Bulldogs host Monmouth on Senior Day

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University football team wraps up the home portion of its 2013 schedule as it hosts Monmouth on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Bulldog Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will also honor their 25-member senior class prior to the start of the game.

GAME NOTES

LAST TIME OUT - Bryant 20, Saint Francis 23

Saint Francis opened up a 23-7 lead in the third quarter before Bryant's fourth-quarter comeback attempt fell short last weekend. A field goal with 10 minutes left put the Red Flash up by 16 but the Black and Gold responded with two quick touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Chris Schultz (Bethesda, Md.) hit sophomore tight John Lavin (Falmouth, Mass.) end for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 23-13 and Mike Westerhaus (Farmingville, N.Y.) hit sophomore Chad Ward (Delray Beach, Fla.) in the back of the endzone one minute later to make it 23-20. Bryant got the ball back with two minutes left but had its comeback fall short as the Red Flash intercepted a third-down pass in their own end.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS

Following the 2012-13 academic year, the Monmouth University athletics department decided to part ways with the Northeast Conference and join the MAAC. The MAAC does not sponsor football so the Hawks are playing this season as an FCS independent and will join the Big South next season.

The Hawks have certainly tested themselves this season, opening the season at then-No. 2 Montana State before facing a very good Liberty team on the road. Monmouth has also faced Lehigh, Holy Cross and Columbia. MU features a two-headed run attack that has churned out the yardage. Julian Hayes and J.B. Asante have been outstanding, averaging 96 and 86 yards per game respectively. Hayes enters today with a chance to break the 1,000-yard mark. Under center, Brandon Hill has thrown for 1,943 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first season as a starter. His best target is lanky wideout Neal Sterling. The 6-4 senior has caught 47 passes for 546 yards and five touchdowns.

Dave Damirgian leads a defense that is allowing just over 330 yards of offense per game. Damirgian has 65 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Tevrin Brandon two interceptions and a team-high 12 breakups, and Darnell Leslie has posted a team-high seven sacks. Monmouth has been great against the run, allowing just 122 yards per game on the ground.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Monmouth has enjoyed great success since facing Bryant for the first time during the 2008 season, owning a 4-1 record. The Hawks won each of the first four meetings before the Bulldogs were finally able to get on the board with a huge 27-24 victory last season in West Long Branch, N.J. In that game, a late interception by Connor McNamara (Sandy Hook, Conn.) set the Bulldogs up to take the lead on a Jordan Brown touchdown run with just over two minutes remaining. Two years ago, the Hawks held on for a wild 40-35 victory at Bulldog Stadium. The teams combined for over 700 yards of totale offense with Jordan Harris (Lincoln University, Pa.) hauling in five passes and MU's Neal Sterling had 11.