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Drew Forkner - Football vs. Franklin Pierce
42
Winner St. Anselm STA 5-3 , 5-1
28
Franklin Pierce FPU 4-4 , 4-2
Winner
St. Anselm STA
5-3 , 5-1
42
Final
28
Franklin Pierce FPU
4-4 , 4-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
STA St. Anselm 14 21 7 0 42
FPU Franklin Pierce 0 7 14 7 28

Game Recap: Football |

Forkner Tosses Five Touchdown Passes as Football Rolls Past Franklin Pierce

RINDGE, N.H. – Sophomore quarterback Drew Forkner (Plano, Texas) set a new career-high with five touchdown passes to lead the Saint Anselm College football team to a 42-28 victory over in-state rival Franklin Pierce on Saturday. Junior wide receiver Andrew Edwards (Cibolo, Texas) also set a new career high with three touchdown receptions. With the win, the Hawks stay in a tie for first place in the Northeast-10 standings with New Haven with two games remaining.
 

UP NEXT:

  • Saint Anselm hosts New Haven in a battle for sole possession of first place in the conference on Saturday, November 9th at 1:00 p.m. from Grappone Stadium.

Score: Saint Anselm 42, Franklin Pierce 28
Records: Saint Anselm (5-3; 5-1 NE10); Franklin Pierce (4-4; 4-2 NE10)
Location: Rindge, N.H. (Sodexo Field)
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Attendance: 386

HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • Saint Anselm kicked off to start the game and the defense stepped up right away, forcing a three-and-out by the Franklin Pierce offense.
  • The Hawks offense got to work on their own 30-yard line early in the first quarter. Forkner linked up with Edwards on a 20-yard pass to move the chains and a couple plays later, the same tandem connected again on a 34-yard touchdown strike to put Saint Anselm ahead, 7-0. Forkner completed four passes for 70 yards on the drive.
  • On the next drive for the Ravens, the Hawks forced another three-and-out thanks to a sack by senior linebacker Will Klein (Abington, Mass.) for a loss of 10 yards.
  • Saint Anselm again received a punt at their own 30-yard line and got a drive going. Forkner made a couple of completions including one of 24 yards to freshman running back Jake Croce (Point Pleasant, N.J.) to set the Hawks up just outside the red zone, but they eventually turned the ball over on downs after four straight incompletions.
  • Franklin Pierce moved the chains for the first time on their next possession, but a few plays later they turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on 4th-and-1 at their own 45-yard line.
  • A 26-yard rush by junior running back Jaidin Haynes (Sayreville, N.J.) gave the Hawks 1st-and-goal at the Ravens six-yard line and, two plays later, Forkner threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Edwards, making it 14-0 with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
  • Both teams exchanged punts to open the second quarter. Franklin Pierce then started to get their offense going and put together a 12-play, 59-yard drive. After converting on a 4th-and-10, quarterback Adrian Parker tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jahmir Dixon to cut the Saint Anselm lead to 14-7 midway through the second.
  • A solid return of 28 yards on the ensuing kickoff by senior Najei Snyder (Deltona, Fla.) gave the Hawks good starting field position at their own 45-yard line. It did not take long for them to answer, scoring less than three minutes later to extend their lead. A 23 yard rush by Croce and a 20-yard catch from sophomore running back Anthony Almeida (North Arlington, N.J.) put Saint Anselm in the red zone, where Haynes rushed in a score from 14 yards out to make it 21-7.
  • The Hawks quickly got the ball back at their own 39-yard line after forcing another Ravens punt with under two minutes remaining in the first half. They needed only three plays to find the end zone again with Forkner finding senior wideout Will Twadell (Marblehead, Mass.) deep down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown. That score made it 28-7 with 1:02 left in the half.
  • The Ravens muffed the ensuing kickoff and junior Frank Schmitt (Chicago, Ill.) made the recovery to set the Hawks up inside the red zone. On fourth down at the 10-yard line, Forkner fired his fourth touchdown pass of the day, this time to fifth-year wide receiver Blaine Burkhalter (Burnet, Texas), which gave Saint Anselm a 35-7 lead at halftime.
  • Snyder opened the second half with a bang for the Hawks. The return man brought one back 42 yards to give his team possession on the other side of midfield.
  • Saint Anselm wasted little time after that and scored in just two plays. Forkner completed a 45-yard pass to Edwards, who found the end zone for the third time of the afternoon to make it 42-7.
  • Franklin Pierce quickly answered by scoring a touchdown in just four plays. Running back Reimello Hyde ran into the end zone from 17 yards out to cut into the deficit for the home team.
  • Snyder again showed his prowess on the ensuing kickoff with an electric 52-yard return. However, the Hawks were not able to make anything happen despite the strong starting field position and punted it away.
  • The Ravens did the same after another three-and-out, which was forced after a sack by senior defensive lineman Austin Spille (Austin, Texas) for a loss of nine yards.
  • Franklin Pierce got the ball back after another Saint Anselm punt and started to close the gap with another long touchdown drive. Parker led the Ravens 77 yards down the field to the end zone. The home team converted twice on fourth down on the drive, including on 4th-and-goal from the 14-yard line where Parker found Austyn Howe for a score to make it 42-21.
  • The Ravens defense forced two more punts by the Hawks and got the ball to start the fourth quarter. A couple of penalties by Saint Anselm allowed Franklin Pierce to drive into opposing territory, but Parker was picked off in the end zone by senior defensive back Brandon Potts (Bowie, Md.) to end the possession.
  • Franklin Pierce eventually got the ball back and scored again with 2:44 remaining courtesy of a four-yard rushing touchdown by Alex Benitez, putting the score at 42-28.
  • The Ravens attempted an onside kick, but the Hawks recovered and were able to drain the remaining time to earn the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

  • Saint Anselm held a slight advantage in total yards of offense and outgained Franklin Pierce, 388-374.
  • The Ravens picked up 22 first downs in the game, while the Hawks moved the chains 16 times.
  • Franklin Pierce won the rushing yards battle, 122-112. The Ravens averaged 3.6 yards per carry compared to 4.5 yards per attempt by the Hawks.
  • Saint Anselm excelled in the air with 276 passing yards and 16.2 yards per completion compared to 252 passing yards and 11.0 yards per completion by Franklin Pierce.
  • The Ravens committed the only two turnovers of the game which came on an interception and a lost fumble.
  • Saint Anselm punted six times for a total of 172 yards (28.7 average), while Franklin Pierce punted five times for a total of 154 yards (30.8 average).
  • Both teams committed nine penalties in the game with the Hawks losing 90 yards and the Ravens losing 55 yards.
  • Despite trailing most of the game, Franklin Pierce spent more time in possession of the ball (33:57) than Saint Anselm (26:03).
  • Both teams struggled on third down with the Hawks going 2-11 and the Ravens going 4-19. Franklin Pierce did well on fourth down and went 6-8 compared to Saint Anselm, who went 1-2.
  • Each side found success in the red zone, combining to score touchdowns on all seven trips.
  • Saint Anselm won the battle in the trenches. The Hawks' defensive line recorded five sacks for a loss of 44 yards, while the offensive line did not allow a single sack.
  • For the Hawks, Forkner completed 17 of his 32 passes for 276 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He also ran six times for 13 yards and did not turn the ball over,
  • For the Ravens, Parker completed 23 of his 51 passes for 252 yards to go along with two touchdowns and an interception.
  • Haynes led Saint Anselm with four carries for 53 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
  • Hyde rushed nine times for 74 yards and a touchdown for Franklin Pierce, while his teammate Benitez carried the ball 13 times for 64 yards and a rushing touchdown.
  • Edwards recorded single-game career-highs with his 102 receiving yards and three touchdowns on just four receptions for the Hawks.
  • Joziah Gonzalez led the Ravens with seven catches for 108 receiving yards.
  • Junior Aidan Noke (Burlington, Mass.) led the defensive effort for Saint Anselm with eight total tackles, a half sack, and a pass breakup. Spille also shined defensively for the Hawks with seven total tackles and 2.0 sacks.
  • Also getting in on the quarterback for Saint Anselm was Klein and sophomore Aris Xerras (Danvers, Mass.), who tallied a sack apiece.
  • Potts hauled in the game's only interception, while sophomore Jon Hosney (Killingworth, Conn.) made three pass breakups in the secondary for the Hawks.
  • Junior kicker Sean Hurley (Bayville, N.J.) went a perfect 6-6 on extra points for the Hawks as well.
  • Also on special teams, Snyder is now second in the NE10 in total kickoff return yards (466) and kickoff return average (33.3). His kickoff return average is fourth-highest in all of NCAA Division II, while his total kickoff return yards rank 12th-most in the nation. He has recorded a 50+ yard return in five games this fall.
  • This marked the fifth all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce. The Hawks remain undefeated against the Ravens in the series that began in 2019.

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