Worcester, Mass. (October 24) -- In an overwhelming team effort on Friday night, the Assumption College football team ran its winning streak to four straight with a 31-7 home win over Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference play. Assumption has now won 10 straight over the Hawks in the all-time series, dating back to 2004.

The Hounds got on the board just with 5:31 left in the opening quarter as senior Tad Beuchert (Danvers, Mass./St. John's Prep) connected on a 29-yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead. Late in the first, sophomore Jarrod Casey (Milford, Mass./Bridgton Academy) picked off Saint Anselm quarterback Yianni Gavalas and returned the ball 56 yards up the Hawks sideline and into Saint Anselm territory.

After a catch by freshman Ashton Grant (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) made it a fourth-and-one situation, Saint Anselm called a timeout as the Hounds appeared ready to attempt a field goal. Out of the timeout however, the Hounds offense came back onto the field and a run up the middle by senior De'Ontray Johnson (San Diego, Calif./Hoover) made it first down at the 17-yard line. After a four-yard gain on first down, junior receiver Dave Call (Springville, N.Y./Saint Francis) pulled down a wide-open 13-yard touchdown catch with 1:53 left in the opening period for the 10-0 Assumption lead.

Assumption extended the lead over the Hawks to 17-0 at the half as senior Kevin Ihlefeld (Norfolk, Mass./Xaverian) scored from one yard out with 4:26 left in the half. The Hounds made it a first-and-goal after a quarterback keeper by Trevor Vasey (Cumberland, R.I./St.  Raphael Academy). The score marked the second straight home game where Ihlefeld has found the end zone as he picked up his first career touchdown vs. Pace on October 10th.

Saint Anselm appeared poised to get on the scoreboard in the final seconds, but a number of miscues to close the period sent the game into the half at 17-0 after two Hawk penalties on the final play ended the half.

The Hounds took the opening kickoff of the second half and turned a 10-play, 65-yard drive into a touchdown as Johnson found the end zone from 11 yards out with 10:33 left in the period. Johnson broke a number of tackles on his way to the end zone for his fourth touchdown in the last two games. Saint Anselm appeared ready to get on the scoreboard again on the ensuing drive, but that drive was ended by an Assumption interception in the end zone by junior Kevin O'Connor (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) with 8:01 on the clock.

The final Assumption touchdown landed in the hands of senior wide receiver Eddy Frazier (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat), who pulled in the 39-yard score from Vasey for the 31-0 lead. Frazier caught the ball around the 15-yard line, breaking away from a pair of tacklers and outrunning the defense for the touchdown.

Saint Anselm prevented the shutout in the final seconds though as Joe Hayman capped off a 10-play, 71-yard drive that spanned just 2:35 for the 31-7 final with just 38 seconds left. Overall in the last three games, Assumption has outscored its opponents by a 124-20 margin.

Assumption controlled the time of possession by a margin of nearly 12 minutes while outgaining the Hawks in yards of total offense, 396-340. The Hounds held an advantage in rushing yards (231-204), passing (165-136) and in first downs (24-19), while also converting on 4-of-5 red zone opportunities.

Johnson paced the rushing attack with a career-high 132 yards on 23 carries as six different Hounds carried the ball. In the air, Vasey completed 11 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns while also picking up 31 yards on the ground.

Offensively for the Hawks, Gavalas was 16-for-29 for 128 yards and two interceptions, while Hayman posted a career-high 97 yards on 11 carries. Leading the team with four receptions each was Brandon Gomes and Ahkeen Williams, while Grant and Call each had three catches for the Hounds.

Defensively, Casey led the Hounds with eight total tackles, along with a team-best five solo stops by junior Bakari Blunt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Burke) as he finished with seven tackles overall. Justin Waltzer led Saint Anselm with eight tackles, along with three tackles for loss by senior Andrew Lebowitz.

With the win, Assumption improves to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in Northeast-10 play, while Saint Anselm has now dropped three straight to drop to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the league.

Assumption is back in action on Saturday, November 1st as the Hounds host Bentley University for a 1 p.m. start at the Multi-Sport Stadium. The game is Senior Day for Assumption as the Hounds will honor the Senior Class for their contributions to the program during their careers.

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