Smith, Brown Lead Way as Sprint Football Runs Past Post, 28-0
WATERBURY, Conn. (October 7, 2017) – Sophomore back Kobie Smith (Leominster, Mass.) rushed for 176 yards and three scores on Saturday, while freshman Tionne Brown (Turners Falls, Mass.) added 99 rushing yards of his own, as the Franklin Pierce University sprint football league bounced back from a pair of shutout defeats with a 28-0 win on the road at Post. The duo led a 316-yard rushing attack for the Ravens in Collegiate Sprint Football League North Division action at LaMoy Field.
With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 2-2 (1-1 North Division), while Post falls to 0-3 (0-2 North Division). The win allowed the Ravens to lay claim to the Talon Cup -- the rivalry trophy between the two schools -- for the fifth straight season.
The Ravens took the lead for good on their first drive of the game. After a pair of penalties against the offense, it looked like the drive might go three-and-out, as the Ravens faced third-and-10 from their own 47-yard line. However, freshman quarterback Jared Lubas (Salem, Mass.) found Brown out of the backfield for 12 yards to convert, as Franklin Pierce pushed across midfield to the Post 41. On the very next play, Smith turned in the day's signature play, as he ripped off a 41-yard touchdown rush to open the scoring. It was the longest play of the day for either offense.
Franklin Pierce would score one touchdown in each of the game's four quarters on Saturday. The second quarter would see the only passing touchdown of the afternoon. Earlier in the drive, Brown scampered for 23 yards to convert on first-and-20 after a holding penalty. Ultimately, it would set up Lubas' 26-yard touchdown strike to Brown, which capped off an eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive and opened the lead to 14-0.
The Ravens would make it 21-0 with a lengthy touchdown drive on the opening series of the second half. Franklin Pierce would cover 71 yards in 6:22 over the course of 12 plays, all of which were rushes. No play went for more than 10 yards until the scoring play, as Smith capped the drive with a 17-yard touchdown rush. In all, Smith collected 44 yards on five rushes on the drive.
Another long drive, which began in the third quarter and ended in the fourth quarter, capped the scoring. This time, the Ravens went nine plays and 80 yards to the house, over the span of 4:45. Smith had rushes of 21, 21 and 18 yards on the drive, before capping things with a seven-yard rush for his third touchdown of the day. Brown added a 34-yard carry on the drive as well.
Smith finished the day with 176 rushing yards on 22 carries (8.0 yards/rush) and three scores, while Brown went for 99 yards on 18 carries (5.5 yards/rush). Lubas tacked on 41 rushing yards of his own on nine attempts (4.6 yards/rush). Lubas did not do much throwing on the day, as he finished 2-for-6 for 38 yards and a touchdown. Brown was the only Raven to catch a pass, as he hauled in both of Lubas' completions.
Defensively, junior defensive back Trevon Gray (Middletown, R.I.) and sophomore linebacker Jon Nogueira (Amherst, N.H.) led the team with eight tackles each, with Gray posting five solo tackles and Nogueira collecting three on his own. Freshman defensive lineman Matthew Serna (Bakersfield, Calif.) finished with six tackles (four solo), including two tackles for loss and one sack.
For Post, freshman running back Luis Medina led the way on the ground, with 50 yards on seven carries (7.1 yards/rush), though the Eagles netted just 95 rushing yards as a team. Junior quarterback Buddy Enriquez was the primary signal-caller for Post, and he finished 9-for-13 for 71 yards, threw one interception and was sacked three times. Freshman David Mosley went 5-for-6 for 67 yards as Post threw for 134 yards on the day. Freshman wideout Devin Givens led the team in receptions with four, for 23 yards, while fellow freshman Alex Galarza hauled in three catches for a team-best 49 yards.
Defensively, sophomore defensive back Quenntin Thompson piled up 11 tackles (six solo) to lead the way for Post. Junior linebacker Matthew Terlizzi added nine tackles (five solo), including two for loss, while senior defensive back Eleodoro Perez had a tackle for loss as well, as part of an eight-tackle outing (three solo).
The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Oct. 14, when they return home for the final time in 2017, to host Cornell in a CSFL North Division contest. 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 football apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).