By By Jerome Bailey, Staff Writer
Led by senior Quarterback Corey Christopher’s career high 321 yards and three touchdown passes, the Hofstra Pride (2-0) defeated the Bryant University Bulldogs 40-24 on Saturday afternoon. However, they are aware that there is always room for improvement.
“I thought we threw and caught the ball well. But I was disappointed with our run game and run blocking, special teams and our defense. We have a long way to go, and a lot of areas of improvement are needed,” said Hofstra Head Coach Dave Cohen.
Overall, the Pride played well throughout the game, despite being outscored in the second half, 14-9. The two main concerns for the Pride coming into this game were the Bulldogs dynamic running game and defense. The Pride handled both concerns with ease.
The Pride defense was tremendous, as it held explosive Bulldog senior running backs Jerell Smith and Lindesy Gamble to 98 yards total rushing. Even more impressive, it took Smith 14 carries to get his 48 yards.
The defense was led by senior Linebacker Luke Bonus, who had nine tackles. In addition, senior Leslie Jackman had four tackles and an interception.
Christopher and the offense had no problems scoring on the Bulldogs top-ranked defense, as they piled up 407 yards of total offense. Christopher tossed touchdown passes to junior running back Everette Benjamin, junior tight end Anthony Nelson, and sophomore Christian Dennis. Dennis took the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and caught one pass in the game for a 45-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Christopher connected with Benjamin for a 31-yard touchdown in the first half.
At the start of the second half, the Pride led the Bulldogs (1-1) 31-10 and everything seemed to be going their way. Nonetheless, midway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs came roaring back. Following a failed attempt on third down, Pride senior Punter Shane Casciano lined up to punt from the Pride’s 5 yard line, but Bulldogs freshman Nick Candito ran between the defenders and blocked the punt. Subsequently, on the next play Bulldogs senior Jerell Smith scored on a four-yard touchdown run.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Pride’s lead was trimmed to 14 points. On their first possession of the quarter, the Pride went three-and-out. The Bulldogs took over from their own 36 yard line, and on the second play of the drive, scored on a 57-yard touchdown pass by junior quarterback Mike Croce to senior wide receiver Khalel Pritchard. The Bulldogs now only trailed by a touchdown.
Christopher and the Pride offense were determined to score on its next drive, and they came through with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Christopher to sophomore Christian Dennis. The Pride missed the extra point conversion, however, and the lead was 37-24.The Pride would go on to convert on a 24-yard field goal by senior Henry Greco to extend the lead to 40-24, and never looked back.
“I am happy to be 2-0, and we will go from there,” said Cohen following the game.
The Pride will look to continue its winning ways on Saturday against the defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Champion Richmond Spiders. The Spiders finished the season last year 13-3 overall, and 6-2 in the CAA. The all-time series between the teams is 3-3.
However, in the last meeting, the Pride lost 34-14. In that game, the Spiders raced out to a 27-0 start, and the Pride never recovered. The Spiders were led by then senior tailback Josh Vaughan, who ran for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Quarterback Eric Ward threw for 158 yards while completing 11 of 20 passes. Ward’s career record as Richmond’s quarterback is 30-10. Last season he broke Richmond’s single-season record for passing yards (2,808). Ward and the Spiders offense is a concern for the Pride’s defense.
“They are very physical and athletic upfront, and have a quarterback who can throw, and run. They have wide receivers that can run right by us. First and foremost, we are going to try and stop the run. But there is a balance they have on offense, that definitely presents an issue and a competition for our defense to try and compete with them,” said Cohen.
Led by junior defensive back Justin Rogers, the Spiders defense last season broke a single season record for interceptions, as they tallied 29. Rogers picked off a team-leading seven passes last season.
In order to pull off the upset, the Pride will need to play smart on both sides of the ball. They cannot afford too many turnovers against the Spiders.