Assumption Senior Day Football vs Saint Anselm

By Kyle Sorgi, Staff Writer

On Saturday, November 6, Assumption football finished off their home schedule against the Saint Anselm Hawks at Brian Kelly Stadium. Not only did the Hounds walk away with a 44-35 victory, but the family-friendly festivities of Senior Day and Homecoming made it a great day to watch some Saturday afternoon college football and welcome back Assumption alumni and the families of thirty proud seniors at midfield shortly before kickoff.

Assumption initiated the scoring with a field goal on a nine-play drive to start the game. However, that would be their only score of the first quarter and was countered by two Saint Anselm touchdown drives that gave the Hawks a 14-3 lead, which was the largest lead of the day for either team. After that, the Hounds responded with a run of their own by scoring two unanswered touchdowns before halftime to head into the locker room with a tight 17-14 lead over their NE-10 counterparts.

The beginning of the second half saw this lead evaporate instantly after Saint A’s opening play became a seventy-five-yard touchdown through the air. This quick score was answered by a subsequent Assumption touchdown in the form of quarterback Jake Cady’s second of four rushing scores on the afternoon. From there, Assumption never surrendered the lead, but Saint Anselm kept it competitive by keeping the margin within nine points or less the rest of the game. Although it takes two possessions to score nine points, Saint Anselm was never really out of striking distance as they traded touchdown scores with Assumption throughout the second half until a touchdown run by Assumption running back Raekwon Washington with 1:45 remaining in the fourth quarter essentially sealed the deal for a Hounds win. As indicated by a 44-35 final score, defense was not the headliner to take away from this matchup; rather, it was Saint

Anselm’s passing attack against Assumption’s ground game—the latter ultimately outpowering the former.

Saint Anselm had a clear edge in the passing game (in large part because they threw the ball 52 times compared to Assumption’s 14 pass attempts). Nonetheless, Hawks quarterback Drew Willoughby amassed 363 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns while adding nineteen rushing yards and a rushing score. He also delivered all four team punts, showing his versatility in what quickly became a barn-burner.

However, his efforts were not enough to match the strength of Assumption’s six total rushing touchdowns. An unexpected leader of the rushing charge was quarterback Jacob Cady, who entered the game in the first quarter for starter Easton Turner and provided a much-needed offensive spark-plug after Saint Anselm jumped out to an early 14-3 lead. On top of 83 passing yards on seven attempts, Cady accumulated 124 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on just 12 carries. Behind him was another 100-yard rusher in senior running back Khaleed Exum-Strong, who ran for 112 yards on 23 carries (nearly twice as many carries as Cady). These two players alone combined for 236 out of the team’s 283 rushing yards in a game that featured a powerful strength of the Assumption offense when at its best.

The firepower of both offenses presented themselves in different ways in a back-and-forth shootout that afternoon. Nearly equal times of possession for each team (31:47 for Saint Anselm, 28:13 for Assumption) provided opportunities for both sides to hang around for much of the contest. In the end, though, our seniors were able to end their home careers on the right note with a hard-earned win and their families in the stands to celebrate with them afterwards. With the win, the team finished the regular season with a 4-1 home record. Thank you, fellow seniors, for your four years and what you’ve done to represent Hound Nation proud! Roll Greyhounds!