Edwards scores on long kick return

LAFAYETTE, Pa. (October 23, 2015) – Four players rushed for 50 yards or more on Friday night, as the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team piled up 291 yards on the ground on the way to a 45-7 win over Chestnut Hill in non-conference play at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Football Stadium. Senior running back D.J. MacDonald (Mattapoisett, Mass.) led the way with 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-3 (2-3 CSFL), while Chestnut Hill falls to 2-2. The Griffins are a Collegiate Sprint Football League member, but in their inaugural season their games do not count towards League standings.

The Ravens started things off with a bang on Friday night, immediately after Chestnut Hill won the coin toss, deferred to the second half, and kicked the ball away to Franklin Pierce. Freshman running back Shannon Edwards (Spanaway, Wash.) fielded the kick at his own 15-yard line and took it 85 yards the other way, returning the game's opening kickoff for a touchdown to stake the Ravens to an early 7-0 lead.

On the second play of the ensuing Chestnut Hill drive, the Griffins kept the ball with freshman quarterback Theophilus McBurnette on the keeper. Junior linebacker Josh Castro (Nashua, N.H.) met him six yards down the field, where he forced and recovered a fumble to turn the ball over and lead to Franklin Pierce's next scoring drive. Starting at the Chestnut Hill 28-yard line, the Ravens did not pick up a first down on the drive, but did not need one to score points, as sophomore kicker Kyle Salucco (Exeter, N.H.) hit from 38 yards to push the lead to 10-0.

A 27-yard rush by freshman quarterback Reginald Robinson Jr. on the next drive put Chestnut Hill in Franklin Pierce territory for the first time on the night, but then the Griffins turned the ball over again. On first-and-10 at the Franklin Pierce 36-yard line, freshman running back Dasantae Callis took the ball, but coughed it up when he was hit by senior defensive lineman Josh Tilton (Seymour, Conn.), who also recovered the football for Franklin Pierce.

The ensuing Franklin Pierce drive stalled out at the Chestnut Hill 44-yard line, but freshman cornerback Raevon Floyd-Bennett muffed the resulting punt, which was then recovered by junior defensive lineman Jacques Elias (Amherst, N.H.), setting up first-and-10 for Franklin Pierce at the Chestnut Hill 7-yard line. After MacDonald picked up five yards on a pair of rushes and a pass fell incomplete, the Ravens kept the offense on the field for fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Senior quarterback Derek Reddy (Natick, Mass.) kept the football himself and plunged in for the score, pushing the lead to 17-0.

The teams traded touchdown drives on the first two drives of the second quarter to make it a 24-7 game. First, Franklin Pierce needed just five plays to traverse 50 yards, as Edwards ripped off a 17-yard rush, which was immediately followed by a 23-yard touchdown rush from Reddy to cap the drive. Chestnut Hill then needed just six plays for a 65-yard touchdown drive in the other direction after Salucco's kickoff sailed out of bounds. The biggest play of the drive was a 45-yard strike from Robinson to sophomore wideout Domoree Hill on third-and-four, while Robinson later capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to freshman running back Alexander Rivera III.

The game went to halftime at 24-7, and the Ravens later added three second-half touchdowns to create the 45-7 final. In the third quarter, a three-play, 31-yard drive featured rushes of 16 and 14 yards by MacDonald before he finished it off himself from one yard out. On a 12-play, 55-yard drive which bridged the third and fourth quarters, an eight-yard rush by MacDonald allowed the Ravens to convert on fourth-and-four about halfway through the drive, which MacDonald later capped with a two-yard touchdown plunge. Finally, a seven-play, 46-yard drive featured rushes of 11, 15 and 12 yards for Edwards, the last of which went for the final score of the game.

MacDonald finished with 114 yards and two touchdowns over 25 carries (4.6 yards per carry) to lead the way on the ground for Franklin Pierce. Edwards (63 yards), Reddy (57 yards) and freshman running back Tyler Zech (Pepperell, Mass.) (56 yards) each topped 50 yards on the ground for the Ravens. Through the air, Reddy went 5-for-14 and threw for 50 yards. Freshman running back Jack Mahoney (Hudson, N.H.) was the team's leading receiver, with two catches for 20 yards.

Defensively, Castro and senior linebacker James Willette (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) factored in on six tackles each, with the former chalking up five solo stops. Castro added one sack for a loss of 14 yards, forced and recovered the early fumble, and also blocked a field goal attempt.

For Chestnut Hill, Robinson finished as the leading rusher, with 46 yards on 14 carries (3.3 yards per carry). He also threw for 57 yards and a touchdown on the day, though he went 2-for-12 with an interception and was sacked three times.

Defensively for the Griffins, freshman linebacker Jonathan Baldwin piled up 11 tackles (five solo), while freshman defensive lineman Brian Layden added 10 more (two solo). Each also collected 1.5 tackles for loss on the night.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Oct. 31, when they return home to close out the season and host Mansfield. Opening kickoff is set for noon at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce sprint football apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).