By Chris Estrada
There’s definitely a lot of work to do.
That’s an easy conclusion to make following the Huskies’ season-ending 29-14 Senior Day loss to Rhode Island Saturday at a chilly Parsons Field. Instead of rising up the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) ladder this season, Northeastern kept dropping rung by rung.
Injuries, though, played a large role in the team’s 2-10 (1-7 CAA) season-ending mark.
Multiple starters on offense and defense went down during the year, enough to make head coach Rocky Hager dub the team “a shadow of what we were in September” thanks to the health issues. Even Saturday, they were there – senior starting tailback Alex Broomfield couldn’t play in his final game as a Husky due to a litany of problems that was headed by turf toe.
But injuries weren’t the only factors in the season’s ultimate outcome. One fan on the NU side of the field didn’t seem to care about said factors when he screamed during the game, “We need new coaches! These kids have worked too hard to be embarrassed!” – much to the chagrin of those around him.
No matter what people may think of his outburst, can he really be blamed for being angry after seeing the Rams, ranked 116th in the Football Championship Subdivision on rushing offense, rack up 211 yards on the ground?
Rhody’s twin tandem of Jimmy Hughes and Anthony Ferrer were able to grind out yardage when they needed to. Ferrer came to the fore on URI’s last drive of the day. Up 22-14 with 8:25 remaining in the game, the big, 5-foot-10-inch, 225-pound back netted three first downs to milk the clock, and with 2:17 left, he killed the game with a three-yard touchdown run.
Special teams play also kicked in for URI. About midway through the second quarter, Northeastern had to punt on fourth-and-6. But junior Ron Conway’s attempt was blocked and recovered by Rams’ receiver Brandon Johnson-Farrell, who ran it back 32 yards to tie the game at 7. The Rams were also “special” in the fourth by setting up their final game-killing drive with a blocked field goal from linebacker Kirk Blackmon off junior Mat Johnson with 9:40 left in the contest.
In the end, Senior Day was dampened for the 14 Huskies who said farewell to Parsons Field. One of them, quarterback Anthony Orio (5-for-17, 47 yards, 1 TD), said he felt NU let Rhody stay in the game.
“It was a lot of letting them hang out too long,” he said. “We were feeling that something bad would happen [to them] … but they had more plays today on both sides.”
Not everything was bad about Saturday. Sophomore John Griffin got the start at tailback with Broomfield out of action, and performed well with a 110-yard day on the ground. He also scored NU’s opening touchdown with an eight-yard run in the first quarter.
“[The Rams] were overpursuing, especially on a lot of my cutbacks,” he said about his day. “It gives me an idea that I can do it. I’ve been sitting and watching [Broomfield] all the time, watching how he does it. He’s been a lot of help.”
While Griffin’s efforts may offer some hope for the future, it’ll take more than hope to bring the Huskies to top form again.
Adding to the difficulty, Hager and his staff will have to replace a talented graduating group, including Orio, Broomfield and tight end Brian Mandeville. But the head coach seems ready to take on the challenge.
“We will build from the things they provided us as a foundation,” he said.
