After playing seven weeks of the season, three of which in their conference slate, the Colonels are set to take a break from conference play to host the Division II Assumption College Greyhounds Saturday for Family Day. It will be the first time the two schools meet.
Head Football Coach Jay Thomas said winning on Family Day is always important to the Colonels.
“Family Day always inspires our players to go out and do well,” Thomas said. “We have had some downs, but our guys are not going to quit. We all believe in what we can do, and we need everyone to rally around them.”
Even though the Greyhounds are a lower classification than the Colonels, Thomas said the Colonels are not taking them lightly.
“This is not a week off by any means,” Thomas said. “They are similar to South Dakota St. in what they bring to the table, and I’m sure they’ll be excited about coming down and playing in the warmer temperature.”
The Colonels enter the game after dropping back-to-back games to Sam Houston St. and Northwestern St., while the Greyhounds have lost three in a row, including a 34-12 loss last week to Merrimack.
The Greyhounds hail from Worcester, Ma. and are members of the Northeast 10 Conference. They are 3-4 overall, all games being in their conference. The Colonels are 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the Southland Conference.
This season, the Greyhounds defeated Stonehill, Saint Anselm and Bentley while dropping games to C.W. Post, Bryant University, Southern Connecticut, American International and Merrimack.
Greyhounds Head Coach Cory Bailey has an overall record of 8-19 in three seasons.
In order to win the game, Thomas said the Colonels hope to cut out turnovers.
“We went from plus three to minus 10 in turnovers in two weeks,” Thomas said. “We made up in the last two ball games all the turnovers we had over the last couple of years. If we hold on to the ball, we will create chances to win ballgames.”
Leading the Greyhounds offensively are running back Kevin L’Ecuyer with 468 rushing yards and five touchdowns; quarterback Marshall Tharpe with 826 passing yards and seven touchdowns with eight interceptions; and wide receiver Jake Beers, who has caught 39 passes for 555 yards and six touchdowns.
Thomas said the Greyhounds are a solid offensive team but hopes his offense can rally around freshman quarterback Zach Chauvin, who makes his first collegiate start Saturday.
“We have not lost faith in Chris (Bunch),” Thomas said. “We want to give Zach a chance to step up and show us what he can do.”
Defensively, linebackers Dustin Zitzmann, who has a total of 82 tackles and one assisted sack, and Mark Cinar, who has 66 tackles, one sack and one interception, lead the Greyhounds.
Leading the charge for the Colonels on offense is junior running back Michael McLendon, who has rushed for 334 yards and four touchdowns. Overall, the Colonels have compiled a total of 1,728 rushing yards and rushed for 12 touchdowns.
Saturday’s contest will not be the first time the Colonel’s played a Division II opponent.
The Colonels opened last season with a 54-0 win over Cheyney University and started out this year with a 35-0 win over Division II Southern Arkansas.
Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m.
