Oct. 17, 2007

Sacred Heart vs. Marist Game Notes in PDF Format
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Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-5, 0-3 NEC) vs. Marist Red Foxes (1-6, 1-1 MAAC)

Game #8 - Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007- 1:00 pm - Fairfield, Conn. - Campus Field (4,000)

Radio / Live Video Stream - WICC 600 AM; SacredHeartPioneers.com

Setting the Scene... The Pioneers take a week off from the Northeast Conference schedule to play host to the Marist Red Foxes this afternoon. Sacred Heart is coming off their fifth-straight loss last weekend, 38-7, at the University at Albany as they look to snap the streak. Over the last two weeks, SHU has been outscored 83-15 in their losses to Monmouth and the Great Danes. Marist comes in off their first win of 2007, a 24-10 victory over MAAC foe La Salle. The Red Foxes snapped a six-game losing streak with their win over the Explorers as they look to make it two-straight this season and three-in-a-row over the Pioneers. The last SHU victory in the series came in 2004.

The SHU - Marist Series... Marist leads the all-time series, 3-2. The two teams squared off for the first time during the 2002 season and have met each year since. The Red Foxes have won two-straight in the series, posting a 22-20 win at SHU in 2005 and a 28-19 at home last fall. Marist took the first-ever meeting, 38-27, in the 2002 season opener. The Pioneers' two wins came back to back in 2003, 56-28 at home, and in 2004, 38-10 on the road. SHU is 1-1 on Campus Field against the Red Foxes and 1-2 in Poughkeepsie, New York.

SHU vs. the MAAC... The Pioneers are 17-17 all-time against the MAAC since it's inception in 1993. SHU is 6-5 against Iona while they have belonged to the conference but the all-time series edge belongs to the Gaels, 7-6, after a 34-10 loss earlier this year. Marist holds a 3-2 lead over the Pioneers. SHU trails in the series with Duquese, 2-1, after a 30-23 overtime loss earlier this year. The Pioneers are 1-0 against La Salle after their early season 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 will play their final home game of the season next Saturday afternoon, hosting NEC foe Saint Francis (PA). Next Saturday is "SHU Family Weekend" as well as "Senior Day" for the Pioneers.

The Head Coaches... Sacred Heart head coach Paul Gorham (New Hampshire `84) is in his fourth season on the Pioneer sideline. Gorham was named the school's seventh head coach in June of 2004 and owns a 15-26 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. Marist head coach Jim Parady (Maine `84) is in his 16th season at the head of the Red Fox football program and owns an 83-75-1 record at the school and overall. Parady has led Marist to 10 winnings seasons and finished 2006 as the MAAC Co-Champion. Prior to becoming the head coach at Marist, Parady had coaching stints at Colby College, Hamilton College, Syracuse, Brown and Northeastern.

Last Meeting with Marist... Marist quarterback Steve McGrath threw for 303 yards completing 22 of 32 passes for three scores in a 28-19 win over the Pioneers at home. Marist scored on their first possession of the second quarter, a two-yard plunge by Obozu Ehikioya to cap a 12-play drive. The highlight of the first half for SHU came on the ensuing kickoff when Evin Jones brought it back 92-yards for the score, the longest in Division I history and the second-longest all-time. McGrath hit Tim Keegan with a 16-yard strike and Kevi Frederick from nine-yards out five seconds before the half to send his team into the locker room up 21-7. McGrath opened the second half hooking-up with Prince Prempeh on a 70-yard score. Tyler Arciaga got SHU back on the board with a 35-yard scoring pass to Corey Bundy and then ran a touchdown in from seven-yards out with 3:48 left to play getting SHU within 28-19. The Red Foxes recovered the ensuing on-side kick and ran out the clock en route to the victory.

Week Seven Highlights... Senior Jason Payne ran for 82 yards on 16 carries in last Saturday's loss at Albany. Payne averaged 5.1 yards per carry and continues to lead the NEC at 7.1 yards per rush for the season. Payne was key on the Pioneer's lone scoring drive, ripping off runs of 13, 18 and 14 yards on the drive to help set up the score. Dale Fink capped the drive hitting Steve Tedesco from seven yards...Defensively, for the fourth-straight game senior safety John Wilson led the Pioneers in tackles with 12 stops. Wilson has five games this season with double digit tackles...Sophomore cornerback Andre Isla had a career-best 10 tackles with a pass breakup in the loss...Junior linebacker Andrew Clayton returned to the field from a neck injury and came up with nine tackles and was credited with a block on Albany's missed second quarter field goal...Senior wideout Corey Bundy made eight catches in the loss for 51 yards...For the second time this season sophomore fullback Brian Friedman was called on to "pooch punt" on a fourth and short situation. Facing a fourth and one on their own 49, Friedman hit a 44-yarder that was downed at the Albany seven. Friedman hit a 40-yarder in the loss at Wagner earlier in the year.

Five-Game Slide... The Pioneers are looking to snap a five-game losing streak. The Pioneers saw their losing streak hit five-straight last Saturday at Albany, their second-longest streak under head coach Paul Gorham. The Pioneers lost five-in-a-row last season on the way to six-straight to end the year. The last two weeks has seen SHU outscored 87-15 while allowing a combined 1,117 yards of total offense (558.5 per game) including 668 yards on the ground (302.0 per game). On the five-game skid, the Pioneers are giving up 33.8 points per game while scoring just 12.8. Defensively, they are giving up 204.6 yards per game rushing. On the offensive side, SHU is averaging 263 yards of offense a game but has allowed 21 sacks over the five games while turning it over 13 times. The Pioneers have also struggled on third down, converting just 34% (22-65).

SHU in the NEC & NCAA Rankings... The Pioneers rank in several categories in both the Northeast Conference and NCAA statistical rankings. On offense, the Pioneers rank first in the league in first downs (134), and 3rd down conversions (43.5%). The SHU offense is ranked third in scoring (22.6) and fourth in rushing offense (150.7) and total offense (329.0). The Pioneers are ranked second in passing efficiency (131.6). The Pioneers rank first in the NEC and second in the NCAA rankings in punt return average (22.5 yards per game). They are 21st in the nation in third down efficiency, converting 40 of 92 opportunities.

Pioneers in the Stat Rankings... Wide Receivers Steve Tedesco and Corey Bundy rank second and fourth in catches per game at 4.71 and 4.29 receptions per outing. Tedesco ranks third in the NEC at 52.9 yards per game. Senior running back Jason Payne is fifth in the league in touchdowns scored with five. He ranks sixth in rushing with 71.4 yards per game and first in yards per carry at 7.1. He ranks fourth in the league in all-purpose yardage at 116.4 per game. Defensively, senior John Wilson is third in the conference averaging 10.0 tackles per game.

Fink Returns to the Starting Lineup... Redshirt Freshman Dale Fink returned to the starting lineup last Saturday at Albany after missing the previous two and a half games. Fink was forced out of the game late in the first half of the Duquesne game with an ankle injury and missed the Wagner and Monmouth contests. The rookie signal caller returned against the Great Danes and completed 17 of 24 passes for 107 yards, a touchdown and an interception. On the year, Fink has completed 68.6% of his passes (74-105-3) for 784 yards and 11 scores for a 160.15 passer efficiency rating.

Tedesco Through the Air... Sophomore Wide Receiver Steve Tedesco has stepped into the starting lineup with the loss of Joey Henley (torn ACL) and is leading the team in receiving. Tedesco has 33 catches on the year for 370 yards (11.2 per recp.) and four touchdowns. Tedesco is coming off a four catch afternoon for 26 yards and a seven-yard scoring hook-up with Dale Fink at Albany last weekend. He came up one reception shy of setting a new school record at Wagner, catching 11 passes from freshman quarterback Tyler McKeon for 143 yards, both career-high marks. Tedesco had 26 receptions last season fro 355 yards and five touchdowns, all coming over the final five games of the season.

Payne Leading the Rushing Attack... Senior Jason Payne has carried the ball 70 times for 500 yards, a 7.1 yards per carry average. He also has 12 receptions for 133 yards (11.1 yds per catch). He has one 100-yard rushing game this season, a 123 yard effort against Monmouth. In his four year career, Payne is sixth on the all-time list with 1,599 yards. He is first all-time averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He has 11 career rushing touchdowns and four receiving scores.

John Wilson - SHU's Defensive Leader... Senior safety John Wilson has recorded double digit tackles in each of the last four games and is leading the team with 70 stops. Wilson picked-up two-straight NEC Defensive Player of the Week awards this year and is currently third in the league in tackles per game at 10.0. Wilson had 12 stops last weekend at Albany and his 16 tackles at Wagner three weeks ago were the most in a game for a Pioneer since safety Justin Mucci had 18 tackles (12 solo/6 assists) against Monmouth at home in 2003. On the season, Wilson leads the Pioneers with 33 solo tackles. He also has an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 2.5 tackles for loss on the year.

Fink Wins Back-to-Back Rookie Awards... Red-shirt freshman Dale Fink won the season's first two NEC Rookie of the Week awards after leading SHU to wins at Assumption, 41-20, and over La Salle, 54-14. At Assumption, Fink threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns in his collegiate debut. Against the Explorers, Fink played just the first half threw for 122 yards and three touchdowns while leading six-straight scoring drives.

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 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll was announced with the Pioneers picked to finish sixth, tied with Saint Francis (PA). Albany was tabbed as the preseason favorite with the Great Danes edging out defending champion Monmouth for top-billing in the poll. Robert Morris pulled in one first-place vote and finished tied for third in the poll with CCSU. Wagner landed in fifth with Sacred Heart and Saint Francis rounding out the poll in a tie for sixth.

Former LB Signs with the Buffalo Bills... Former Sacred Heart linebacker Jon Corto has been signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad for the 2007 NFL season. Corto, an Orchard Park, NY native, signed with the Bill's as an undrafted free agent after attending the team's rookie mini-camp in May. Corto played for the Pioneers from 2003-06 and finished as the program's second all-time leading tackler with 300 stops. 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.

History of Sacred Heart Football... This is the 17th football season at Sacred Heart University. The program is 72-97 (.426) all-time and 52-42 (.553) 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.