For Bryant, let there be light
Celebrate 37-27 win over Marist in first-ever night game in Smithfield
SMITHFIELD – Bryant University sophomore running back Alfred Dorbor was in the process of running through preparatory drills with his offense minutes before a non-league tilt against Marist College late Saturday afternoon when he was asked a simple question.
The former St. Raphael Academy and Blair Academy standout seemed a bit taken aback by the question; it came mere seconds after taking a handoff in those warm-ups, so he was too focused on the immediate task at hand.
In an instant, however, he understood. “What does it mean to be playing our first game (ever) under the lights?” he
Continued from Page B1
said, repeating the question. “I’m pumped up; I’m ready to go! You can notice (the excitement) on the team. There seems to be more energy from all of us.”
Dorbor’s thoughts proved to be “right on” in the long run. He and his Bulldogs started fast, suffered a horrific lull at the start of the third quarter and fell behind, though rebounded with 20 unanswered points to claim a thrilling – not to mention – historic 3727 victory over the Red Foxes before several thousand party-going fans at Beirne Stadium.
“We’re still hungry even though we got this win, our first under the lights,” grinned Dorbor, a Pawtucket resident who contributed a mere 11 yards on six carries but scored a pivotal touchdown. “It means so much. It’s a really big win for our school, and it was really special (to be the first BU squad to play at night).”
Offered senior back Brenden Femiano, who led his contingent with 87 ground yards (on 20 handles) and managed 19 more on three catches: “Any time you get an opportunity to do a ‘first’ as a team, it’s something you can rally around. We wanted to give all the fans a good time. There’s no way we were going to lose.
“A lot of us have had the opportunity to play under the lights in high school, and I did a ton, but it’s really an honor to do so for the first time in college,” he added. “It’s much different from high school because this is the next level. I mean, there’s no comparison.”
With the decision, Bryant not only improved to 2-1 overall, but also avenged two previous losses to Marist back in 2008 (34-7) and 2012 (35-10).
Head coach James Perry utilized dozens of Bulldogs in this one, and all contributed in some fashion, but there were plenty of highlight-reel performances.
Senior receiver Vincent Nisivoccia led the club with 148 all-purpose yards, including 63 via two kickoff returns, 39 more on the ground (two touches) and 46 through the air (six catches), while junior end Jean Constant produced 95 yards and two scores on six receptions; and red-shirt frosh Shelton McNeal wasn’t far behind with 81 more on four.
Actually, McNeal also posted a 20yard punt return.
Senior signal caller Price Wilson directed Perry’s offense, completing 32 of 50 tosses for 375 yards and three touchdowns, and was picked off once. For the Red Foxes (0-2), frosh Mike Husni 12-for-28 for 244 yards and two paydirts, and also managed 55 yards and a TD on 17 keepers.
Senior receiver Juston Christian gave the Bryant defense fits for part of the contest; he accumulated 144 yards and two TDs on four catches, but added 21 more on three punt returns.
“We get a lot of support from a lot of different people; that’s why we were able to have this (Saturday night),” Perry said after the post-game fireworks commemorated the event.
“I’m very proud of the way we played. Of course, we could have done a few things differently, better, but the guys certainly couldn’t have worked any harder.
“I have to say I’ve been coaching for 20 years, and this is the best FCS atmosphere I’ve been around,” he added. “It’s an incredible home-field advantage.”
The Bulldogs, utilizing a “hurry-up” system, drew first blood on their second possession, moving 65 yards on five snaps ending on Wilson’s 49-yard TD aerial to Constant down the right hash, and junior Gavin Rowley hammered the extra point.
They also seemed primed to dou- ble that with their third drive, one that stalled at the Marist 7 after three straight incompletions.
Rowley came on to attempt a 25yard field goal, but he pulled it off the left goalpost with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter. What happened on the ensuing play stunned the massive crowd – and the Bryant bench.
That’s when Husni completed an 80-yard bomb to Christian, despite the fact he had been straddled by two defenders when he made the snag. Mateo Zapata posted the PAT to knot it, though the Bulldogs needed little time to answer.
After Nisivoccia’s 39-yard return, they maneuvered 58 yards on 14 snaps ending on Daniel Adeboboye’s oneyard plunge off left guard.
The hosts tacked on more points on its following possession, one in which they moved 63 yards prior to Rowley’s 28-yard field goal with 9:43 left before the break.
Bryant seemed in control, and ready to make it 20-7 when it produced a firstand-goal at the Foxes’ 5. The defense stiffened, yet Rowley pushed his 33yard try wide right, and it’s next drive resulted in a lost fumble, one recovered by Connor Breit, near midfield.
Still, Zapata returned the favor after missing a 47-yard field goal to the same side with 1:32 left.
Perry’s crew seemed poised to cushion its advantage on the final drive of the half, pushing it to the Marist 43 before the unimaginable occurred.
Sophomore linebacker Grant Dixon picked off Wilson at his own 38 and rambled 62 yards for the TD that sliced it to 17-13. The score remained that way after Bryant blocked Zapata’s boot.
The Bulldogs also had issues at the start of the third, when Darryn Jordan unleashed a 31-yard jaunt to open a 72yard scoring drive. Husni closed it with a 20-yard aerial to – who else? – Christian, and Zapata’s extra point was true for the 20-17 advantage.
Marist leveled two sacks on Wilson on Bryant’s next possession, and it nearly scored again after the resulting punt. Zapata, however, zipped a 45-yard field goal wide right with 9:56 remaining in the third.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Dorbor stated of the wild change in momentum. “The guys on offense, we all know how fast we play, so a threepoint deficit is nothing.”
Offered Perry: “Our kids have a lot of conditioning, so as games go on – as halves go on – we know we can continue to play fast. They knew they could come back because they have that base.”
Almost on cue, the Bulldogs flipped a switch. Wilson directed a 73-yard, seven-snap possession culminating on Dorbor’s one-yard TD rush and Rowley knifed the PAT through the uprights for the 23-20 lead.
The score stood until Middletown product Isaac McCray took three straight handoffs for 21 yards, and those spearheaded Constant’s 25-yard TD reception from Wilson just 2:53 into the fourth.
After the Foxes stalled at midfield, then punted, Wilson lofted a 62-yard TD aerial to McNeal, who caught it at about the 12 before a defender tried to stop him with a facemask.
McNeal nevertheless backed into the end zone for the score. With 8:04 left in regulation, Bryant bolstered its lead to 37-20.
Husni notched a meaningless eightyard TD run with two seconds left.
As the Bulldogs continued to celebrate the evening after the scoreboard clock hit “0:00,” and fireworks lit up the northwest sky, Femiano laughed, “We didn’t have those in high school (in Northport, N.Y.). All in all, our first game under the lights, it’s a real honor for us, a real blessing.”