RINDGE, N.H. (September 3, 2022) -- There was not much in it at the season opener on Saturday afternoon at Sodexo Field. The Franklin Pierce University football team and Edinboro traded second-quarter touchdowns, but those were the only trips to the end zone on the day. A 26-yard, third-quarter field goal from sophomore Reed Martin stood as the difference, as Edinboro squeaked out a 10-7 victory in a non-conference game dominated by defense.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce opens the season at 0-1, while Edinboro moves to 1-0.

Franklin Pierce got the offense churning on the very first possession of the season, as it took over at its own 11-yard line after a three-and-out from Edinboro to start the game. The Ravens went 63 yards over the next 13 plays, highlighted by a 19-yard rush on the left side by graduate student EJ Burgess (Pearland, Texas), before the drive stalled out at the Edinboro 26. Sophomore Ty Drinan (Lynn, Mass.) came on for a 43-yard field-goal attempt, but missed it to the left.

The rest of the first quarter went by uneventfully, before Edinboro converted on its first drive of the second period. The Fighting Scots took over at their own 40, after forcing Franklin Pierce to punt from its 26. Edinboro ran up the middle for two yards, then had an incompletion, before sophomores Isaac Bernard and Thaddeus Standfield hooked up on a 58-yard touchdown strike to open the scoring.

Franklin Pierce responded later in the quarter with arguably the game's most-impressive drive. The Ravens took over at their own 17-yard line, after junior Chris Howard (Lakeland, Fla.) muffed a 37-yard punt by Martin. The crimson and grey went to work from there, as they put together a 12-play, 83-yard drive over just 1:58, which featured a trio of third-down conversions. The last of the three came on 3^rd-and-10 from the Edinboro 27-yard line, as junior Kevaris Thomas (Lakeland, Fla.) found junior Christian Simon (Riverview, Fla.) on the right side of the end zone with just five seconds remaining before halftime.

The only scoring of the second half would come on Edinboro's first possession after the break. Sophomore Armani Bailey set things up with a 54-yard punt return, which allowed the Fighting Scots to start the drive at the Franklin Pierce 12. The Raven defense held from there and forced a field goal attempt, but Reed was able to pump the ball through the uprights from 26 yards out to give Edinboro a lead it would not relinquish.

Franklin Pierce threatened to respond immediately, with a seven-play, 48-yard drive, but it eventually stalled out at the Edinboro 30-yard line. Too far for a field goal and too close to punt, he Ravens went for it on 4^th-and-3, but Thomas was stuffed in the backfield by junior Malcolm Johnson to force the turnover on downs.

Edinboro used a 14-play, 59-yard drive spanning the third and fourth quarters to set up another field-goal attempt, but Reed came up empty from 25 yards this time. The teams then traded three-and-outs from there, and Reed did his part to ice the game as a punter instead, as he unleashed a 59-yard boot which was downed at the Franklin Pierce 3-yard line with 11:02 to play.

Franklin Pierce got a pair of first downs, but was ultimately forced to punt from its own 32 with just under seven minutes remaining, and never saw the ball again. Edinboro strangled the life out of game with a 12-play, 51-yard drive that used up the remainder of the clock. The Fighting Scots converted a pair of 3^rd-and-6 opportunities on the drive to ice the game, including a nine-yard pass from Bernard to junior Anfreenee Williams, which served as the final dagger.

For Franklin Pierce, Thomas finished 10-for-20 through the air for 90 yards and a touchdown, and added 60 more yards on the ground on 12 carries, including the longest rush of the game (25 yards). Burgess was the team's leading rusher, with 74 yards on 24 carries, while Simon snagged three passes for 55 yards, including the touchdown. Sophomore Harrison Barjolo (Worcester, Mass.), junior Tyvarius Daniels (Springfield, Mass.) and sophomore Trey Sejour (Everett, Mass.) all finished with eight tackles each, while Daniels added an interception and a pass breakup, for good measure.

For Edinboro, it was 15-for-27 for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Bernard. Williams was the game's leading rusher, as he picked up 83 yards on 22 attempts. Standfield caught four passes for 76 yards, including the touchdown, while sophomore Mike Watkins added six receptions for 65 yards. Sophomore Clay Cunningham piled up a game-best 15 tackles (eight solo), including one sack among 2.5 tackles-for-loss.

The Ravens are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 10, when they travel to Carson-Newman, for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Burke-Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, Tenn.