October 3rd, 2022 4:00am
Road teams dominated the weekend.
Defense
We have been talking about the Assumption defense in the first five weeks of the season. And they continue to play very well. This time, they were the difference in the Greyhounds’ 28-14 victory over Southern Connecticut last Saturday.
It is the 10th straight victory for Assumption over Southern Connecticut as the Owls have not won a game in the series since 2011.
The Assumption defense limited the Southern Connecticut offense to just 207 yards on a rainy afternoon. If you take out a 69-yard touchdown by Tyler Papallo, the Assumption defense was a brick wall.
The Assumption took advantage of some Southern Connecticut special team miscues in the third quarter. The Owls were not able to snap the ball cleanly back to the punter and he was tackled for a loss.
On the next drive, Assumption kicked a field goal. And then the same bad snap scenario was repeated and this time, Assumption scored a touchdown and never looked back.
The Greyhound offense was balanced in the game as they had 178 yards in the air and 166 on the ground.
Assumption will finally play in front of their home crowd this coming weekend as they head down the street on Sunday to take on Franklin Pierce at Polar Park.
History Book
Pace defeated Post 45-6 last Saturday afternoon to improve their overall record to 3-2, 1-1 NE10. But it was their quarterback that had a history-making afternoon.
Carlton Aiken threw two touchdown passes on the day and become the all-time leader in touchdown passes in Setter history. He surpassed Kevin Enterlein who owned every single passing record in school history entering the day.
Aiken has been a major part of the resurgence of the Pace football program over the past five years. Before he stepped on campus, the Setters were at the bottom of the league and went years without winning games on a regular basis.
With Aiken under center, Pace has seen some of their best seasons and now is able to recruit much better players to play football in Pleasantville. They see what the program can do on and off the field.
For Pace, the road gets tougher as they make a trip next weekend to a place that they have never won, New Haven.
Rebound
Bentley rebounded nicely with a 41-0 victory over Franklin Pierce last Saturday afternoon.
The duo of Mark Waid and Abel Lopes Jr hooked up for two touchdowns and the Falcon defense once again played a solid game. Waid had a nice game with three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown.
He has stepped into the Bentley offense and has done a nice job directing it. He has plenty of experience at the position, but it has taken some games to get his footing with his new weapons.
The Bentley defense had a game by causing six turnovers and limiting the Franklin Pierce offense to just 167 yards in the game.
Bentley will look to build a winning streak as they host Saint Anselm this Saturday.
Top Dog
In a battle of two undefeated teams in the NE10, New Haven emerged with a 21-10 victory over Saint Anselm last Saturday. It is the fourth win in a row for the Chargers as they are starting to show why they were picked to win the league.
Christopher Ais broke off a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game, and it was off and running for the Chargers. He scored his second touchdown of the game when he caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Connor Degenhardt.
Last weekend at Bentley, New Haven jumped out of the gates quickly and then sputtered the rest of the game. It was more of the same for the Chargers who looked unstoppable in the opening quarter and then their defense did the rest.
They shut down the explosive Hawk offense and allowed just 10 points and a mere 177 yards. If not for a muffed punt, the Hawk offense might have not scored a touchdown in the game.
New Haven has passed both road tests the past couple of weekends. First at Bentley and now at Saint Anselm, the Chargers didn’t play their best games but still walked away with victories.
And for Saint Anselm, it shows that they are ready to compete in this league. Their defense is solid, and the offense didn’t click as they have in the first few weeks of the season.
New Haven is back home next weekend against Pace while Saint Anselm travels to take on Bentley.