On Saturday, September 28th, the Saint Anselm Hawks defeated the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University with a score of 31 – 28 for a Family Weekend victory. Going into the first half, the Owls were given the first possession, but the Hawks defense was able to stop them from scoring. However, by the end of the first quarter, the Hawks were down with a score of 0 – 14. This was partially because of Owls Quarterback Keith Ridley Jr. who led an eight-play, 53-yard drive that led to the game’s first touchdown. After this, Owls running back Elijah Gray drove the ball down to the Hawk’s 38-yard line before fumbling it shortly after. This was quickly recovered by teammate Seth Westover who ran the ball resulting in a second touchdown for the Owls. By the end of the first quarter however, sophomore quarterback Drew Forkner was able help the Hawks reach the red zone for the first time in the game. This resulted in the Hawks delivering their first touchdown by the beginning of the second quarter through a QB sneak from Forkner. Afterwards, Forkner was able to deliver a second QB sneak after delivering an 18-yard pass to senior wide receiver Will Twadell – evening the score to 14 – 14. However, the Hawks obviously didn’t want to end the first half with a tied game, they wanted to win. This was seen by the dominance presented in the Hawk’s defense by forcing three consecutive three-and-outs for the Owls. And with 46 seconds left on the clock, the Hawks were able to force another punt from the Owls and get the ball back to the Owl’s 38-yard line. Before the end of the second quarter, sophomore running back Jaidin Haynes was able to get the Hawks in field-goal range which helped junior kicker Sean Hurley deliver an additional three points from the 31-yard line. By the end of the first half, the Hawks went from trailing behind 14 points to leading by 3 points in a surprising turn of events. But going into this second half, it was important for the Hawks to maintain their lead over the Owls. Once the second half began, it started similar to the first half where both teams exchanged punts before any scoring drives were made. Eventually, the Hawks were able to have a 9-play, 57-yard drive resulting in another field goal attempt from Hurley. But after attempting to kick field goal from 41-yards, Hurley kicked too far to the left resulting in no good attempt.  And despite the momentum the Hawks had over the Owls, the Owl’s defense was able to force another three-and-out and another possession. Through this possession, Owls running back John Amaning was able to get a 45-yard gain for the Owls and, only three plays later, Ridley delivered a 36-yard pass to wide receiver Jaylon Tucker – putting the Owls at the 4-yard line going into the fourth quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, it was safe to assume that the Owls would score another touchdown for their positioning was clearly in their favor. Unsurprisingly, the Owls were able to get said touchdown through a faked handoff from Ridely where he was able to deliver a 4-yard touchdown pass – making the score now 17 – 21. The pressure was once again on the Hawks for they needed to score again if they wanted to defeat the Owls. And thanks in part to an impressive trick play, the Hawks were able to take the lead once again. This play involved Forkner tossing a backwards pass to freshman running back Jake Croce. Once Croce had the ball, he was able to deliver a pass to Twadell who then caught the ball and ran it to the end zone – making the score now 24 – 21. Later in the fourth quarter, the Hawks were able to score another touchdown as they marched down the field to the Owls 1-yard line before scoring with only 3:10 remining on the clock. And with the Hawks up 31 – 21, the Owls needed to be fast if they wanted to win. This led to the Owls quickly marching down to the Hawks side of the field where they were able to score yet another touchdown – resulting in a score of 31 – 28. However, since there were only 30 seconds left on the clock and since the Owls had no remaining timeouts, they ended up attempting an onside kick in hopes that they could score one more time. Unfortunately for the Owls, this was unsuccessful and the Hawks were able to win at home. The Hawks now hold a win/loss record of 2-2 for the season and the Owls now hold a win/loss record of 1-3 for the season.