MANCHESTER, N.H. – A pair of 21-point quarters in the second and fourth would be the undoing for Post University Football in their Northeast-10 Conference road matchup against Saint Anselm College on Saturday afternoon despite three touchdown passes from junior quarterback Malakai Taylor who connected on two of those with junior wide receiver Josh Tracey as part of his five catches for 110 receiving yards in the 56-28 loss. 

THE BASICS

Post University 28, Saint Anselm College 56

Post University (1-4, 0-3 NE10)

Saint Anselm College (3-2, 3-0 NE10)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The big play was on full display early on for the Eagles who took the lead on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Tracey just over two minutes into the game after the opening kickoff. 14 unanswered points would give the Hawks the lead by the start of the second as sophomore quarterback Drew Forkner connected on a pair of touchdown passes of 30 yards and 14 yards to junior wide receivers Andrew Edwards and Jackson Coan respectively to flip the game around.

But just two minutes and eight seconds after getting their first lead of the afternoon, Taylor struck back with his second touchdown pass of the afternoon to Tracey, this one a 14-yard grab to tie the score back at 14 all. But it would be all Saint Anselm pretty much the rest of the way partially in part to the efforts of freshman running back Jake Croce who carried the ball 14 times for 129 total yards and two touchdowns in the win for the Hawks.

Croce had the go-ahead touchdown run of one yard in the second quarter that gave Saint Anselm the lead for good while Forkner closed out the half with a five-yard run of his own that made it a two-score game, 28-14, heading into halftime. That would be part of a 21-0 run for the Hawks who tacked on another score from fifth-year linebacker Alejandro Santiago in the third quarter on a two-yard catch from Forkner.

Junior wide receiver Jermaine Tillery and senior running back Isaiah Emmanuel had the other two touchdowns for the Eagles in the 56-28 defeat, but despite the defense allowing 56 points in the game, there were some bright spots on that side of the ball as well. The Post defense would force Forkner to throw two interceptions which were picked by freshman safety Myles Snead, his first collegiate pick, as part of his 13-tackle day for him while the sophomore defensive back tallied his third interception in as many weeks. Also of note was sophomore linebacker Michael Gabettie's big day with a team-leading 15 tackles which is the second-most all-time for a single game in program history. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Josh Tracey's 60-yard touchdown grab from Malakai Taylor in the first quarter ties for the fifth-longest touchdown reception in program history with Broghean McGovern's 60-yard pass to Christian Collin against Lock Haven on September 3rd, 2022
• With 110 receiving yards in the game, Josh Tracey now has the fifth-most receiving yards for a single game in program history, surpassing Christian Collin's 100-yard game against Lock Haven on September 3rd, 2022 – Tracey also tied Collin, Antonio Spencer, and himself for most single-game receiving touchdowns with two
• Malakai Taylor tied himself for second-most touchdown passes in a game with three this afternoon which he did against Wagner on November 11th, 2023 as well as Broghean McGovern who had three against Franklin Pierce University on October 29th, 2022
• Isaiah Emmanuel finished the game with 21 rushing attempts which is the fifth-most for a single game in program history for Post University – Emmanuel also owns the top four spots on the list and with 94 rushing yards today now has the third-most rushing yards for a single game in program history
• Aden Caine's 42-yard punt in the game was the fifth-longest recorded punt in program history behind four of his other punts as well as one by Broghean McGovern
• Michael Gabettie recorded 21 total tackles, placing him first all-time for most tackles in a single game ahead of his 18-tackle performance against Franklin Pierce University on October 21st, 2023 
• Michael Gabettie also had two quarterback hits in the game which ties him with Kaschin Edwards for the second-most all-time in a single game for Post University
• Antwan Walden tied himself and four other players for the most pass breakups in a single game with two on the day
• With another interception in today's contest, Jalen Russell now has three on the season which have come in back-to-back-to-back games – The Post defense had two total interceptions which is tied for the second-most in a single game for the program
• As a team, Post University had three total touchdown passes which is the second-most for a single game in program history – The Eagles twice had three passing touchdowns in a game against Wagner last year on November 18th, 2023, and against Franklin Pierce University on October 29th, 2022
• In total, the Post University offense manufactured 336 total yards which is the third-most for a single game in program history and with 28 points in the game it was their fourth-most for a single game in program history

 
WHO'S NEXT
Post University is back at Municipal Stadium for Homecoming Weekend next Saturday to take on Southern Connecticut State University at 1:00 PM. In last season's matchup at Municipal, the Owls took down the Eagles, 35-14, to move to 2-0 all-time against Post. This will be the first time the two teams face each other in a conference matchup as the Eagles joined the Northeast-10 this fall.