Sept. 5, 2007

Sacred Heart vs. La Salle Game Notes in PDF Format
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Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-0, 0-0 NEC) vs. La Salle Explorers (0-1, 0-0 MAAC)

Game #2 - Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007- 1:00 pm - Fairfield, Conn. - Campus Field (4,000)

Setting the Scene... The 2007 season got off to a rousing start last Thursday night as the Sacred Heart Pioneers posted a 41-20 opening win at Assumption. SHU returns home on Saturday to host La Salle of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Explorers dropped their season opener at home, 28-0 to Ursinus College. Pioneer rookie quarterback Dale Fink had a stellar debut for the red & white, throwing for 238 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Fink led the Pioneers to 487 yards of total offense in the win, including 228 yards on the ground. The SHU running back tandem of senior Jason Payne and junior Evin Jones combined for 164 yards rushing.

The SHU - La Salle Series... Today's game marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.

SHU vs. the MAAC... The Pioneers are 16-15 all-time against the MAAC since it's inception in 1993. SHU is 6-4 against Iona while the Gaels have belonged to the conference while the all-time series is tied, 6-6. Marist holds a 3-2 edge over the Pioneers while they have split their two meetings with Duquesne. The Pioneers were 3-0 against Saint Peter's and 4-1 against Siena, both have dropped football. SHU was winless (0-6) against St. John's while they were a part of the league.

The Head Coaches... Sacred Heart head coach Paul Gorham (New Hampshire `84) is entering his fourth season on the Pioneer sideline. Gorham was named the school's seventh head coach in June of 2004 and owns a 14-21 record in his four year career. Prior to becoming the Pioneer's head coach, Gorham had stops at UMass, Brown, New Haven and his alma mater New Hampshire. La Salle head coach Tim Miller (Temple `88) is in his second season at the head of the Explorer program and owns a 3-8 overall record. After the 1998 season, where he was a member of the Temple football team, he began his coaching career on the high school level, where he spent most of his 17 years of coaching. His collegiate career included a stop at his alma mater before coming to La Salle.

Up Next... The Pioneers will be on the road next Saturday to face their second MAAC opponent in as many weeks when they pay a visit to Iona College. The all-time series between the two schools is tied at six wins apiece. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 pm on Mazzella Field.

Week One Highlights... The Pioneer's 41 points is their largest single game point total since a 53-45 win over Saint Francis (PA) at home in 2005. That game also marked the last time SHU picked up 25 or more first downs and piled up 400 or more yards of offense. The Pioneers finished with 26 first downs and 487 yards of total offense in the win over the Greyhounds...The Pioneers were 10-of-15 on third down against Assumption with the first team converting nine of 11 through three quarters...SHU scored on their first three possessions of the game, four of their six possession in the first half and their first two of the second half...Dale Fink three times completed passes for touchdowns on third down in the win, finishing his stellar collegiate debut with 238 yards passing and four touchdowns, tying a school record...Sophomore wide receiver Steve Tedesco caught three of Fink's four touchdown tosses, also tying a school record...Fink's other TD went to senior wideout Joey Henley...Senior tailback Jason Payne ran for a career-best two touchdowns in the win...On the flip side, the Pioneers held the Greyhounds to just five-of-14 on third down, including a pair of three-and-outs in the first half that set up SHU scores...Assumption was held to just 58 yards rushing on the night...Defensively, the Pioneers were led by freshman Matt Dorosh who finished with a game-high nine tackles, six solo...The game didn't feature any turnovers with just one sack on the ledger, an Assumption fourth quarter sack of backup quarterback Tyler McKeon...In the kicking game, junior Derek Marks punted four times for an average of 38.5 yards while sophomore Joe Schroeder had a pair of touchbacks and averaged 64.7 yards on kickoffs...The win marked the first opening day win for Sacred Heart since a 24-19 win on the road at Saint Peter's in 2003.

Week One Record Breakers... Pioneer quarterback Dale Fink and wide receiver Steve Tedesco tied two SHU all-time records in last Thursday's win at Assumption. Fink threw for four touchdown passes, tying the record for TD tosses in a game, held by four other players. The record is also held by former qb's Tyler Arciaga, Dan Ammel, Justin Holtfreter and Matt McGreevy, who is SHU's new women's golf coach. Tedesco caught three of those scores, tying the SHU mark for touchdown catches in a game, set by teammate Corey Bundy in 2005 and DeVeren Johnson, who did it twice during the 2001 season.

Pioneer Home Openers... The Pioneer football team is 8-8 all-time in home openers. SHU is 8-6 in home openers since the opening of Campus Field in 1993. SHU is 2-1 in home openers under Paul Gorham. This Saturday's home opener will also be SHU Employee Day.

Tedesco - SHU Student-Athlete of the Week... Sophomore Steve Tedesco was named the Enterprise Rent-A-Car / Sacred Heart Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of August 27th through September 2nd. Tedesco wins the first student-athlete of the week award of the 2007-08 season. The Pioneer sophomore wide receiver caught five passes for 66 yards and three touchdowns in the season opening win.

Fink is the NEC Rookie of the Week... Red-shirt freshman Dale Fink earned the NEC's first Rookie of the Week award this season. Fink's four touchdown, 238 yard passing day earned him his first career conference award and the first for a Pioneers since teammate Joey Henley won the award after the first week of the 2004 season after four catches for 67 yards and a score against CCSU.

Payne-Jones, SHU's Backfield Tandem... The running back combination of senior Jason Payne and junior Evin Jones got off to a strong start in the season opener, plowing out a combined 164 yards on the ground in the win. Payne rang up 75 yards on just eight carries (9.4 ypc) including touchdown runs of 23 and 19 yards. His two rushing scores were a career-high. Jones carried the ball a career-high 16 times in the win, grinding out 89 yards (5.6 ypc).

Pioneer Kicking Game... Junior punter Derek Marks led the Northeast Conference in punting last season, averaging 39.8 per punt with 13 downed inside the 20 yard line. Marks didn't miss a step in SHU's opener, being forced to punt four times for an average of 38.5 yards. Marks had one downed at the opponent's 17 and put another out of bounds on the seven-yard line. Sophomore Joe Schroeder took over the place kicking and kickoff duties full time this season and put two in the endzone on kickoffs at Assumption.

Former Linebacker Signs with the Buffalo Bills... Former Sacred Heart University linebacker Jon Corto has been signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad for the upcoming 2007 season. Corto, an Orchard Park, NY native, signed with the Bill's as an undrafted free agent after attending the team's rookie minicamp in May. He played three games for the Bills during the preseason before being cut last Tuesday when the team needed to get their roster down to 75 players. Corto played for the Pioneers from 2003-06 and finished as the program's second all-time leading tackler with 300 stops. He finished his senior season earning Division I-AA Mid-Major All-American honors after recording a team leading 104 tackles (54 solo). The former collegiate linebacker has made the transition to safety in the NFL. Corto is the second Pioneer to make his way onto an NFL roster. Former wide receiver DeVeren Johnson (2001) was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2001 NFL Draft and spent that season on the team's practice squad.

Bundy a Preseason All-NEC Pick... Sacred Heart senior wide receiver Corey Bundy was named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference football team in voting conducted by the league's seven head coaches. With immense depth at the position throughout the conference in 2006, Bundy did not receive postseason honors as a junior when he made 35 receptions for 493 yards. Bundy, who averaged 14.1 yards per catch, reeled in six scoring strikes on the year.

Preseason NEC Polling... The 2007 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll was announced with the Pioneers picked to finish sixth, tied with Saint Francis (PA). The University at Albany was tabbed as the preseason favorite with the Great Danes edging out defending champion Monmouth for top billing in the poll. Albany also earned the moniker of preseason favorite last year, but the Great Danes finished the 2006 campaign tied for second with a 5-2 NEC record. The Great Danes received three first-place votes as did Monmouth, which captured its fifth league title last year and represented the NEC in the inaugural Gridiron Classic. Robert Morris pulled in one first-place vote and finished tied for third in the poll with Central Connecticut State. Wagner landed in fifth with Sacred Heart and Saint Francis (PA) rounding out the preseason selections in a tie for sixth.

History of Sacred Heart Football... This is the 17th football season at Sacred Heart University. The program is 71-92 (.436) all-time and 51-37 (.580) since joining the Northeast Conference (NEC) and Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) in 1998. The program has had seven head coaches starting with Gary Reho (1991-96) who led the team to a 5-4 record in their inaugural season. Jim Fleming led the Pioneers to a 21-1 mark in his two seasons as head coach (2000-01) including the 11-0 2001 campaign that delivered the university and NEC title. 2001 also saw the Pioneers lone post season appearance, beating Duquesne in the ECAC Bowl, 31-15, laying claim to the Division I-AA Mid-Major National Championship.

The Sports Network FCS Top-10 Mid-Major Poll (Sept. 4th)...

1. San Diego Toreros (15) 1-0

2. Drake Bulldogs (11) 1-0

3. Albany Great Danes 0-1

4. Dayton Flyers 1-0

5. Monmouth Hawks 0-1

6. Davidson Wildcats 1-0

7. CCSU Blue Devils 0-1

8. Duquesne Dukes 0-1

9. Stony Brook Seawolves 1-0

10. Robert Morris Colonials 0-1

Others receiving votes (in order of points): Jacksonville, Iona, Valparaiso, Butler, Sacred Heart