LORETTO, PA- The Red Flash defense forced six turnovers and junior Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) stuffed the stat sheet as the Red Flash upended Bryant 27-14 at DeGol Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
 
Rinella led the team in rushing (10 carries for 60 yards and a TD), tackles (10 total) and return yards (94, including a 70-yard kick return). The junior also sealed the game with an interception late in the fourth quarter.
 
The Red Flash defense forced six turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions, two on downs) and held the Bryant Bulldogs to just over three yards per play. The #darkside also recorded three sacks and had nine tackles for loss. Jermaine Ponder (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) broke up five passes, giving him 15 for the season, a new Saint Francis single-season record.
 
Offensively, Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) tossed two touchdown passes for the eighth-straight game, hitting Kam Lewis and Jahsim Floyd (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) for his two scores. Overall, Fenimore went 19-29 for 135 yards and two touchdowns, battling the windy, rainy conditions.
 
For Bryant, Timothy Graham threw for two touchdowns against a pair of interceptions. Defensively, the duo of Tomas Wright and Thomas Costigan lived up to their billing, with Wright recording 1.5 sacks and Costigan recording 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
FIRST QUARTER RECAP

• Bryant fumbled the first offensive snap of the game as James Watkins (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill) came in for a sack and recovered the loose ball
• Fenimore hit Lewis over the middle for a 17-yard score on the first play of the drive
• SFU's defense forced a turnover on downs on Bryant's next possession, giving SFU the ball at midfield
• Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) had a 21-yard run that helped set up his 19-yard scoring run on the fourth play of the drive as SFU went up 14-0 in the first five minutes
• Bryant's struggles continued, muffing a punt on their next drive, resulting in a four-yard kick
• SFU cashed in their third possession in Bryant territory with a Bofenkamp field goal to go up 17-0, and would take that lead into the second quarter

SECOND QUARTER RECAP

• Bryant struck first in the second quarter, with Vincent Nisivoccia catching a roll out pass and taking it 58 yards for a touchdown on the Bulldogs' first possession of the quarter

• The teams would trade punts over the course of the quarter with Andrew Zecca (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Gov. Livingston) booting two inside the Bryant 20, forcing the Bulldogs into a long field
• The Bulldogs' longest drive of the game came after Zecca pinned them inside their own 10, Bryant marched 91 yards on 9 plays, capping with a Tom Kennedy touchdown catch to pull Bryant within three at 17-14
• Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) took the ensuing kickoff 70 yards inside the Bryant 25-yard line
• Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) caught one pass to set up a first down and drew a pass interference penalty that set up a first and goal
• Fenimore hit Jahsim Floyd (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) for a two-yard touchdown to send SFU into the locker room up 24-14

 
THIRD QUARTER RECAP

• Saint Francis churned out a seven-minute drive to start the quarter, but ended with a Zecca punt that dropped inside the Bryant 10
• The teams traded punts until Jarren Williams (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) high pointed an errant pass for an interception to stop a Bryant drive
• The Bulldogs nearly blocked Zecca's punt on the ensuing drive but the senior managed a 31-yard boot under pressue to end the quarter
• The Red Flash kept their 10-point lead heading into the fourth

 
FOURTH QUARTER RECAP

• Neither team could get any offense going as they continued to trade punts
• SFU's defense made a stand on fourth down as Calvin Beaty (Holmdel, N.J./St. John-Vianney) stopped a Bryant rush on fourth and short, giving SFU the ball at midfield
• Joel Denley (Beaumont, Texas/West Brook) picked up a key third down with a run and Zach Campbell (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) caught a pass over the middle on fourth down to keep the ensuing drive alive
• SFU would settle for a 28-yard field goal from Eric Bofenkamp (Warren, Ohio/John F. Kennedy) to put the Red Flash up 27-14
• Bryant was able to move the ball into the Red Flash red zone on the next drive but Beaty hit Graham as he threw and Rinella picked the pass off in the end zone to stop the drive
• Three-straight runs by SFU forced Bryant to burn all their timeouts and a 72-yard punt by Andrew Zecca (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Gov. Livingston) pinned Bryant back inside their own 10
• Bryant's ensuing drive ran out of time as the Red Flash picked up their second-straight NEC victory

 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Flash remain home next weekend as they welcome in Central Connecticut on senior day. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN3 with a scheduled kick off set for 12:04.