Nemerowicz sets tackles record, Bulldogs fall to RMU

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Bryant University football team took a 13-0 lead into the half but Robert Morris came from behind to earn a 24-20 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium.

Jesse Nemerowicz (Hudson, Mass.) made history on Saturday, breaking the all-time tackles record at Bryant with six stops. He now has 289 in his career, breaking the record of 285 held by Thomas Costigan. Robert Brown (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) posted a career-high 14 tackles and Tomas Wright (St. Augustine, Fla.) had two TFLs, a sack and a forced fumble.

Daniel Adeboboye (Toronto, Ont.) and Harrison Easton (Miami, Fla.) combined for 123 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries, while Hunter Hill (Memphis, Tenn.) caught six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Luke Samperi (Beverly, Mass.) kicked a pair of field goals.

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant 20, Robert Morris 24
Records: Bryant (2-7, 1-3 NEC), Robert Morris (4-4, 3-0 NEC)
Attendance: 1,496

Coach Merritt's Comments

"I thought our defense played winning football. Right now it's coming down to 4 or 5 plays and we need to figure out a way to start making those plays. We just have to find a way to get it done."

Key Moment

• Moments after Bryant took a 20-17 lead, George Martin found Garrett Houser over the middle for a 72-yard touchdown and a 24-20 lead.        

How It Happened

• Bryant received the opening kickoff and proceeded to drive 89 yards in 12 plays to take the lead. The opening drive 5:36 of clock. Anthony Frederick (Hollywood, Fla.) made a 16-yard catch to put the ball in RMU territory Easton's five-yard run converted a 4th-and-1 to move the chains. Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) fired over the middle to Hill on the next play and Hill went in for a 21-yard score.
• The teams traded punts before Brown stripped the ball from Deonte White at the Bryant 28. Following Gbatoh Browne's (Providence, R.I.) return, the Bulldogs drove to the RMU 13 to set up a 30-yard field goal from Samperi.
• Bryant extended its lead to 13-0 with a solid 2-minute drill drive. Curtis opened the drive with three-straight completions, including a 22-yard completion to David Zorrilla (Everett, Mass.). Samperi capped the drive with a 33-yard field goal.  
• RMU cut into the deficit with an 11-play, 89-yard drive in the third quarter. Runs of 24, 15 and 13 set up the drive and Matthew Gonzalez capped it with a 13-yard TD reception.
• The Colonials then intercepted the Bulldogs on the next drive and started their drive on the Bryant 16. The Bulldog defense held the Colonials to a 29-yard field goal to make it 13-10 with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
• RMU took the lead on the next possession as the ball slipped through the hands of punter Gavin Rowley (Hampstead, Md.) and was returned for a five-yard touchdown to make it 17-13.
• Bryant answered with a 12-play, 57-yard drive to retake the lead with 12:00 to go in the fourth quarter. A defensive holding penalty helped extend the drive and Curtis picked up two yards on a 4th-and-1 sneak to move the chains. Two plays later, Easton punched it in from five yards out.
• The Colonials needed just three plays to retake the lead as Garrett Houser caught a pass over the middle and went for a 72-yard touchdown.
• Bryant had one more chance but a Hail Mary pass as time expired fell incomplete at the goal line.

Stats

• Bryant outgained RMU, 293-262.
• The Bulldogs posted 23 first downs and limited the Colonials to 13.
• Bryant ran a season-high 86 plays.
• Bryant finished 5-of-7 on fourth downs.
• Easton rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
• Adeboboye rushed for 62 yards on 17 carries.
• Curtis completed 24-of-42 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown.
• Hill posted six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.
• Zorrilla posted five catches for 55 yards.
• Brown led Bryant with 14 tackles, two TFLs and a forced fumble.
• David Onyemem (Dracut, Mass.) finished with seven tackles.
• Wright had six tackles, two TFLs, a sack and a forced fumble.
• Nemerowicz also posted six tackles.

Notes and Notables

• Bryant is now 9-3 all-time against Robert Morris. The Bulldogs are 2-3 in Moon Township.
• Nemerowicz became Bryant's all-time leading tackler on Saturday. He posted six tackles, giving him 289 in his career. The previous record of 285 was set by Thomas Costigan in 2018.
• Wright now has 28.5 career sacks, one shy of Jeff Covitz's program record of 29.5.
• Wright also forced his league-leading fifth fumble and the 10th of his career.
• Browne's 32-yard fumble return is tied for the fifth-longest fumble return in program history.
• Brown has posted 10+ tackles in two of the last three games.
• His 14 tackles are a career high and the most by a Bryant defender this year.
• Hill has now caught a TD pass in each of the last two weeks.
• Hill leads the Bulldogs with four TD receptions on the year.
• Samperi kicked a pair of field goals for the second time this season.
• Samperi is now 8-of-9 this season. His eight field goals are tied for the fourth-most in a single season in program history.
• Rowley set the single-season program record for punting yardage on Saturday. He now has 2,591 punting yards, breaking the previous record of 2,392 set in 2004.
• Rowley, already the DI all-time leader in punting yards, moved into second place all-time at Bryant with 6,539.
• Curtis completed 20+ passes for the third-straight week.
• Zorrilla posted a career-high five catches.

Up Next

Bryant returns to Beirne Stadium next Saturday to host NEC rival Sacred Heart. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.