Posted: Dec 09, 2009

FOOTBALL CLOSES OUT 2009 SEASON WITH ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET

December 9, 2009

BRYANT FOOTBALL YEAR IN REVIEW

The Bryant University football team conducted its annual end of year awards banquet over the weekend as the Bulldogs brought to a close the program's second year competing as a member of Division I Football Championship Subdivision.

By all accounts, the 2009 Bryant University football team exceeded all expectations. Picked to finish seventh out of nine teams in the Northeast Conference, the Bulldogs, playing for the first time as a member of the NEC, finished the season tied for fifth in the standings at 4-4.

Opening the year 3-1 following a 6-2 win over Wagner College at Bulldog Stadium, the Bulldogs headed into the toughest stretch of the season where they would face the best in conference and a non-conference matchup at one of the best in the Patriot League.

After falling on the road at Fordham, the next three games were decided by only eight points. The Bulldogs gave two-time defending conference champion Albany all they could handle only to come up just short, 20-17. A week later, the Bulldogs turned in one of their finest defensive efforts of the year against eventual champion Central Connecticut at home. Holding conference player of the year James Mallory to only 89 yards rushing, the Bulldogs fell 24-23.

Looking to move up in the league standings, Bryant closed out the year with convincing wins over Saint Francis (PA) and Duquesne to move to 6-0 all-time against NEC schools in the state of Pennsylvania.

In the win over Saint Francis, senior Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for a career-high 239 yards and three touchdowns to earn NEC Player of the Week honors for the second time. Smith would finish the year with 1,198 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

Quarterback Mike Croce (Waterbury, Conn.) had a tremendous first season running the offense. The sophomore completed 151 of 297 passes (50.8 percent) for 1,695 yards and 13 touchdowns. His primary target was tight end Matt Tracey (Bow Mark, Colo.) who hauled in 35 passes for a team-best 476 yards and six touchdowns. Sure-handed Mike Canfora (Verona, N.J.) caught 29 passes for 255 yards out of the backfield while junior Khalel Pritchard (Boston, Mass.) had 369 yards receiving and four touchdowns.

Canfora was named Offensive MVP while Jerell Smith took home the team's Bulldog Award at the banquet.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by linebacker Jason Riffe (Newton, Mass.) who made 75 stops including 11.5 tackles for a loss. Transfer Aaron Bryant (New London, Conn.) was a force as well, making 63 tackles while finishing tied for a team-high and conference best eight sacks and blocking four kicks on the season. Andre Whyte (Bennington, Vt.) was third with 55 tackles while Don Smith concluded his career with eight sacks to give him 17 for his career. For his efforts, Whyte was named the Defensive MVP for 2009 while teammate Pete Gauthier (Woonsocket, R.I.) was awarded the Defensive Lineman of the Year.

Jerell Smith, Whyte, Don Smith and Tracey were all named to the NEC All-Conference team while Don Smith was named All-New England for the second year in a row by the New England Football Writers.

Kicker Chris Bird (Monument Beach, Mass.) made a school-record 11 field goals (11 out of 14 attempts) and made 18 PATs.

Here are the award winners for 2009:

Academic Award: Julien Dumont (Saint Hubert, Quebec); Juan Aviles (Bayamon, Puerto Rico); James Meyer (Wayland, MA); Tim Pates (Columbus, NJ); Doug Emerzian (Rowley, MA)
Offensive MVP - Mike Canfora (Verona, NJ)
Defensive MVP - Andre Whyte (Bennington, VT)
Offensive Lineman - Ben Lyons (Westfield, MA)
Defensive Lineman - Pete Gauthier (Woonsocket, RI)
Bulldog Award - Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY)
Most Improved - Anthony Castelli (Cranston, RI)
Character - Kevin Menawonu (Providence, RI)
Scout Team - Shavoy Lawrence (Paterson, NJ) / Stanton Sturgis (Bristol, RI)
Special Teams - Aaron Bryant (New London, CT) / Jordan Brown (Glastonbury, CT)
Captain Awards: Michael Morgan (New London, CT); Kurt Spear (Greene, NY); Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA); Don Smith (Attleboro, MA)