FOOTBALL SHUTS DOWN BRYANT, POSTS 20-7 WIN
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 9, 2006) -
Marlon Beckles (Brooklyn, N.Y.) rushed 30 times
for 136 yards and a touchdown and the American International
College defense limited Bryant University to just 188 yards as the
Yellow Jackets posted a 20-7 Northeast-10 football victory Saturday
afternoon at John Homer Miller Field. AIC remains unbeaten at
2-0 overall and in the league, while the Bulldogs even their record
at 1-1 overall.
AIC would score the only points of the first half on a special teams play. Bryant was punting from its own 10 yard line and Bryan Donnelly's (East Dennis, Mass.) punt was fielded at the 49 by Julius Walker (Springfield, Mass.). Walker made a move to the left, found a hole and returned the punt for a touchdown. The extra point attempt by Jonathan Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass.) was blocked to make it 6-0.
That would remain the score until six seconds into the fourth quarter when Beckles capped a six-play, 37 yard drive with a 14 yard run for his second touchdown of the season, and the two-point conversion pass from Shane Murphy (Bogota, N.J.) to Jason Laudano (Northford, Conn.) was successful to make it 14-0. The Yellow Jackets would make it 20-0 1:10 later when Terrence Holley (Bronx, N.Y.) recovered a fumble at the Bryant 10 and ran in for the score. Justin Kix (Shoreham, N.Y.) had caught a pass for Bryant at the 10, but a hard hit by Dominic Meattey (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) jarred the ball out of Kix's hands and Holley scooped it up for the score.
Bryant would score their only touchdown with 2:21 to play on a 25-yard scamper by Lorenzo Perry (Providence, R.I.). Perry, who rushed for 190 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Southern Connecticut last week, had 25 carries for 132 yards on the afternoon.
The game came down to field position all afternoon, as the Bulldogs started 10 of their 14 drives inside their own 20 yard line, and the best starting position they had all day was at their own 37. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets started four drives in Bryant territory and their worst starting position all day was on their own 24. AIC limited Bryant to seven points and 188 yards of total offense one week after the Bulldogs rolled up 49 points and 412 yards of total offense against 2005 NCAA Tournament team Southern Connecticut.
Defensively, AIC was led by Jason
Dominique (Roselle, N.J.), who totaled eight tackles,
including a pair of sacks. Marcus Worilds
(Carteret, N.J.) and Holley each finished with seven stops, while
Brian Kelly (Springfield, Mass.) recorded an
interception. Andrew McLarty (College Park,
Md.) led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles (four solo).
Murphy was 8-20 passing for 62 yards for AIC, with Tyler Scaccia (Webster, N.Y.), Anthony Herbin (Clinton, Md.) and Beckles each having two catches. Kix had eight receptions for 57 yards for Bryant, while Bulldog signalcaller Charles Granatell (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) was 14-24 through the air for 100 yards.
AIC hosts Bentley next Saturday for a 1:00 game
at John Homer Miller Field.