Sept. 12, 2007

Sacred Heart vs. Iona Game Notes in PDF Format
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Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-0, 0-0 NEC) vs. Iona Gaels (2-0, 0-0 MAAC)

Game #3 - Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007- 1:00 pm - New Rochelle, N.Y. - Mazzella Field (2,440)

Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart Pioneers will look to continue their hot start when they take on Iona College Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers offense has piled up 95 points over their first two games of 2007, the highest two-game total to start a season in SHU football history. The competition takes a step-up this week with the 2-0 Gaels staying home for the third-straight week to play host. Iona is coming off a 17-14 overtime win over fellow NEC school Wagner in week two after opening the year with a 14-12 win over Delaware Valley.

The SHU - Iona Series... Saturday's game marks the 13th meeting between the Pioneers and Gaels on the gridiron in a series that dates back to 1991. SHU has faced Iona almost more then any other program, behind just Stony Brook at 14 meetings. The two schools met for the first time in Sacred Heart's inaugural season with the Gaels winning 26-6, starting a string of five-straight wins. SHU has won three-straight in the series and six of the last seven meeting dating back to 2000. The Pioneers are 2-3 in games played at Iona College.

SHU vs. the MAAC... The Pioneers are 17-15 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 and are 1-0 against La Salle after last week's win. 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.

Up Next... The Pioneers return to Campus Field to take on their third-straight MAAC opponent as they play host to Duquesne University. The all-time series between the Pioneers and Dukes is tied at a win apiece. Kickoff for the 2007 "Homecoming Game" is slated for 1:00 pm.

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 15-21 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. Iona head coach Fred Mariani (St. Joseph's (Ind.) `84) is in his 10th season at the head of the Gaels program and is the school's second-longest tenured coach. Mariani owns a 38-56 (.347) overall record over his 10 years of coaching. Prior to coming to Iona, Mariani was the offensive coordinator at Fordham University from 1994 through 1997. He also had coaching stops at Lehigh and Morehead State.

Last Meeting with Iona... The Pioneers picked up their first victory of 2006, a 27-16 win over Iona on Homecoming on September 16th. SHU ran for a 149 yards, led by Jason Payne who rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries including a first quarter score. Evin Jones ran for 57 yards and scored on a two-yard run in the second quarter. Iona pulled within four, 20-16, after a 13 play, 95 yard drive in the third quarter capped by a Dustin Cook one-yard plunge. SHU answered as Tyler Arciaga hit Alvin Franlin on a 35-yard pass and catch late in the third quarter and the defense forced two fourth quarter turnovers to seal the 27-16 win.

Week Two Highlights... The Pioneers are 2-0 to start a season for the first time since 2003. The win matches the Pioneers win total from last season (2-9)...SHU's 54 points were the most points scored in a game since a 53-45 win at home over Saint Francis (PA) on October 29, 2005...The win marked the second straight game the Pioneers have piled up over 450 yards of total offense (75 plays - 501 yards). The 501 yards is the sixth highest total in program history for a single game...For the second-straight week the Pioneer offense picked up 26 first downs and was better then 60% on third down (8-of-12). The SHU offensive unit is yet to turn the ball over in 2007 while the first-team unit is yet to yield a sack...Redshirt-Freshman Dale Fink continued his hot start, completing eight-of-nine for 122 and three scores while leading six-straight scoring drives to start the game...The Evin Jones-Jason Payne running back tandem continued to pay off for Sacred Heart. The duo combined for 125 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns in the first half. Jones had his first career two-touchdown game...As a team, SHU piled up 319 yards on the ground with junior Ed Gurrieri leading all rushers with a career high 83 yards on 20 carries while scoring his first career touchdown...The Pioneers scored their first defensive touchdown since the 2004 season as senior safety John Wilson's took an interception back 54-yards for a score in the second quarter...Sacred Heart kicker Joe Schroeder hit six-of-seven on his extra point attempts, his two misses coming in the first half. Those two points would have set a new school record for points scored in a half (48 vs. Saint Peter's 10/23/04).

SHU Offense Rolling... Through the first two games of 2007, the Pioneer offense has piled up 95 points and is averaging 494 yards of total offense. The Pioneers rolled to a blow out win over La Salle where the offense piled up 501 yards and 26 first downs. SHU's offense scored on their first three possessions in the Assumptions win and their first six possessions against La Salle. The offense was so good that punter Derek Marks was never forced to take the field to punt, marking the only time in SHU's Division I history they have not punted on offense in a game. They punted just once in game twice; versus Iona in 2000 and Siena in 2003.

3rd-Down and Red-Zone Success... Much of the Pioneer's success early on can be attributed to their success on third down and in the red zone. SHU has converted 67% (18-27) on third down and have scored touchdowns on all eight of their red zone possessions.

Winning the Turnover Battle... The Pioneer defense forced three turnovers, scored a touchdown and had three sacks in the win over La Salle. SHU recovered a pair of fumbles and got a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety John Wilson, their first defensive score since 2004. Defensive linemen Jason Richardson and Bill O'Brien and linebacker Brian Flumere all recorded sacks. The Pioneer defense was held sackless and without a turnover in week one.

Fink Wins Back-to-Back Rookie Awards... Red-shirt freshman Dale Fink picked up his second-straight NEC Rookie of the Week award after leading the Pioneers against La Salle. Fink threw for 122 yards and three touchdowns while leading six-straight scoring drives in the first half.

Bundy Moving Up SHU's All-Time Receiving Lists... Senior wide receiver Corey Bundy pulled down two balls against La Salle for 75 yards and jumped into second place on the all-time list for career receiving yards. Bundy has 1,361 career yards and trails just DeVeren Johnson (1,748) for first all-time. Bundy scored his first touchdown of the year on a 69-yard hookup with Dale Fink, moving him into sole possession of second place on the career touchdown recption list (14). Bundy trails Johnson (19) for the top spot.

Week One Record Breakers... Pioneer quarterback Dale Fink and wide receiver Steve Tedesco tied two SHU all-time records in the season opening 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.

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, voted on by the league's seven head coaches. Bundy is coming off a junior season where 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 72-92 (.439) all-time and 52-37 (.584) 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.