Facing a talented Blue Devil team in the school's season opener, Bryant pushed Central Connecticut before coming up short, 42-35 Saturday night at Arute Field.
James Mallory finally gave Central Connecticut (1-0) fans something to cheer for in the second half as he broke free down the left side line for a 92-yard touchdown run to knot the game back up at 28-28.
Junior running back Jerell Smith rushed for a career-high 221 yards on 34 carries to help lead Bryant University to a 39-36 non-conference win over Southern Connecticut before 2,417 at Bulldog Stadium Saturday afternoon.
In the first matchup between the two schools since last year's NCAA playoffs, won by the Owls 45-28, the Bulldogs capitalized on several Southern Connecticut mistakes to pull out the fourth quarter, come-from-behind victory.
Southern Connecticut (1-1), ranked 20th in Division II and picked to win the Northeast-10 Conference this season, got a strong passing effort from quarterback Steve Armstrong.
Another fumble on the kickoff by the Owls gave the ball back to the Bulldogs and this time Mike Canfora was there to bull his way in from the 1-yard line to put Bryant on top 39-28.
Junior tailback Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for 130 yards on 27 carries to lift the Bryant University football team to a 20-7 non-conference win over Merrimack College before an overflow crowd of 5,530 fans on Homecoming & Reunion Weekend Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.
A Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) interception of a Kurt Leone pass midway through the first quarter led to a 31-yard field goal by Chris Bird, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.
In the second quarter, another interception, this time by Bryant freshman cornerback Samad Wagstaff (New Rochelle, NY), off a pass by Leone helped set up the Bulldogs' first touchdown of the game.
Backup Mike Sarnese came on later in the second half to replace Leone and completed 4 of 14 attempts for 84 yards but was intercepted three times including once in the end zone by Andre Whyte (Bennington, VT).
Senior running back David Sinisi rushed for 171 yards on 26 carries and scored twice as visiting Monmouth earned its first victory of the season defeating Bryant University 30-17 in non-conference football action Saturday before 4,107 at Bulldog Stadium.
Bryant (2-2) managed to trim the lead thanks in part to a 19-yard field goal by Chris Bird, but Sinisi and the Hawks put the game away in the fourth with two quick scores, the second coming on a big defensive stop.
Wagner did strike first as quarterback Adam Farnsworth hit tight end Peter Zagorski with a short pass but the senior was able to break a few tackles and rumbled down the home side line for an 80-yard score.
Later in the first, free safety Bryce Martins helped set up the go-ahead score intercepting Adam Farnsworth inside the Wagner 20-yard line and returning it to the 15.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with an efficient 8 play, 46-yard drive capped by a Graber 7-yard touchdown pass to Staten Island, N.Y. native Anthony DiNaso to make it 24-7.
Quarterback Chris Debowski completed 15 of 28 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns to lead host Marist College to a 34-7 win over Bryant Saturday evening at Tenney Stadium snapping a three-game losing skid for the Red Foxes.
After Bryant's opening drive stalled, Marist (2-5) wasted little time to get off and running as Debowski connected with speedy receiver James LaMacchia for an 80-yard touchdown pass on the Red Foxes' very first play of the game.
On the ensuing possession, Marist again used another big play to break the game wide open as Debowski hooked up once again with LaMacchia down the right sideline for a 56-yard score to make it 20-0.
Scored on its first possession of the game and let the defense handle the rest as Bryant held the Colonials to minus-20 yards rushing on the ground and sacked quarterback Erik Cwalinski eight times, tying a school record.
Bryant would take full advantage of the momentum swing as Smith found a seam in the defensive line on the very next play and raced down the right sideline for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
UMass (5-3), looking to bounce back strong from last week's loss to Richmond, did just that Saturday as the Minutemen scored on their first three possessions before the Bulldogs finally got on the board mid-way through the first quarter.
UMass would answer as Tony Nelson scored from 3 yards out and Jeremy Horne was on the receiving end of a 21-yard pass from Coen to make it 35-7 at the half and the hosts cruised from there.
Bryant University running back Jerell Smith rushed for 129 yards on 14 carries while the defense used two fourth quarter interceptions to put the game away as the host Bulldogs pulled away for a 24-10 win over Duquesne here Saturday afternoon.
The Duquesne miscue led to a Brian Donnelly (East Dennis, MA) 25-yard field goal to give Bryant an 18-10 lead with just over five minutes left.
Needing to go the length of the field to score and possibly force overtime, Duquesne would never get the opportunity as Bryant linebacker Cheyenne Ray (Bellport, NY) picked off Dixon's very first pass attempt at the 29-yard line and returned it the distance for the touchdown, sealing the victory for the Bulldogs.
Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) rushed for a season-high 163 yards on 15 carries to lead the Bryant University football team to a 23-7 win over Iona College Saturday at a wet and rainy Mazzella Field.
Chris Bird's (Monument Beach, MA) 30-yard field goal atoned for the missed extra point try and the Bulldogs had their first lead of the game, 9-7 with 4:24 left in the third.
It may have been the longest road trip in the history Bryant football program, but it will certainly be memorable as Jerell Smith rushed for 150 and quarterback Jay Graber threw three touchdown passes as the Bulldogs rolled to a 23-0 win over Saint Francis (PA) on a snowy afternoon at DeGol Field.
Hard running from Lindsey Gamble helped move the ball down to the Red Flash eight-yard line, setting up an 8-yard, Graber to Giffune touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to make it 7-0.
Two fumbles halted a pair of other Bryant drives in the second quarter but the Bulldogs were able add on a 32-yard field goal by Chris Bird just before the end of the half to take a 10-0 lead into the locker room at the break.