SMITHFIELD, RI – The Sacred Heart University football team could not find its way on offense as the Pioneers dropped their Northeast Conference opener. Sacred Heart lost 17-6 at Bryant on Saturday. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 1-1, 0-1 NEC
Bryant: 1-1, 1-0 NEC

Top Performers:
Malik Grant (SHU) 85 yards, 21 carries
DeAndre Byrd (SHU): 9 tackles, 1 TFL
Salaam Horne (SHU): 9 tackles

Up Next:
Sacred Heart is back at home on September 18 to face Morgan State at 1 p.m.

Of Note:
The Pioneers struggled to move the ball, amassing only 227 yards of total offense. Bryant had 361 with 255 on the ground.
 
Sacred Heart made two trips into Bulldog territory in the first quarter but only came away with three points. A Malik Grant 24-yard run got the ball to the Bryant 6-yard line but a holding penalty stalled the drive and SHU settled for a 22-yard Sam Renzi field goal.
 
The Bulldogs put together back-to-back scoring drives in the second quarter to take a 14-3 lead into the half. 
 
Neither team could muster much offense in the second half. SHU was limited to 105 yards – including 76 on its lone scoring drive of the fourth quarter - while the host only produced 127.
 
Another Renzi field goal cut the margin to 14-6 with 7:04 left in the fourth quarter but Bryant ran out the clock and iced the game with a field goal.
 
Grant rushed for a career-high 85 yards on 21 carries. Naseim Brantley caught five passes for 62 yards. 
 
Sacred Heart's defense was on the field a good portion of the night as the Bulldogs had a 32:55-to-24:49 advantage in time of possession. DeAndre Byrd and Salaam Horne posted a team-high nine tackles followed by Chris Outterbridge with seven.