MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College football team suffered a 3-0 defeat in a defensive slugfest against Bentley on Saturday afternoon in their home opener from Grappone Stadium.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm travels to Springfield, Mass. to take on American International next Saturday, September 21st with kickoff slated for 12:00 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 0, Bentley 3
Records: Saint Anselm (0-2); Bentley (2-0)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Melucci Field)
Date: Saturday, September 14th, 2024
Attendance: 829
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bentley received the opening kickoff and started with the ball at their own 29-yard line. The Falcons picked up three first downs on their opening drive, but on 1st-and-10 at the Hawks 35-yard line, Bentley quarterback Brett Pullman had his pass intercepted by Saint Anselm sophomore defensive back Jon Hosney (Killingworth, Conn.).
- Hawks sophomore quarterback Drew Forkner (Plano, Texas) then completed his first three passes of the afternoon, but Saint Anselm ultimately punted it back early in the first quarter.
- The Saint Anselm defense forced a quick three-and-out after that to get the offense possession once again. A 20-yard punt return from senior Brandon Potts (Bowie, Md.) resulted in the Hawks getting the ball at midfield.
- Bentley's defense came up big with a third down sack and forced Saint Anselm to punt it right back. Pullman then picked up a pair of long first downs through the air to get the Falcons near the midfield stripe, but on first down he was strip sacked by senior defensive lineman Austin Spille (Austin, Texas) and the ball was recovered by the Hawks.
- With just under two minutes left in the first quarter, Saint Anselm faced a 4th-and-3 at the Bentley 23-yard line and decided to go for it. Forkner linked up with senior wideout Will Twadell (Marblehead, Mass.) right at the sticks to move the chains, but the Hawks were then backed up on penalties and turned the ball over on downs without any points to show for a solid drive.
- Two plays after getting the ball back, Pullman was strip sacked for the second time as Spille collected the loose ball to set the Hawks up at the Falcons 20-yard line.
- On 3rd-and-6, Forkner was sacked for a loss of six yards, which set up a 4th-and 12 at the 22-yard line. Saint Anselm decided to go for it again, but only picked up eight yards and turned it over. Both teams then exchanged punts still with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
- With 6:11 remaining in the second quarter, the Hawks got a drive going that started on their own 28-yard line. Forkner connected with junior running back Jaidin Haynes (Sayreville, N.J.) for 18 yards and followed that up with a 17-yard strike to fifth-year wideout Blaine Burkhalter (Burnet, Texas). However, on 4th-and-6 at the Falcons 33-yard line, Forkner through an incompletion to give the visitors the ball back with 2:31 left.
- Bentley quickly put a drive together and crossed midfield, making it all the way to the Saint Anselm 17-yard line. With 30 seconds to go and on fourth down, the Falcons sent out kicker Mason Campbell, who kicked a 34-yard field goal through the uprights to make it 3-0, which was the score at the halftime break.
- The Hawks received the kickoff to start the second half and went on a 15-play, 67-yard drive that lasted almost 10 minutes. Forkner started to get into a rhythm with seven completions on the drive, including a big fourth-down conversion for 16 yards to Twadell that set up the Saint Anselm offense inside the red zone. However, Forkner ended the drive with a third down interception.
- The Hawks defense quickly forced a three-and-out and the offense got the ball back on the Falcons side of midfield. On 4th-and-3, Saint Anselm failed to convert, resulting in another turnover on downs with two minutes to play in the third quarter.
- On Bentley's first play of their next drive, Pullman completed a 64-yard pass to Rashon Bradford, who was pushed out of bounds at the Saint Anselm six-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, Pullman was intercepted for the second time by Hosney, who went down in the end zone for a touchback.
- With 13:04 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Forkner and the Hawks crossed midfield after a completion to junior wide receiver Andrew Edwards (Cibolo, Texas), but a forced fumble by Andres Andujar helped the Falcons regain possession.
- Saint Anselm got one last opportunity to score with 7:49 remaining in the game. They reached the Bentley eight-yard line after five straight completions by Forkner, but an interception in the end zone ended their chances.
- The Falcons were able to run the remaining time off the clock and take a couple knees to seal the victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a slight 271-254 advantage in total yards of offense.
- The Hawks also held a 245-164 edge in passing yards, while the Falcons led the rushing yards battle, 90-26.
- Bentley punted six times in the game, while Saint Anselm punted four times. There were eight total turnovers on the afternoon, five of which came on interceptions and three that came on fumbles.
- The Hawks committed seven penalties in the game for a loss of 53 yards, while the Falcons committed three penalties for a loss of 25 yards.
- Saint Anselm held a massive advantage in time of possession, controlling the ball for 37:30 out of 60 minutes.
- It was a struggle on third down as the Falcons converted just twice out of 12 chances compared to the Hawks who went 4-for-16. The Hawks also went 2-for-5 on fourth down.
- Saint Anselm sophomore quarterback Drew Forkner (Plano, Texas) completed 28 of his 45 passes attempts for 245 yards, but threw three interceptions in the loss.
- The receiving trio of Burkhalter, Edwards, and Twadell made five catches apiece.
- Hawks fifth-year linebacker Alejandro Santiago (Woodbridge, N.J.) had a game-high 11 total tackles, while senior defensive lineman Austin Spille (Austin, Texas) had a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
- Bentley running back Vinnie Holmes had 23 carries for 99 rushing yards, while Bradford had two catches for 77 receiving yards.
- Campbell scored the only three points of the game for the Falcons on a 34-yard field goal in the first half.
- This game marked the 24th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Bentley. The Hawks are now 2-22 all-time against the Falcons.
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