on fourth down as Santino was sacked a total of four times for a combined loss of 27 yards in that span. The Hawks defense would keep the team in the game in that stretch, forcing two punts late in the fourth quarter while also recovering a Pace fumble, forced by sophomore Austin Spille (Austin, Texas) and picked up by senior Max Tempchin (Silver Spring, Md.) with 8:33 remaining in regulation time. With Pace unable to put the game away, Saint Anselm received the ball back with eight seconds left, down three, and Santino hooked up with senior Bobby Long (Bridgewater, Mass.) on a 41-yard desperation pass that caromed off the Pace defense down field. However, Long was brought down at the 11-yard line after catching the ball as time expired.

For a more detailed game preview, check out the GAME NOTES for Saturday's game.