BOSTON GLOBE: Assumption College football in rarified air . . .

Assumption College football in rarified air . . .

By Craig Larson
The Boston Globe Staff
Saturday, October 24, 2009

    Cory Bailey is still not sure his players believe they are contenders. Can Assumption really go toe to toe with the heavyweights in the Northeast-10?
    “It’s a work in progress, quite honestly, we’re still battling,’’ said Bailey, back as coach of the Division 2 program in Worcester, his fifth season overall, after stepping away for a year to work in the corporate world.
    “It’s getting them to understand, and believing, and executing when the game is on the line.’’
    The Greyhound bus, however, is gaining momentum.
    Assumption (5-2, 4-1 NE-10) is playing in a game of consequence this afternoon, squaring against conference co-leader Bentley (7-1, 5-1) in Waltham. The winner stays in the hunt for an NCAA playoff berth; the loser is likely out.
    This is unchartered territory for an Assumption team, one growing in confidence every week, that is on track for its first winning season since 1995.
    The Greyhounds can score (an NE-10 leading 34.4 points per game), thanks to a trio of playmakers in junior quarterback Andy Kupec (completing a conference-best 65 percent of his passes), junior tailback Herb Woodard (132.1-yard rushing average, 13 TDs), and senior wideout David Canney (seven touchdowns).
    The defense is anchored by one of the region’s best in senior linebacker Dustin Zitzmann. And Assumption minimizes mistakes, sharing the NE-10 lead in turnover margin with Bentley.
    And most of all, the Greyhounds believe in Bailey, a Xaverian graduate who was a two-time all-Patriot League center at Fordham
    “From Day 1, he’s someone that we knew, the tone and the way that we approach practice, it’s all business, and there’s a sense of urgency,’’ said Woodard, now the school’s all-time leading rusher (2,431 yards) after last week’s 163-yard, four-touchdown performance at Saint Anselm.
    “But he’s always a people person, he cares about his players.’’
    Bentley first-year coach Thom Boerman said Bailey’s return had “an immediate impact. Those kids have a lot of respect for him.’’
    Boerman knows firsthand. One Assumption player was planning to transfer to Bentley, but changed his mind when Bailey was rehired.
    For Bailey, the year away provided an appreciation for football. “And I recharged the batteries,’’ said the coach, who was 13-29 in his previous four seasons.
    His team doesn’t do anything spectacular, said Boerman, “but they do everything well.’’
    The Greyhounds have an excellent game manager in Andrew Kupec, the son of former Bentley point guard Andy Kupec (a 10th-round pick by the Celtics in the 1983 NBA draft). And the 5-foot-8-inch, 175-pound Woodard is special, according to Bailey. “He makes things happen, he does a lot on his own,’’ said the coach.
    Bailey points to a 43-15 loss in Week 4 to perennial power Southern Connecticut as a game that “opened some eyes. We played pretty hard, and pulled some things from that game.’’
    Assumption hasn’t lost since, winning at Pace (34-26), making a statement against Merrimack (39-36), and crushing Saint Anselm (45-12).
    In Bentley, the Greyhounds face a gritty team that features the NE-10’s best scoring defense (15.0 points per game), spearheaded by hard-hitting linebacker Matt Zahoruiko (101 tackles) and safety Chris Carroll (eight interceptions). And an offense that has a playmaker in junior quarterback Bryant Johnson, who directed the Falcons on a winning 15-play, 91-yard drive with 2:30 left for a 29-28 win at Pace last week.
    “What a relief, we were just happy to get out of there with a win, we control our destiny, ’’ said Zahoruiko.
    The result is an unexpected showdown today.
    “Bentley has a great tradition that we don’t have,’’ said Bailey. “If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we’d be here right now, I gladly would have taken it.’’
    “Our approach is, every game is our Super Bowl. You’re only as good as your last game.’’