RINDGE, N.H. (September 14, 2019) – It came down to a two-point conversion attempt, with the Franklin Pierce University football team ahead 29-27 late in the fourth quarter, the Crimson and Gray tackled a ball carrier one yard short of the plane to conserve the 29-27 victory, the first win as an NCAA Division II program versus Curry College Saturday afternoon on Sodexo Field. The win, the first for head coach Russell Gaskamp as a Raven, evens up their mark at 1-1 overall and the loss sends the Colonels to 0-2.

FPU outgained their opponents 326-to-285 on offense and 142-to-6 on the ground. The Ravens also converted half (5-of-10) of their third-down chances as well. Raven quarterback, freshman Drew Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass.) tossed two touchdown passes and recorded 184 yards passing. Three Ravens ran for over 50 yards on the afternoon. Campanale was the teams leading rusher on 14 carries with a rushing TD while classmate Chazz Bryant (Clifton, N.J.) tallied 50 yards and a score of his own.

On the defensive side, Tyvarius Daniels (Springfield, Mass.) had nine tackles, with two for a loss. Freshman cornerback Marquis Adams picked off Curry's Nick Juvelier and returned the INT 44 yards while lineman Armani Mette (Randolph, Mass.) tallied the only sack in the game.

The Colonels were led by quarterback Nick Juvelier who threw four touchdown passes and for 279 yards. Nick Villanueva hauled in a game-high six catches for 83 yards and hit pay dirt once.

Curry marched down the field on their first drive scoring on a six-play, 65-yard drive capped off with a Juvelier pass to running back Zach Levy to take their only lead of the game. The Crimson and Gray jumped in front in the second quarter when Bryant bulldozed a would-be tackler right up the gut and waltzed into the endzone for the nine-yard score. On the extra point, the Ravens ran a fake around the right edge that junior wide receiver Lo Jackson (Columba, S.C.) walked in untouched to give FPU the 8-7 score.

A couple of possessions later before the intermission, Pierce marched down the field converting a fourth and seven for 14 yards and a third and four touchdown lob to wide receiver Nathan Selby (Cambridge, Vt.) with 17 seconds left to lead 15-7 at the break.

Curry's first drive of the third stanza ended in a turnover when Juvelier was intercepted by Adams and returned the ball 44 yards down the Raven sideline. Pierce couldn't capitalize on the turnover keeping their margin at one possession. At the 6:34 mark in the third, FPU went right down the field in 1:55 using a 25 yard completion to KJ Lewis (Reistertown, Mass.), a 28 yard catch and run by Selby and the drive was capped off by a 10 yard Lewis TD reception to increase the lead to 22-7.

The Colonels got those points back on their ensuing possession making it a 22-14 game at the end of the period. In the fourth, the Ravens added an insurance score, a Campanale one-yard rushing TD to lead 29-14. On the next drive, Curry brought the score to 29-21 via a seven-yard passing TD.

Pierce went three and out setting up Curry for the potential game-tying drive. They drove down into the red zone using a Raven penalty to convert their only third down. They marched down the field completing a couple of slant routes setting the ball up on the Raven six-yard line. On third and goal, Juvelier tried a fade to the end zone that was too long for his intended receiver. Curry took a timeout and drew up a six-yard fade to the back left pylon to put them within two. They lined up for the two-point conversion and their screen pass was thwarted by the Raven defense clinching the victory.

The Ravens end their three-game home swing next Saturday, September 21st for their Inaugural Northeast-10 Conference game during homecoming and family weekend versus Pace University with kickoff slated for 6:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the football team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Ravens_FB) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/franklinpierce_fb).