Jahlil Dean hauls in TD pass for Ravens

BOXSCORE

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (September 21, 2013) – Sophomore defensive back Mike Abrams (Newark, N.J.) highlighted a stout defensive effort by the Ravens on Saturday to help lead the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team to a thrilling 13-6 win over Cornell in the 2013 Allegiance Bowl in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Franklin Pierce improved to 1-1 and earned the second win in program history, which no doubt was the biggest in the team’s brief tenure, as it came in front of very large and vocal crowd at Saratoga Springs H.S. Field. Cornell dipped to 0-2 on the year.

Abrams earned most valuable player honors after logging a game-high 10 tackles, intercepting a pass, blocking a punt, and breaking up a pair of passes. If that wasn’t enough, he also rushed for 33 yards in spot duty on offense.

Abrams’ play was part of a tremendous defensive effort by the Ravens, as they limited the Big Red to 190 yards of total offense (67 rushing, 123 passing). Franklin Pierce wasn’t just stingy with the yards, but also opportunistic by forcing Cornell into five turnovers, including four interceptions.

The first of those four picks turned the game around in Franklin Pierce’s favor late in the first half. Trailing 3-0, sophomore defensive back Connor Rogowsky (Nashua, N.H.) intercepted a Brendan Miller pass and returned it 24 yards to the Cornell 33-yard line, setting up the Ravens with an excellent opportunity to put some late points on the board.

The offense didn’t let the opportunity go to waste, first getting a key 22-yard run by sophomore running back D.J. MacDonald (Mattapoisett, Mass.), and then finally getting a 10-yard touchdown pass from freshman Ryan O’Kelly (West Warwick, R.I.) to sophomore wideout Jahlil Dean (Maple Shade, N.J.).

The late score sparked the offense, which combined with the defense’s superb play, began to physically wear out Cornell in the final 30 minutes.

MacDonald began gashing the Big Red’s defensive line in the second half on the way to 122 yards total on the ground. He also got in the act as a receiver, and his 19-yard touchdown grab with 3:06 remaining staked the Ravens to the seven-point advantage.

With the offense putting up points, the defense continued to get takeaways, including sophomore lineman Josh Tilton (Seymour, Conn.) recovering a Cornell fumble on the opening play of the second half, followed by interceptions from Abrams, Christopher Nee (Walpole, Mass.) and Derek Reddy (Natick, Mass.).

Reddy’s pick, which came in the final minutes as Cornell harmlessly tried to mount a tying touchdown drive but couldn’t, was his team-best second of the season, as he has five interceptions in five career collegiate games dating back to the middle of last season. Reddy also came up big for the Ravens in the kicking game, as he boomed a 49-yard punt after the snap was high over his head forcing him to run back 20 yards to retrieve the ball, and dropped in a pair of kicks inside the Cornell 20 late in the contest to keep the battle of field position in Franklin Pierce’s favor.

O’Kelly grew more comfortable in the pocket for Franklin Pierce, and finished by completing 11-of-23 passes for 104 yards and the two scores. Dean nabbed a team-best five balls for 45 yards, while sophomore Shawn DeCost (Nashua, N.H.) helped to stretch the field with a pair of catches for 45 yards as well.

Shawn Wright (Hartford, Conn.) also came up big defensively for the Ravens by logging nine tackles along the interior front, and getting a sack. Tilton finished with four tackles (including one behind the line of scrimmage) and a pass breakup to go along with his fumble recovery.

Cornell got a pair of field goals on the day from John Rodriguez, including a 22-yarder to open the scoring early in the first quarter, and a 45-yard try midway through the third quarter to trim Franklin Pierce’s lead to 7-6.

Franklin Pierce returns to action next Saturday when the Ravens open their 2013 home schedule by playing host to Army at 12 p.m. on Arthur Hurd Field at Oakmont Regional H.S. in Ashburnham, Mass.

For more information on Franklin Pierce sprint football, please visit the team’s page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce sprint football apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)