Ravens jump to early lead

RINDGE, N.H. (October 31, 2015) – Two first-quarter touchdowns would hold up the rest of the way on Saturday afternoon for the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team, as the Ravens struck twice early en route to a 14-3 win over Mansfield in Collegiate Sprint Football League play at Sodexo Field. Senior quarterback Derek Reddy (Natick, Mass.), playing in his final collegiate game, opened the scoring with a quarterback sneak in the season finale.

With the win, Franklin Pierce concludes its fourth season at 4-3 (3-3 CSFL), while Mansfield wraps up its season at 2-5 (1-5 CSFL).

Mansfield won the coin toss and elected to defer, which meant Franklin Pierce had the opening drive of the game, starting from its own 35-yard line after the kickoff went out of bounds. The Ravens made the best of the opening drive, marching 11 plays and 65 yards over 6:56, with Reddy capping things off with a quarterback sneak from one yard out on fourth-and-goal. Senior running back D.J. MacDonald (Mattapoisett, Mass.) piled up 37 rushing yards on seven carries on the drive, including rushes of 10 and 13 yards.

Franklin Pierce's other touchdown would come as the defense ended Mansfield's ensuing drive with an exclamation mark. On first-and-10 at the Mansfield 41-yard line, Mountaineers freshman quarterback Adam Hutchison could not handle the snap cleanly and put the football on the ground. As he started to collect the ball, Hutchison was clobbered by Franklin Pierce junior linebacker Andrew Jean (Irvington, N.J.), who jarred the ball loose again. Jean then scooped the ball up and took it 32 yards the other way for the touchdown.

Despite the quick start, Franklin Pierce could not pull away and, in fact, would not do any further scoring after the Jean fumble recovery and score. Mansfield struck for its only points of the day on a second-quarter drive. Taking over at its own 33-yard line, Mansfield went 15 plays and 60 yards over the next 7:19. The big strikes on the drive came through the air, as Hutchison hit senior tight end Joe Bucek for 21 yards and later found freshman tight end Jakob Woods for 19 yards to convert on a key fourth-and-16 from the Franklin Pierce 31-yard line. The drive ultimately stalled out at the Franklin Pierce 7-yard line, with freshman kicker Drew Beckerink splitting the uprights from 24 yards out to put the Mountaineers on the board.

The second half turned into a defensive struggle, as every drive of the third quarter ended in a punt. Mansfield's best chance to close the gap came early in the fourth quarter. After forcing Franklin Pierce to punt from deep in its own end, the Mountaineers opened with first-and-10 at the Franklin Pierce 39-yard line. Hutchison found Bucek for 14 yards and senior wideout Sean Green for nine yards over the first three plays of the drive, Mansfield eventually faced second-and-six at the Franklin Pierce 19-yard line. Hutchison threw on the right side and found Woods, who cut back to the inside, behind a block, and slipped into the end zone for an apparent 19-yard touchdown. However, the points came back off the board, as the blocker he used was flagged for offensive pass interference. Ultimately, the drive ended on a turnover on down on fourth-and-19 from the Franklin Pierce 32-yard line, as senior defensive lineman Shawn Wright (Hartford, Conn.) came up with the sack.

For Franklin Pierce, MacDonald led the way on the ground, with 68 yards on 29 carries (2.3 yards per carry). Through the air, Reddy threw for 47 yards on a 6-for-10 day, while he was sacked once. Senior tight end Michael Holdridge (Peru, N.Y.) had two catches for 28 yards to lead the receiving corps.

Defensively, senior linebacker James Willette (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) led the way with 11 tackles (three solo), while senior defensive lineman Josh Tilton (Seymour, Conn.) added 10 tackles (four solo). Wright finished with eight tackles (four solo), including three sacks. In addition to the forced fumble and score by Jean, Tilton forced a fumble and sophomore defensive back Karon Hair (Long Branch, N.J.) had an interception.

For Mansfield, freshman running back Aren Harris rushed for 42 yards on 20 carries (2.1 yards per carry). Hutchison finished 13-for-29 with an interception and was sacked four times, but still threw for 100 yards. Woods hauled in four receptions for 43 yards.

Defensively for the Mountaineers, senior linebacker John Capwell was a part of 12 tackles (seven solo), including 2.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive back Kyle Post made eight tackles (six solo), while junior linebacker Dylan Flexer added six tackles (four solo), including one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

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).