Last Saturday, August 30th, the Saint Anselm Hawks faced off against the Pace University Setters at Northville Stadium to open the Saint Anselm football season. The game started off tight, with both teams scoring a touchdown swiftly in the first quarter. Pace had a very strong start, with the opening kickoff being returned 95 yards for a touchdown in the first play of the game. This strong start was quickly matched by Saint Anselm players, delivering another quick touchdown in their second drive of the game. Near the end of the second quarter, Pace pulled ahead slightly with a 30-yard field goal with two minutes left in the half. The Hawks were not fazed, however, and began to mount some very strong offense to pull ahead. After a fumble by Pace, junior Drew Forkner finished a strong 42-yard drive with a pass to senior Jaidin Haynes for another Hawks touchdown, making the halftime score 13-10.
After halftime, Forkner sent another pass to senior Jackson Coan for the third Hawks touchdown of the game, leaving the third quarter with a 20-10 Saint Anselm lead. In the final quarter, Anthony Almeida, Jake Croce, and Ronan Noke put in some strong rushing work to secure Almeida’s first career receiving touchdown to strengthen the Hawks’ lead even further, reaching a score of 27-10. Finally, Noke delivered a touchdown pass to Haynes, finalizing the Hawks victory over Pace, 34-10.
This game, the first of the season, marked the first time Saint Anselm’s football team has won their opening game since 2022, marking a promising start to the year. This game also allowed head coach Joe Adam to become the winningest coach in Saint Anselm history, passing previous record holder Cleo O’Donnell from 1935-1940. Adam currently has 29 victories under his belt since joining the team in 2015. This season is said to be very promising for the Hawks. The NE10 Coaches’ Poll, a preseason ranking, placed Saint Anselm’s team in second place, only behind Bentley, with just a three-point difference between the two.
Additionally, the Hawks have selected four very promising captains for this season. Vincent Ciulla, a Politics major from South Amboy, New Jersey, is a new captain this year, and has been seen previously as a strong center, allowing the Hawks to place 4th in NE10 passing yards per game. Aidan Noke, brother to quarterback Ronan Noke, is a Business major from Burlington, Massachusetts. He had a very strong season as linebacker last year – racking up stats such as 61 total tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, all career highs. Quarterback Drew Forkner, a Business major and Finance minor from Plano, Texas, threw for 1,854 yards as a sophomore last year, and 13 touchdowns; as well as adding 247 rushing yards. Finally, junior Stephen Laguerre, from Spring Valley, New York, racked up 44 tackles and 2 sacks last season.
Quarterback Drew Forkner won NE10 Offensive Player of the Game this week, on the back of 3 touchdown passes, each to different receivers, and 215 all-purpose yards. This total also includes a 50-yard rush in the fourth quarter. This occasion marks the second time Forkner has received this honor in his career.
Saint Anselm’s season continued September 6th with a tough loss against Merrimack College. Merrimack defeated the Hawks 31-6, with the only touchdown of the game being Drew Forkner’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaidin Haynes. The season continues September 19th in Worcester, against Assumption. The Assumption Greyhounds are currently 0-1, having lost to Kutztown University 51-14. After that, the Hawks will have a rematch against Pace at Grappone Stadium here in Manchester.