Samperi kicks game-winning FG as Bryant beats Fordham

BRONX, N.Y. – Sophomore kicker Luke Samperi (Beverly, Mass.) chose the perfect time for his first-career field goal as his 42-yarder as time expired gave the Bryant University football team a thrilling 42-41 victory over Fordham on Saturday at Jack Coffey Field.

Down two, the Bulldogs got the ball on their own 9 with 1:24 left in the game and redshirt senior Price Wilson (Marietta, Ga.) completed eight passes to move the ball to the Fordham 24 with four seconds remaining. After Fordham called a timeout to try and ice Samperi, the sophomore calmly drilled the game-winning field goal right through the middle of the uprights to set off the Black and Gold celebration.

The walk-off field goal was the culmination of a furious Bryant rally over the final 6:30 of the game. Bryant got the ball at its own 1 with 6:30 remaining and down eight and went on to drive 99 yards in 15 plays to make it a two-point game. Wilson completed six passes on the 15-play drive and redshirt sophomore Alfred Dorbor (Pawtucket, R.I.) capped the drive with his second rushing TD of the game.

Bryant set a program record with 628 yards of total offense, with a season-high 267 on the ground. Dorbor posted his first-career 100-yard game with 116 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Senior Brenden Femiano (Northport, N.Y.) added 88 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Wilson completed 31-of-50 passes for 380 yards and two scores, while senior Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) became the first player since 2012 to post 200+ receiving yards in a game.

Defensively, senior Thomas Costigan (Stamford, Conn.) posted a team-high 12 tackles, junior Tomas Wright (St. Augustine, Fla.) added two sacks and the Black and Gold finished with five sacks and eight tackles for a loss.

Game Information
Bryant 42, Fordham 41
Records: Bryant (5-2), Fordham (1-6)
Attendance: 1,906

Coach Perry's Comments

"Great team win. How we play at the end of games is so important to me. We were disappointed how last week ended so to see a complete reversal this week, from my perspective, I was thrilled to see. It's a great example of these kids, everyone was pulling for Luke. To watch him really calmly and coolly knock it down was fun. When you only get 11 games, to play a perennial FCS playoff team at their place and get it done, you savor that. Heck, if you can do it in New York right?"

Key Moment

• Samperi was called on to win the game for the Bulldogs with four seconds left and the ball on the Fordham 24. A walk-on sophomore, Samperi drilled the ball straight through the uprights to give Bryant the walk-off win.

How it Happened

• Bryant received the opening kickoff and went 75 yards in four plays to take the early lead. Kennedy made a 51-yard catch on third-and-long and Nisivoccia followed with a 25-yard TD reception to make it 7-0 just 56 seconds in.
• After a three-and-out by Fordham, Bryant drove 59 yards in six plays to make it 14-0. Back-to-back runs from Dorbor put the ball at the Fordham 25 and Femiano scored on the next play.
• The Rams got on the board with a field goal but Bryant quickly answered with a three-play, 68-yard drive to make it 21-3 with 7:06 left in the first quarter. Dorbor opened the drive with a 36-yard run and then broke free of three tacklers for a 32-yard TD run.
• Fordham then rattled off the next 24 points to take a 27-21 lead with 10:05 left in the third quarter. Austin Longi and Isaiah Searight posted TD receptions to make it a one-point game at the break and Tyriek Hopkins' 14-yard run gave the Rams the lead in the third.
• Bryant answered with a seven-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game. Kennedy made a great diving catch for a 29-yard gain to the Fordham 36 and Wilson hooked up with Nisivoccia for a 15-yard touchdown two plays later.
• The Rams turned an interception into a lead four minutes later. Noah Fitzgerald returned the interception to the Bryant 8 and Tim DeMorat threw a TD pass to Longi on the first play to make it 34-27.
• The Black and Gold responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Wilson and Nisivoccia connected for 13 yards to convert on third down and redshirt junior Jean Constant (Delray Beach, Fla.) capped the drive with a nine-yard TD run. The PAT was blocked, however, putting Bryant down one.
• Fordham extended the lead to eight on an eight-yard TD reception by Hunter Harris with 10:42 left in the game.
• The score was the same when Fordham pinned the Bulldogs at their own 1 with 6:30 left in the game. Bryant drew the Rams offsides on 4th-and-3 from the Bryant 19 before back-to-back 16-yard plays put the ball in Fordham territory. Wilson then completed passes of 15 and 25 to Constant and Kennedy to put the ball inside the 10. After a holding call, an 11-yard reception by Kennedy put the ball at the 2 and Dorbor pounded it home. Bryant's two-point conversion failed.
• Bryant's defense then forced a three-and-out, giving Wilson the ball back with 1:24 left. Wilson completed four passes to Kennedy, three to sophomore Declan Burt (Lynnfield, Mass.) and one to Constant. Burt was able to get out of bounds with 20 seconds left and Wilson followed with completions of 11 and 16 to Kennedy and then spiked the ball with four seconds left. Samperi then stepped up and drilled the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Stats

• Bryant finished with 628 yards of total offense, including 267 on the ground.
• The Bulldogs had 33 first downs and finished 7-of-15 on third downs.
• Bryant allowed 474 yards of total offense but had five sacks and eight tackles for a loss.
• Wilson finished 31-of-50 for 380 yards and two touchdowns.
• Kennedy made 13 catches for 221 yards.
• Nisivoccia made nine catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
• Burt made four catches for 21 yards.
• Dorbor rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
• Femiano added 88 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
• Constant had 23 rushing yards and a touchdown, 20 receiving yards and 52 return yards.
• Costigan posted 12 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
• Junior Robert Brown (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) added 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.
• Classmate Jesse Nemerowicz (Hudson, Mass.) had eight tackles, a sack and two TFLs.
• Senior Danny Hughes (Shoreham, N.Y.) added eight tackles and a TFL.
• Wright finished with two sacks.
• Senior Peter Corbett (Wantagh, N.Y.) had a sack and a forced fumble.

Notes and Notables

• Saturday is the first time in program history that the Bulldogs have won as time expired.
• Bryant set a program record with 628 yards of total offense.
• The Bulldogs rushed for a season-high 267 yards.
• Kennedy's 13 receptions set a single-game program record. It broke Justin Kix's mark of 11 that had stood since 2005.
• Kennedy's 221 receiving yards were three shy of the single-game record of 224. He is the first Bryant receiver since Jordan Harris in 2012 to record 200+ receiving yards.
• Nisivoccia posted his second 100-yard game of the season and the third of his career.
• The nine receptions were a career-high for Nisivoccia.
• Nisivoccia also posted his second two-TD game of the season.
• Saturday was the first time since Nov. 18, 2017 against Duquesne that Bryant had two players with 100+ receiving yards.
• Dorbor posted his first-career 100-yard game. It was also his first-career multi-TD game.
• Dorbor now leads the Bulldogs with five rushing TDs this season.
• Wilson completed 30+ passes for the fourth time in his career.
• His 380 passing yards are the fourth-most in program history. It was Wilson's eight-career 300-yard passing game.
• Wilson also became the fourth QB in program history to pass for over 5,000 yards in a career. He has thrown for 5,304 yards in his career.
• Samperi's field goal was the first of his career.
• Costigan posted his third game of 10+ tackles with 12. With his sack, he now has 24.5 sacks in his career.
• Costigan also posted his 12th-career forced fumble, which leads all active FCS players.
• Costigan now has 245 career tackles, four shy of third on the all-time list.  
• Wright posted his third multi-sack game of the season. He now has a team-leading 9.5 sacks 14.5 TFLs.
• Wright's 9.5 sacks are the fourth-most in a single season in program history.
• Senior Anthony DiMatteo (Holbrook, N.Y.) registered a season-high six tackles.

Up Next

The Bulldogs return to Northeast Conference play next Saturday when they travel to Fairfield, Connecticut, to take on Sacred Heart. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.