2007 Bryant Bulldogs football team

NCAATeamFootballSeason
Year=2007
Team=Bryant Bulldogs

50px
Conference=Northeast-10
Division=
ShortConference=NE-10
Record=8-3
ConfRecord=8-1
CoachRank=
APRank=
HeadCoach=Marty Fine
OScheme=Multiple
DScheme=4-3
StadiumArena=Bulldog Stadium (c. 5,500, grass)
Champion=Northeast-10 Conference Champions
BowlTourney= DII Playoffs First Round
BowlTourneyResult= L SCSU, 28-45

chedule

2007

Game Notes

American International (Sept. 8th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Yellow Jackets
R1=0
R2=6
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Bulldogs
H1=0
H2=7
H3=0
H4=6Senior quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) completed 11 of 17 passes for 104 yards while sophomore linebacker Paul Polomski (Franklin, Mass.) picked off two passes and recovered a fumble to help lead the Bryant University football team to a 13-6 win over visiting American International at a sweltering Bulldog Stadium Saturday.

With temperatures reaching 90 by kickoff, the 4,242 fans at the season opener for both teams saw a defensive battle throughout the afternoon as both offensives struggled to get into gear.

On a day that saw Bryant (1-0, 1-0 NE-10) manage just 181 yards of total offense, it was the defense that came through when the team needed it the most. Returning eight starters, the Bulldogs forced AIC into four turnovers on the afternoon - including three interceptions. Bryant would have had four interceptions but a Bryce Martins (Uncasville, Conn.) pickoff in the third was negated due to a roughing the passer penalty on the Bulldogs.

Things didn't look good early for AIC (0-1, 0-1 NE-10). The Yellow Jackets lost starting quarterback Shane Murphy early in the second quarter to a leg injury and did not return. His replacement, Dena Barnes completed just two of 12 attempts, but a blocked punt helped set up AIC's first score.

The Yellow Jackets recovered on the Bryant 12 yard line and two plays later, Barnes scored on a quarterback keeper. The point after failed, giving AIC a 6-0 lead.

The Bulldogs would answer just before the half as Andrew Salinger scored on a 4-yard pass from Granatell, giving the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead at the break. A 33-yard pass play by Granatell to Sean Bergin (New Windsor, NY) helped set up the scoring play.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Bulldogs put the game away late in the fourth on Polomski's second interception of the afternoon.

With AIC facing a second and six from their own 35 yard line, Bryant got a strong push from its defensively line as Don Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) got in the backfield and pressured Barnes into throwing an ill-advised pass across the middle where Polomski was there to pick it off. The sophomore raced down the left sideline 44 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-6 and the Bulldogs would hold on from there.

Merrimack (Sept. 14th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=10
R2=0
R3=0
R4=21
R5=6
Home=Warriors
H1=7
H2=7
H3=10
H4=7
H5=3Sophomore running back Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, Mass.) rushed for a career-high 177 yards including a game-winning 12 yard touchdown run in overtime to lead the Bryant University football team to a thrilling 37-34 come-from-behind win Friday night at Warrior Field.

The win improves Bryant's record to 2-0 (2-0 Northeast-10) marking the first 2-0 start for the Bulldogs in the program's history. But the win didn't come easy as the Warrior running back Mike Young equaled a school record with 255 yards rushing for Merrimack. The Bulldogs, trailing 31-14 after three quarters, put the clamps on Young in the fourth quarter and outscored Merrimack 21-0 to tie the game 31-31.

Two years ago, the last time Bryant visited Merrimack, both teams engaged into a high scoring matchup with the Bulldogs eventually falling in overtime after missing a PAT at the end of regulation that would have won the game. Friday's matchup was eerily very similar. But this time, the Bulldogs would come out on top, but not before some last second drama.

The Bulldogs, behind the running of Gamble, moved the ball effectively down field to get into field goal range. Charlie Granatell's pass to Jarrett Solimando to the Merrimack 24 set up a potential game-winning field goal by Christopher Bird with six seconds left. His kick was wide left and both teams headed to overtime.

On Merrimack's first possession in the extra period, the Bulldog defense held the Warriors to only a field goal. On Bryant's ensuing possession, the Bulldogs moved the ball to the Warrior 12 yard line where Gamble sliced through the Warrior defense for the game winner.

The two teams combined for more than 800 yards of offense on the night as Granatell played well in the second half in running the offense as the senior signal caller finished the night 16 of 31 passing for 199 yards and 3 TDs.

The first half was a tell tale sign of things to come as both teams scored on their first possessions. Bryant struck first as Bird connected on a 27 yard field goal to cap a 10-play, 44 yard drive by the Bulldogs.

But Merrimack would answer right back, putting together a nine-play drive, mixing up the offense with a balance rush by Young and the passing of Colin Temple. With the ball on the Bryant 37 yard line, Temple floated a pass down the middle high enough for Chris Laham to circle under it in the end zone to put the Warriors on top 7-3.

Bryant would come right back as the Bulldogs mustered together another time consuming 10 play drive. Quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) connected with Joey Brito (Pawtucket, RI) down the left sideline for a 26 pass play to the Merrimack 17 yard line. One play later, Granatell rolled to his right and hit Sean Bergin (New Windsor, NY) who scampered into the end zone untouched to make it 10-7.

But from there, the Bulldog defense settled in, forcing Merrimack to punt and in the process giving Bryant excellent field position on the Warrior 45. But the ensuing drive would come to an abrupt halt as Granatell's 30-yard pass to Chris Arnold (Wyckoff, NJ) appeared to have been complete for a Bryant touchdown, but Jordan Rankine wrestled the ball away from Arnold for a Merrimack touchback.

Bryant's defense would again come up big as Marcus Lindsey (Bridgeport, Conn.) intercepted a Temple pass and returned it to the Merrimack 39. But Bryant would cough the ball up as Gamble fumbled on the Merrimack 10.

Assumption (Sept. 22nd)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=0
R2=17
R3=14
R4=7
Home=Greyhounds
H1=7
H2=0
H3=7
H4=14A week after running for a career best 177 yards in a win over Merrimack, Bryant sophomore running back Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, Mass.) turned in another career performance a week later, rushing for a career-best 182 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns as the Bryant football team defeated Assumption 38-28 Saturday afternoon. Win improves the Bulldogs to 3-0 (3-0 NE-10) on the year, Bryant's best start to a season in school history.

Against Assumption Saturday, the Bulldogs trailed 7-0 after one quarter of play but came back with 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 17-7 lead at the half. A Chris Bird 23 yard field goal helped get the Bulldogs on the board, early in the second quarter. Gamble would score from five yards out to make it 10-7.

Assumption (1-3, 1-2 NE-10) would move the ball to the Bryant 35 yard line, but Bryant's Michael Morgan intercepted a Taylor Humphrey pass in the end zone and returned it back to the Bryant 17 with 42 seconds left in the half.

On the first play of Bryant's ensuing possession, Gamble broke through for a 73 yard run down the left sideline, setting up a first and goal from the Assumption 10. Charlie Granatell hit Bryan Wood for a 9 yard pickup down to the Assumption 1 yard line with 11 seconds left.

The Bulldogs would use two time outs before Granatell hit Doug Emerzian with a one yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to put Bryant up 17-7 at the break.

In the second half, Bryant would pull ahead 31-15 after a third quarter touchdown by Gamble, but taking advantage of a pair of Bryant turnovers, Assumption would pull to within three points behind a 2 yard touchdown run by Herb Woodward and a Humphrey 8 yard touchdown pass to Jake Beers with 9:47 left to play.

But the Bulldogs would seal the win with a 10-play, 70-yard drive capped by a Gamble 1 yard run to close out the scoring.

The four rushing touchdowns by Gambles equals a school record held by Lorenzo Perry who had four last year against Southern Connecticut.

Granatell finished the day with 218 yards passing, completing 18 of 30 attempts and one touchdown. Jarett Solimando and Wood each had four receptions for the Bulldogs. Assumption tailback Herb Woodward had 126 yards on 23 carries for the Greyhounds.

Pace (Sept. 29th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Setters
R1=3
R2=7
R3=0
R4=9
Home=Bulldogs
H1=7
H2=0
H3=0
H4=15Charlie Granatell scored on a two-yard run on a quarterback sneak with 4:19 left as the Bryant University football team avoided an upset Saturday afternoon, defeating Pace University 22-19 before 4,317 fans on Homecoming at Bulldog Stadium. The win extends Bryant's record start to the season as the Bulldogs are now 4-0 (4-0 NE-10) heading into next week's game at C.W. Post.

The Bulldogs trailed 10-7 entering through three quarters of play but regained the lead on a broken play early in the fourth. With Granatell scrambling outside the pocket, senior lineman Ralph Squitieri gave a key block allowing Granatell enough time to find Ryan Buckley in the back of the end zone to make it 14-10 with 14:09 left.

Bryant would hold Pace to a three-and-out on their next possession, but the Bulldogs gave the ball right back as Lindsey Gamble fumbled on his own 27. The Setters would make the hosts pay as quarterback Ray Gregg found Mike LaStella in the back of the end zone to put Pace back on top 17-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bryant's Jerell Smith fielded the kick in the Bryant end zone and after running out to the one, tried to take a knee in the end zone and was flagged for a Pace safety, stretching the Pace lead to 19-14.

Bryant's defense would stiffen, holding Pace to another three-and-out and got the play of the game on the punt return by Chris Wohlheter. Wohlheter, who fumbled a punt in the first half, amended for the mistake by returning the punt 67 yards down to the Pace 11 yard line.

Senior Chris Peaks would rumble through two Pace tacklers, down to the Setter's two yard line where Granatell was able to find a small hole in the line and put the Bulldogs on top for good.

Granatell completed 14 of 26 passes for 141 yards while Gamble was held to just 55 yards on 20 carries. Bryant had 117 yards rushing in the game and turned the ball over three times, all by fumble.

Justin Polanis had 54 yards on the ground for Pace (1-4, 1-3 NE-10) while Gregg completed 8 passes for 87 yards.

C.W. Post (Oct. 6th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=7
R2=10
R3=7
R4=0
Home=Pioneers
H1=14
H2=0
H3=3
H4=0Jerell Smith rushed for 125 yards on 20 carries and quarterback Charlie Granatell completed 14 of 21 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown to lead the Bryant University football team to a 24-17 win at C.W. Post Saturday afternoon. The win extends Bryant's best-start to a season as the Bulldogs improve to 5-0 on the year setting up a showdown for first place in the Northeast-10 next week in Smithfield, RI with conference co-leader Stonehill College.

The win marks the first-ever for Bryant (5-0, 5-0 NE-10) against the Pioneers in seven meetings. Last year the Bulldogs fell to C.W. Post in the final seconds in a thriller at Bulldog Stadium. This time around, it was Bryant coming out on top, playing the spoiler on C.W. Post's Homecoming on a warm and humid day at Hickox Field in Long Island.

In the early going, it was all C.W. Post (2-3, 2-2 NE-10) as the Pioneers, who scored twice on their first three possessions. But the Bulldogs would answer, scoring 17 unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at the break. Bryan Wood got the visitors on the board, hauling in a 13 yard touchdown pass from Granatell. Two Chris Bird field goals and a Chris Peaks 7 yard touchdown run accounted for the scoring.

After and Andrew Kroell field goal tied the game up at 17-17, Smith would cap a 10-play drive to put Bryant back on top for good, scoring from 14 yards out to make it 24-17. From, the Bryant defense, led by Andre Whyte and Jay Stahl would come up big down the stretch.

With under four minutes left and C.W. Post facing a fourth and three from midfield, Stahl was able to deflect a pass attempt by quarterback Nick Georghetti to turn the ball back over to Bryant on downs. From there, Bryant was able to run the clock out, picking up a crucial first down on a 3rd and 15 as Granatell hit Sean Bergin for a 26 yard gain. The Bulldogs would give the ball to Smith who chewed up the clock with some hard running, giving Bryant its biggest win of the season.

Sophomore Paul Polomski of Franklin, Mass. led the defense with a career-high 14 tackles - two shy of a school record. Dan Curci (9 tackles) had four tackles for a loss and two sacks on the afternoon while Marcus Lindsey added eight tackles as the Bryant defense held CW Post to 265 yards of total offense in the game.

tonehill (Oct. 13th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Skyhawks
R1=0
R2=0
R3=6
R4=0
Home=Bulldogs
H1=10
H2=17
H3=7
H4=0Sophomore Jerell Smith rushed for 105 yards and Charlie Granatell completed 17 of 23 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns as the 25th-ranked Bryant University football team improved to 6-0 on the season with a 34-6 win over visiting Stonehill before a packed Bulldog Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The win gives Bryant sole possession of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference at 6-0 heading into next week's game at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH.

Before a Parents & Family Weekend crowd of 5,434 - the second largest crowd in Bulldog Stadium history, Bryant capitalized on an early Stonehill turnover to start the scoring. Senior defensive end Alessio Trabelsi forced Stonehill quarterback Cruz Parsons to fumble in the pocket on the Skyhawks' fourth play of the game's opening drive. Tackle Jay Stahl was there to recover the ball for the Bulldogs at the Stonehill 10 yard line, giving the Bryant great field position right away. Three players later, Granatell hit Sean Bergin for a four yard touchdown pass and the Bulldogs were off and running.

Two Chris Bird field goals (29, 28) put Bryant up 13-0 early in the second quarter. From there, Smith scored from 6 yards out to make it 20-0 midway through the quarter and Lindsey Gamble (97 yards) scored on a 7 yard run to make it 27-0 just before halftime and the Bulldogs were never threatened. Smith averaged 7 yards per carry, going over the 100 yard mark for the second game in a row. The sophomore transfer from Howard had a career-best 125 in Bryant's win last week at C.W. Post.

Bryant's (6-0, 6-0 NE-10) offense dominated the first half as the Bulldogs had 291 yards of total offense while the defense limited Stonehill to just 91 yards in the first half alone.

Stonehill (4-2, 4-1 NE-10), which came into the game tied with Bryant for first place in the conference, would finally get on the board as Parsons hit JJ Niamkey in the back of the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 8:06 left in the third. The point after attempt was blocked, leaving the score 34-6.

Bryant's defense pressured the Stonehill offense all afternoon, limiting the visitors to just 46 yards rushing. The Bulldogs sacked Parsons five times in the game including two by Trabelsi. Stonehill, which finished with 281 yards of offense in the game, went 0 for 6 on third-down conversions and failed to convert two fourth down attepts. After just 65 yards in the first half, Parsons finished the game completing 17 of 29 passes for 235 yards.

Senior Sean Bergin caught five passes for 70 yards, catching two touchdown passes from Granatell including a 28-yard dazzler to start the third.

t. Anselm (Oct. 20th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=14
R2=21
R3=14
R4=0
Home=Hawks
H1=0
H2=7
H3=7
H4=7Sophomore Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for 135 yards on eight carries to lead the 24th-ranked Bryant University football team to a 49-21 Northeast-10 Conference win at Saint Anselm College Saturday afternoon. Chris Peaks (Silver Spring, Md.) had 95 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns as the Bulldogs stayed undefeated on the season at 7-0.

Bryant jumped on the board just five minutes into the opening quarter when Lindsey Gamble (Boston, Mass.) scored on a 19-yard touchdown run for the 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 14-0 at the 4:40 mark when Peaks found the end zone from one yard out. Saint Anselm answered back early in the second quarter on an 11-yard touchdown catch by tight end Geoff Stevens (Andover, Mass.) from senior quarterback Nick Barese (Braintree, Mass.) to cut the lead to 14-7. The play was set up by a 53-yard pass to Corey Williams (Billerica, Mass.) from Barese.

Gamble found the end zone for the second time with 9:55 left in the second quarter on a 17-yard touchdown scamper and a 21-7 Bryant lead. Peaks scored his second touchdown of the afternoon at the 7:45 mark, set up by an 83-yard run by Smith on the previous play. Following a Saint Anselm fumble, Smith pulled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from senior Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, N.Y.) for the 35-7 lead with 2:10 left in the first half.

Peaks kept the Bryant offense rolling early in the second half as he scored on a 41-yard touchdown run just 1:19 into the half and the Bulldogs held a 42-7 advantage. With 6:16 left in the third quarter, senior Kevin Anderson (Plainville, Conn.) pulled in a six-yard touchdown on fourth and goal from quarterback Jay Graber (Clarksburg, N.J.) for his first touchdown of the season and a 49-7 lead. The Hawks answered with 3:40 left in the third quarter when freshman Luke St. Marie (Mill Creek, Wash.) scored his first career touchdown on a three-yard run. The Hawks added another score with 1:52 remaining as Williams hauled in a 31-yard scoring pass from Barese to account for the 49-21 final.

Junior Conor Cahill (Salem, Mass.) led the Hawks with 48 yards rushing as the team finished with 96 yards on the ground. Barese was 19-of-31 for 215 yards on the afternoon, while Williams pulled down seven catches for 121 yards. That marks his second-straight 100-yard receiving game. For the Bulldogs, Smith picked up 135 rushing yards on eight carries, followed by Peaks with 95 yards and three TD scores. Granatell was 10-for-12 with one interception and 126 yards to lead the Bulldogs at quarterback.

Defensively, Nate Munzing (Gardiner, Maine) led Saint Anselm with 10 tackles, including nine solo stops. Alessio Trabelsi led Bryant with six tackles, including four for a loss and two sacks.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 0-7 overall and 0-6 in the Northeast-10, while Bryant remains perfect at 7-0 overall and in league play.

tony Brook (Oct. 27th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=0
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Seawolves
H1=14
H2=0
H3=9
H4=7The dreams of an undefeated season came to an end Saturday as the Bryant University football team dropped a 30-0 non-conference decision at Division I Stony Brook University Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs allowed 458 yards of offense in the game and managed just nine first downs in falling for the first time after opening the season with a school record seven consecutive wins.

Bryant (7-1) will return to Northeast-10 Conference action this Friday evening when the Bulldogs travel to New Haven, Conn. to face Southern Connecticut State. The Bulldogs have clinched at least a share of the NE-10 Conference title for the second straight season and need only one win in their the last two regular season games to earn the school's first out-right conference championship. The Bulldogs will host Bentley in Smithfield, RI on November 10 to wrap up the regular season.

Saturday, in the first all-time meeting between the two schools and Bryant's third all-time against a Division I foe (Sacred Heart and Rhode Island the others), quarterback Charlie Granatell completed nine of 19 passes for 144 yards and was intercepted once in the game. The lone mistake of the afternoon proved costly for the Bulldogs on the team's first possession of the game.

Granatell hooked up with senior Sean Bergin for a 75 yard pass play down to the Stony Brook 4 yard line on the team's third play to open the game. After a rush by tailback Chris Peaks down to the Seawolves 2 yard line on first and goal, Granatell was picked off in the end zone ending a golden chance to strike first.

Stony Brook (5-4) would capitalize on the Bulldogs' mistake, marching the length of the field down to the Bryant 10 yard line where quarterback Josh Dudash hit Melaquan Saffold for a 10 yard touchdown pass to put the hosts up 7-0 early. The Seawolves led 14-0 at the break and added 16 second half points to round out the scoring.

Bergin led the Bulldogs with three catches for 107 yards while freshman Anthony DiNaso also had three receptions for 23 yards in the game. Lindsey Gamble rushed for 59 yards on 15 carries. Chris Wohlheter led the defensive effort with 13 tackles while Marcus Lindsey and Paul Polomski added 7 and 6 tackles respectively.

The shutout is the first since a 42-0 defeat at Bentley in coach Marty Fine's first season back in 2004. The loss is the first regular season defeat for Bryant in eleven regular season games since October 7 of last year when the Bulldogs fell to C.W. Post at home.

outhern Connecticut State (Nov. 2nd)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=7
R2=7
R3=14
R4=0
Home=Fighting Owl's
H1=14
H2=14
H3=14
H4=14Southern Connecticut freshman running back Jerom Freeman rushed for an NCAA Division II record 418 yards on 34 carries to lead the host Owls to a 56-28 win over Bryant University in Northeast-10 Conference action Friday night at Jess Dow Field.

The good news for Bryant (7-2, 7-1 NE-10) is they will have a week to regroup before hosting rival Bentley College next Saturday still with a chance to claim the school's first Northeast-10 Conference Championship at Bulldog Stadium. Kickoff is at noon.

Southern Connecticut (7-3, 6-2 NE-10), the preseason favorite to win the Northeast-10, rode the back of the conference's top tailback, scoring on its first two possessions on touchdown runs of 12 and 48 by Freeman to jump out to a 14-0 lead.

Lindsey Gamble would add two touchdown runs of his own to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. Down 28-14 at the half, the Bulldogs would come out the locker room with all of the momentum on their side to start the third. A Gamble 25 yard touchdown run followed by a Charlie Granatell 13 yard touchdown pass to Chris Arnold in the back of the end zone tied the game 28-28 with 9:17 left to go in the third.

But that would be all of the scoring for the Bulldogs as Southern Connecticut's Chris Bergeski hauled in a 39 yard touchdown pass and Robert Felder followed with a 68-yard touchdown reception and the Owls would cruise from there.

Freeman broke the previous NCAA record of 410 yards held by Andrew Terry of Ferris State in 2004. The Southern Connecticut running back had 131 yards after one quarter and 246 yards on 15 carries at the half. He would finish averaging 12.3 yards per carry and five touchdowns including a 70-yarder in the second quarter.

Gamble finished with 90 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns in the game while Granatell completed 24 of 41 passes for 275 yards with six passes going to senior Sean Bergin who had 68 yards in the game.

The two teams combined for 1,041 yards of total offense with Southern totaling 635 yards on 61 plays.

The Bulldogs will return home to host Bentley College next Saturday at Bulldog Stadium. Kickoff for Senior Day is noon.

Bentley (Nov. 10th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Falcons
R1=3
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Bulldogs
H1=3
H2=7
H3=12
H4=7Senior quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) completed 15 of 23 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bryant University football team to a 29-3 win over Bentley College before 5,748 Saturday, the biggest in school history. The win gives Bryant its first-ever outright Northeast-10 Conference Championship in the program's ninth season of varsity football. Bryant earned a share of the Northeast-10 Conference title in 2006 and earned an NCAA bid for the first time that same season.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 5 in the region, will await word on a possible second consecutive NCAA berth when the 24-team bracket is announced Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET (ESPNU).

In Saturday's game against Bentley, played on a blustery, 37-degree afternoon before a full house at Bulldog Stadium, Bentley opened the scoring on the Falcons' first drive of the game as Tyler McNamara (Medway, Mass.) connected on a 35-yard field goal into the wind, his 14th field goal this season, giving him the New England football record, passing Central Connecticut's Paul Flynn's previous mark of 13. The Bulldogs would answer, thanks in large part to a short Bentley punt that gave Bryant the ball on Bentley's 34 yard line. Bryant was unable to get into the end zone but settled for a Chris Bird (Monument Beach, Mass.) 36-yard field goal to make it 3-3 with 3:55 left in the first.

Bryant's defense played an exception game. Late in the second quarter, senior Chris Wohlheter (Newark, Ohio) picked off a John White (Kingston, Mass.) pass near midfield and returned it to the Bentley 17 yard line where the Bulldogs would finally get into the end zone. Facing a fourth and one from the Bentley 8-yard line, Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ) faked an inside handoff and hit tight end Tyler DiGiovanni (Columbia, Conn.) alone in the back of the end zone to make it 10-3 with 4:09 left.

In the second half, the Bulldogs stepped up the defensive pressure on the Falcons, plus used a bit of trickery to set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Junior defensive end Don Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) stripped White at the Bentley 10 yard line where teammate Mark Gunther (Clarksburg, NJ) picked up the ball and ran it in for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 20-3 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs caught Bentley by surprise with a perfectly executed onside kick that was recovered by Bryant's Marcus Lindsey (Bridgeport, Conn.) at the 49 yard line. The Bentley defense would hold, forcing Bryant to punt, but the punt by Brian Donnelly was a good one, pinning the Falcons back on their own 5 yard line. On Bentley's first play on their ensuing possession, Jay Stahl (Methuen, Mass.) sacked White in the end zone for a Bulldog safety to make it 22-3.

Sean Bergin (New Windsor, NY) would put the game away with a 39-yard touchdown reception from Granatell late in the fourth, sending the Bulldogs to their first out-right conference championship.

Bergin led the Bulldogs with four catches for 91 yards. Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for 71 yards on 18 carries. Bentley was held to just 143 yards of offense as White completed 15 of 33 passes for 115 yards.

Stahl had a huge game defensively, finishing with six tackles including two sacks and three tackles for a loss.

outhern Connecticut State (Nov. 17th)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bulldogs
R1=7
R2=13
R3=0
R4=8
Home=Fighting Owl's
H1=21
H2=10
H3=7
H4=7Southern Connecticut quarterback Steve Armstrong threw for 284 yards and three touchdowns as the Owls used a strong second half defensive effort to earn a 45-28 win over Bryant University in a first round NCAA Division II playoff game here Saturday. Southern Connecticut (9-3), the No. 4 seed of the regional, will move on to face top-seed California (PA) next Saturday.

Bryant (8-3) ends another remarkable season that included the school's second-straight NE-10 Conference Championship and second NCAA appearance in a row as Charlie Granatell completed 17 of 29 passes for 168 yards in the game.

"I am proud of how hard our kids played today," said Bryant coach Marty Fine. "Southern Connecticut is a good football team and they showed it today. They are well-coached and made the big plays. A job well done goes to Southern Connecticut."

The Owls, making their third consecutive NCAA appearance and hosting the event for the first time, raced out in front 14-0 early as Armstrong opened the game with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Craig Toulouse and added another short pass to Jarom Freeman who turned the corner for a 65-yard touchdown.

Freeman, who rushed for an NCAA record 418 yards against the Bulldogs two weeks ago, finished the game 146 yards rushing on 25 carries in the game.

The Bulldogs would answer Freeman's score, getting on the board with 5:27 left in the first on a Jerell Smith 5 yard touchdown run. A Granatell 44-yard pass to Jarett Solimando down the middle helped set up the Bryant score.

Southern would answer as fans were treated to plenty of offense throughout the first half as the senior tailback scored on a 4th down run up the middle for 21 yards to make it 21-7.

But Smith scored his second touchdown of the half and Lindsey Gamble added a 40-yard touchdown run up the middle and the Bulldogs were within a point, 21-20.

Armstrong's 10 yard touchdown pass to Chris Bergeski and a Charles Gallagher 22-yard field goal just before the half sent the Owls into the locker room at the break up 31-20.

In the second half, the Southern defense kept the Bulldogs in check as a Chris Peaks 1 yard run with 39 seconds left round out the scoring. Gamble finished with 83 yards in the game while Smith added 52 yards on 10 carries. Senior Sean Bergin had seven catches for 61 yards. The Bulldogs had 362 yards of total offense in the game while SCSU racked up 542 yards of offense.

The loss will not diminish another outstanding season for Bryant. In only its ninth year of varsity play, the Bulldogs equaled last year's record win total of eight games and repeated at Northeast-10 Conference Champions, winning the title outright with a 29-3 win over Bentley at home last week.

Fourth-year coach Marty Fine was named Coach of the Year in the Northeast-10 in leading the Bulldogs to their first-ever No. 1 regional ranking earlier this year.

Despite the loss of last year's conference MVP Lorenzo Perry who graduated along with eight other offensive starters, the 2007 season will go down as the best in school history. Something this group can be very proud of.

"When we came in here in 2004, we wanted to build a program that could stand the test of time," added Fine. "Though it is still too early to judge, we are going in the right direction and doing the right thing."