Bryant travels to Sacred Heart Friday

Game Notes

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University football team opens its fourth season of Northeast Conference play when it heads to Fairfield, Conn., to take on Sacred Heart University on Friday, Sept. 16 in a game that will be broadcast nationally in HD on MSG Plus and Cox CT/RI.

The Bulldogs (1-1,0-0 NEC) will face the Pioneers (0-1, 0-0 NEC) for the fourth time in program history, and are looking for their first win in Fairfield. Sacred Heart won the first two meetings, 19-15 in 2000 and 24-14 in 2009, before Bryant stunned the Pioneers last year at Bulldog Stadium. Trailing by 17, 24-7, in the fourth quarter, Bryant scored 18 unanswered points, capped by then-sophomore Jordan Brown's (Glastonbury, Conn.) 73-yard punt return for a touchdown, to knock off Sacred Heart on Homecoming and Reunion Weekend.

Bryant heads to the Constitution State coming off a similar type of victory last Saturday. Down by nine, 16-7, in the third quarter, the Bulldogs scored the final 20 points to win their home opener for the seventh-consecutive season. Reigning NEC Rookie of the Week, sophomore quarterback Mike Westerhaus (Farmingville, N.Y.) engineered the 10-play, 90-yard game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, hitting senior tight end Matt Tracey (Littleton, Colo.) in the back of the endzone with 3:51 remaining to give Bryant its first lead of the game.

Becoming a household name after a stellar sophomore campaign, Brown continues to excel as a junior. The Glastonbury, Conn., native accumulated 184 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns against American Int'l College. Brown rushed for 121 yards on 29 carries, and both of his catches out of the backfield resulted in touchdowns, including a thrilling 54-yard score on a screen pass early in the third quarter.

Brown's exploits certainly won't surprise the Pioneers, especially not after last year. Additionally, Sacred Heart has had two weeks to gameplan for Brown and Co. thanks to a bye week.  The Pioneers open the 2011 season with three-straight games at Campus Field but have not played since a, 20-7, loss to Marist on Sept. 3. In that game, Sacred Heart let a, 7-0, halftime lead slip away in falling to the Red Foxes. The Pioneers managed just 32 yards on the ground against Marist and are still searching for a quarterback to fill the shoes of the graduated Dale Fink. As a four-year starter, Fink broke every SHU passing record and became the all-time leading passer in NEC history. Luke Wischnowski and Tim Little are battling for the position and both saw action against Marist. Little was 11-of-16 for 85 yards, while Wischnowski was 15-of-29 for 136 yards and an interception.

Bryant has won four conference games in each of the last two years, and was picked to finish fifth in the 2011 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Sacred Heart, picked to finish 8^th in the same poll, is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of its 2001 NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major National Championship. The Pioneers went a perfect 11-0, but have had just four winning seasons since.