Rams Try To Make It 3 Straight; Bears and Bulldogs Hope To Get Back On The Winning Track

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

Rhode Island - It has been a good couple of weeks for head coach Joe Trainer and his URI football team. After upsetting 8th-ranked UNH at Meade Stadium a few weeks ago, the Rams had a bye week to prepare for intra-state rival Brown. Rhody used that to its advantage and beat the Bears last Saturday 27-24 in overtime to take home the 2010 Governor’s Cup in front of a capacity crowd in Kingston.

Tonight, the task is a daunting one for Trainer’s Rams (2-2; 1-0 CAA). They hit the road to battle 4th-ranked William & Mary (4-1; 2-1 CAA) today.

If the Rams are to pull off what would be a sizeable upset, they will need to follow the formula which has led to their recent wins. Rhode Island has run the ball effectively on offense with QB Steve Probst and RB Ayo Isijola. They have also been stingy with their run defense the past two games holding UNH to just 59 yards rushing and Brown to 82 yards on the ground.

William & Mary is fresh off of an upset over previous #1 Villanova where they rushed for 148 yards as a team and held a 10-minute edge in time of possession. If Rhody wins this one, they may want to reconsider leaving the CAA. Tonight’s game starts at 7pm.

Brown – Phil Estes’ Bears (2-1; 1-0 IVY) will try to put the disappointment of last week’s overtime loss at Rhode Island behind them today when they visit Holy Cross (2-3; 0-1 Patriot) in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Estes is pleased with the play of his team’s defense thus far this year thanks to strong play up front, at linebacker and in the secondary. Middle linebacker Andrew Serrano leads the team with 31 tackles and behind him is junior safety Stephen Payton who registered 20 tackles in the loss to URI while earning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors.

What Estes would really like to see from his team today is an improved running game. The Bears 1-2 punch of Zach Tronti (111 yards, 2 TD, 2.9 yds/carry) and Mark Kachmer (194 yards, 2 TD, 4.1 yds/carry) has been solid but not spectacular thus far.

With first team All-Ivy QB Kyle Newhall-Caballero getting banged up at the end of the Rhode Island game, running the football will be even more critical for the Bears who are expected to give the start today to back-up Joe Springer (31-58, 322 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT).

The good news for Brown is that Dominic Randolph’s career at Holy Cross is finally over with. Head coach Tom Gilmore has used two quarterbacks this year often rotating series between senior Ryan Taggart (848 yds, 6 TD, 3 INT) and junior Kevin Watson (186 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT). Today’s game kicks off at 1pm.

Bryant – Marty Fine’s Bulldogs (3-2; 0-2 NEC) return home to Smithfield after a pair of road losses at Central Connecticut and Wagner.

Bryant raced out of the gates to a 3-0 start in non-league play but is still in search of its first conference win today when Sacred Heart (1-4; 0-3 NEC) visits Bulldog Stadium.

The Pioneers should be just what the doctor ordered for the Homecoming crowd at Bryant university today. Marty Fine is a perfect (6-0) in Homecoming games as Bryant head coach but his team is 0-2 lifetime against Sacred Heart losing last year 24-14 in Fairfield, CT.

Sophomore RB Jordan Brown leads the Northeast Conference in rushing yardage at 129.4 yards per game. He also has a league-leading 8 touchdowns. Bryant is also tops in the league in scoring averaging just under 36 points per game this season. Kickoff is at 1pm.