Miller adds pick-six in final collegiate game

RINDGE, N.H. (October 3, 2014) – Sophomore back Andrew Jean (Irvington, N.J.) carried the ball 40 times on Friday night, on his way to 297 yards and three scores, as the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team piled up six touchdowns en route to a 45-7 win over Princeton in the Ravens' first-ever on-campus Collegiate Sprint Football League game at Sodexo Field. Sophomore quarterback Chad Cowden threw for 184 yards and a touchdown in defeat for Princeton.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 1-2, while Princeton falls to 0-2.

Already leading 17-7 at halftime, Franklin Pierce put together the game's signature drive coming out of the gate in the third quarter, as the Ravens opened with first-and-10 from their own 24-yard line. The drive would go 14 plays and 76 yards to the end zone over the next 8:33, as Franklin Pierce jumped to a 24-7 lead with 6:35 to play in the third quarter.

Of the 14 plays, 11 were rushes by Jean, including a seven-yard dash to the goal line to cap the drive. Thanks to a trio of Franklin Pierce penalties, Jean was able to chalk up 87 rushing yards on the 76-yard drive, including three rushes of more than 10 yards. Facing first-and-25 after a personal foul penalty, Jean moved the sticks in just two plays, with back-to-back rushes of 11 and 14 yards.

One of the game's more meaningful moments came in the fourth quarter, with the game already well in hand. After a 33-yard punt from senior Derek Reddy (Natick, Mass.), Princeton opened a drive from its own three-yard line, trailing 38-7. On second-and-three from the 10, Cowden was picked off by senior Taylor Miller (Newport, Vt.), who returned the interception 15 yards to the end zone to cap the night's scoring.

For Miller, the touchdown carried extra weight, as Friday night marked the final game of his collegiate career. Miller worked in law enforcement over the summer and hopes to make a career in the profession. As a result, his academic commitments will prevent him from joining the Ravens for any of their four remaining games.

Earlier in the evening, Franklin Pierce scored the game's first two touchdowns and never looked back. After Princeton's initial drive stalled out near midfield, senior linebacker Ben Whitney (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) blocked a punt, forcing just a nine-yard kick, as the Ravens took over at their own 39. Franklin Pierce went three-and-out, but Princeton junior Patrick Yu fumbled on the punt return and the crimson and grey fell on the ball to regain possession at the Princeton 22.

The Ravens used six plays to cover the 22 yards to the end zone, with the biggest strike coming through the air via a nine-yard pass from freshman quarterback Jose Melo (Greenwich, Conn.) too junior wide receiver Michael Holdridge (Peru, N.Y.). Franklin Pierce kept the offense on the field on fourth-and-goal from the two, and Melo finished off the drive on a two-yard keeper to open the scoring.

Princeton went three-and-out on each of its next two drives, and on the second one, senior Abe Kielar again had his punt blocked. This time, the kick was stuffed and never made it back to the line of scrimmage. Again the Ravens fell on it, setting up a short-field drive which began at the Princeton 24. A pair of Jean rushes, a nine-yard carry followed by a 15-yard touchdown run, covered the distance to the end zone in just 33 seconds, as the Ravens opened up a 14-0 lead.

Princeton got its only points of the day just over seven minutes later. The Tigers' drive appeared in trouble, as a false start penalty set up second-and-15 at their own 45. However, Cowden hit senior wideout Chris McCord for 55 yards and the score on the play to cut the lead in half at 14-7. Franklin Pierce freshman kicker Johnny Ciarcia (Rindge, N.H.) capped the first-half scoring with a 29-yard field goal with 12 seconds to play in the second quarter.

In addition to the aforementioned Jean and Miller touchdowns, Franklin Pierce added another two trips to the end zone in the second half. Less than two minutes after he capped the third quarter's opening drive, Jean was back in the end zone for a third time. Again the drive was set up by a misplay from Princeton's special teams unit. This time, Kielar -- perhaps trying to rush after having two kicks blocked -- muffed the snap and, after collecting the ball, was hauled down at his own 19 by freshman defensive back William Hart (Amherst, N.H.) for the turnover on downs. Again, a pair of Jean rushes did the damage, as he ran three yards on first-and-10 and added a 16-yard touchdown rush on second-and-seven.

Early in the fourth quarter, Franklin Pierce took over on the Princeton 40 after a 32-yard punt by Kielar from deep in his own end. Jean ripped off three straight runs totaling 27 yards to cap his day. On what would be his final carry of the night, he ran 18 yards and fumbled at the end of the rush, but was able to fall on the ball to retain possession. On the following play, freshman quarterback Taylor DeForge (Bristol, Conn.) -- who took over under center after Melo left injured in the second quarter -- hit Holdridge for a 13-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 38-7.

Franklin Pierce, which struggled on the ground each of the first two weeks, did not struggle at all rushing the ball on Friday night. Over 59 carries, the Ravens piled up 367 net rushing yards, led by Jean's 297 and three scores over 40 carries. Sophomore tailback Dimitri Elias (Amherst, N.H.) added 44 yards over just three second-half carries, including a 44-yard scamper to end the third quarter.

The Ravens attempted just eight passes on the day and completed four of them, but picked up 67 yards and a touchdown in the process. Holdridge made three of the receptions and finished with 54 yards and a score. The offensive line, which had surrendered eight and 11 sacks in the first two weeks, allowed just two sacks on Friday.

Princeton was unable to get anything going on the ground in Rindge, as the Tigers finished with -2 net rushing yards on 18 carries, thanks in part to a pair of sacks and significant lost yardage when Kielar muffed the snap on what was intended to be a punt attempt. Junior running back Nick Barnett was the only Tiger to net more than five yards on the ground, as he finished with 28 yards on nine carries. It marked the second straight week the Ravens held their opponent to negative net rushing yards.

For his part, Cowden finished 14-for-41 for 184 yards and a touchdown. However, he was also intercepted three times, including the Miller pick, which was returned for a touchdown.

Defensively for Franklin Pierce, freshman defensive back Paul Tancredi (Mountain Home, Idaho) led the way with eight tackles (five solo), while sophomore linebacker Jason Reid (Leominster, Mass.) added six tackles (three solo). junior defensive back Connor Rogowsky (Nashua, N.H.) and junior defensive lineman Nick Trochalakis (Rochester, N.H.) each contributed 1.5 tackles for loss, including one sack each.

For Princeton, junior linebacker A.J. Sibley piled up a game-best 12 tackles (six solo) and also forced a fumble, while junior defensive back Richard Freling figured in on 10 tackles (two solo) and also recovered a fumble. Senior defensive lineman Spencer Haldeman led the efforts behind the line of scrimmage with one sack.

The Ravens return to the field on Friday, Oct. 10, when they remain home to host Pennsylvania. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. 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).