Preview: Salve Regina hosts Dean in first game at Toppa Field for 2018

SEPTEMBER 15 | 12 p.m. TOPPA FIELD • NEWPORT, R.I.
DEAN BULLDOGS (0-2-0)	SALVE REGINA SEAHAWKS (1-1-0)
SERIES Seahawks lead, 2-0 LIVE STATS http://www.salveathletics.com/ LIVE VIDEO http://bit.ly/2M4BOsm DIRECTIONS http://bit.ly/2PGwnBX

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University football team hosts Dean College at noon on Saturday, September 15, at Toppa Field.

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LAST TIME OUT
For the second straight week, Salve Regina University football got in a 21-7 hole. Unlike a week ago in Worcester where the Seahawks climbed out of the hole for a 27-21 win, Montclair State University added more points before the end of the first half, and the Red Hawks finished with a 37-14 victory.

MORE READING: Red Hawks stay unbeaten at home against Seahawks

SEAHAWKS NOTES FROM THE NEST

• OPENING LINES: Salve Regina football won its ninth-straight season-opener when it rallied from 14 points down on the road at Worcester State. The Seahawks trailed 21-7 and scored 20 unanswered points, the last six on a blocked punt returned by junior Ryan Farrell (Cumberland, R.I.). The last four season-opening victories have come at the expense of the Lancers. Sophomores Jake Kelleher (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Matt Sylvia (East Greenwich, R.I.) were respectively chosen for offensive and defensive player of the week in the Commonwealth Coast Football.
• NUNES TIMES TEN EQUALS 119: Junior wide receiver Brandon Nunes (Attleboro, Mass.) set personal bests in receptions (10) and yardage (119) while scoring the only two Seahawk touchdowns last Saturday in Montclair, N.J.
• LAST TIME OUT FOR SALVE REGINA: For the second straight week, Salve Regina football got in a 21-7 hole. Unlike a week ago in Worcester where the Seahawks climbed out of the hole for a 27-21 win, Montclair State University added more points before the end of the first half, and the Red Hawks finished with a 37-14 victory.
• JOHNNY B GOOD: The return game has got to be good with a name like John Goode (#18).
• CAPTAINS: A trio of Sehawk defenders will serve as captains in 2018. Tyler D'Errico, Brandon O'Neill, and John Salute will lead the 2018 squad.

BULLDOG BYTES 

• DANGEROUS WHEN DEEP: Dean boasts one of the most explosive kickoff return games in the country. In the season opener against Curry, Julian Burris (Marietta, Ga.) returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. In that same game, Nicholas Cade (Carrollton, Ga.) took one back 82 yards. Then in last Saturday's game versus Western Connecticut, Errol Breaux (Marietta, Ga.) returned a fourth quarter kickoff 93 yards for another score.
• LONDON BRIDGE: Sophomore linebacker London Chambers (New Britain, Conn.) had his second straight standout performance last Saturday. He finished with six tackles and intercepted a pair of passes, which returned for a combined 46 yards.
• PASSING FANCY: First-year signal caller Terrell Watts (New Haven, Conn.) and his host of new weapons have ignited the Bulldogs' passing offense. In 2017, three different Dean quarterbacks threw only seven touchdowns in ten games. So far this season, Watts has thrown five in two games, including four in the season opener.
• LET'S GO FOR TWO: The Bulldogs have already had four successful two-point conversions this season – two more than the entire Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) has combined and only three fewer than the league had combined all of last season.
• TAKE IT AWAY: Dean already has six takeaways so far this season and has forced 14 in their last four games.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Seahawks won last season's meeting in Bellingham, Mass., by a 27-0 final. The Seahawks won the first ever meeting in 2016 at Gaudet Field, 28-14.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Dean plays at Becker on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 2:30 p.m.; Salve Regina hosts Western Connecticut State in the second of four straight home games (4 p.m.) for the Seahawks.