WORCESTER, Mass.—The Assumption College football team is gearing up for their home opener on Saturday, September 14th when they host Saint Anselm College at 12:00 p.m. in the Multi-Sport Stadium. Saturday will also be Youth Day.
Recent History: Greyhounds vs. Hawks
Assumption has been on a winning streak over Saint Anselm for over a decade. Last season the Hounds defeated the Hawks, 66-3, scoring at least 14 points in all four quarters. The Hounds' offense racked up 525 yards with 260 passing yards and 265 rushing yards. Assumption's defense grabbed five interceptions, racked up 91 tackles, and held the Hawks to 81 rushing yards. The Hawks finished with 115 yards of offense. The 66 points is the highest total for the Hounds in program history, and the 66-3 final is the second largest margin of victory.
Last Time Out: Assumption
Assumption comes into the weekend at 0-1 after falling 54-16 in their season opener at Kutztown on Saturday. After the Golden Bears pulled ahead 21-0 in the first quarter the Hounds put up their first seven points on a touchdown by senior Khaleed Exum-Strong with just 1:44 on the clock. The Golden Bears added 14 points in the second quarter and held off the Hounds to lead 35-7 at the half. Assumption put up nine points in the third including a touchdown by senior Doug Santos that started with a 41-yard pass from junior quarterback Easton Turner to senior Justin Assad. Kutztown used 12 points in the third and seven in the fourth to capture the 54-16 final victory over the Hounds.
Assumption Offense:
After their first game of the season the Hounds are averaging 306 offensive yards (169 passing, 137 rushing) and 16 points per game. Exum-Strong is leading the pack with 66 rushing yards while Turner completed 12-of-23 passing attempts with two interceptions. Freshman Brevin Easton and Assad led Assumption in receiving with 49 and 48 yards respectively. The Hounds scored two touchdowns on Saturday, both rushing. They collected 13 first downs and went 2-for-11 on third down conversions.
Assumption Defense:
The Hounds posted 81 tackles in their first game of the season with senior Mac-Brian Nkongchu leading the way with seven. They allowed 54 points scored, 310 passing yards, and 319 rushing yards, for a total of 629 offensive yards allowed from their opponent.
Assumption Special Teams:
Junior Jacob Tondel went 0-for-1 in field goal attempts, but finished 2-for-2 in extra points. Seamus Wallace punted five times for 228 yards (45.6 yards/punt), his longest punt being 58 yards, and one touchback. Sophomore Joseph Kellum led the Hounds in kickoff returns, totaling 74 yards in two returns.
Last Time Out: Saint Anselm
The Hawks fell to the Vulcans of California (Pa.) in their home opener on Saturday, 59-13. Saint Anselm scored first with a 39-yard field goal by Joey Cody. A pair of turnovers in the first quarter gave the Vulcans the 17-3 lead after the first 15 minutes. California tacked up 28 more points in the second quarter including a 79-yard touchdown and an 84-yard fumble recovery. Cody knocked down another 30-yard field goal in the second as they trailed 45-6 heading into halftime. The Vulcans added another touchdown in the third and one at the 9:25 mark in the fourth to pull ahead 59-6. Saint Anselm responded one last time with a 19-yard passing touchdown in the fourth from junior Phillip Tran to senior Kimothy Bynum, but the Vulcans held on for the 59-13 final.
Saint Anselm Offense:
The Hawks finished game one with 16 first downs and 278 yards of offense. Tran completed 30 of 49 passing attempts for 285 yards and one touchdown. Christian Matthews-Byrd led the Hawks with 14 rushing yards. Senior Eric Fairweather finished with 82 receiving yards while Bynum caught one, 19-yard touchdown pass. The Hawks went 1-for-14 on third down conversions and finished 30-for-49 for completion attempts.
Saint Anselm Defense:
Saint Anselm started the season with 87 total tackles, led by junior Ryan Sullivan who finished with 10 tackles in the setback to California. The Hawks allowed 59 points scored and 399 yards of offense by the Vulcans. 256 of those offensive yards allowed were passing yards and 143 were rushing yards.
Saint Anselm Special Teams:
Cody went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts and 1-for-1 in extra points for a total of seven points. He also punted six times for a total of 221 yards and added 157 yards in kickoffs. Chance Clency returned six kickoffs for 117 yards.