University at Albany wide receivers Ryan Kirchner and Kevin Chillis talk about the 55-24 Northeast Conference victory over Monmouth on Saturday.

AP

ALBANY — Drew Smith wants to make the most of every opportunity he gets to carry the football.
 
The senior running back is averaging nearly 100 yards per game so far this season for the University at Albany.
 
Smith will be one of the keys, as UAlbany (1-0, 3-1) gets set to host league rival Monmouth (2-0, 3-1), at home, on Saturday afternoon.
 
“It’ll be a tough ballgame,” said Great Danes coach Bob Ford. “We’ll have to play well.”
 
Smith, who has 392 yards and five touchdowns already this season, has been the Great Danes leading back for the past two years. He credits maturity with helping him turn things up even another level, as a senior.
 
“I think it’s me being more mature and knowing what to do, when to go and not being reckless,” said the Guilderland High grad. “I know my sophomore year, I was running high and got dinged up.”
 
Smith and his fellow seniors haven’t lost to Monmouth in their careers. The last time the Hawks won in this Northeast Conference matchup was back in 2006.
 
Smith says he spends more time in the tub and talking to trainer Jay Geiger, if even the slightest things flares up.
 
“I know my body now,” Smith said. “I know what to expect of it. I have Omar too, to help me out.”
 
Sophomore Omar Osbourne and Smith have helped UAlbany excel in the running game this season. The Great Danes are averaging more than 200 yards rushing per game and haven’t been held to fewer than 110.
 
Smith will likely become just the third running back in school history to surpass the 3,000-yard mark for his career, joining David McCarty (2006-09) and Gary Jones (2002-03), both also Section II high school products.
 
Smith has dealt with injuries in past seasons, but he says he’s running lower now, which helps him avoid some of the more violent contact.
 
For his career, Smith has averaged 5.3 yards per carry (484 total rushes) and scored 27 rushing touchdowns.
 
All this for a guy who played quarterback in high school and initially was slotted behind Vinny Esposito in the QB depth chart for the Great Danes.
 
The goal for the UAlbany running backs is to pick up four yards per carry. Smith just wants to do as much as he can to help the team to victory.
 
“I want to make the most of every carry,” he said.

Courtesy UAlbany Athletics

I'm literally just getting my first look at the University at Albany's boxscore, from tonight's game against Monmouth.

The Great Danes clobbered the Hawks 85-49.

How about the night for junior college transfer Jayson Guerrier (left).

Some very good players might never have a night where they go 9-for-10 from the floor, including hitting five treys, finishing with a career-high 28 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds.

That's what Guerrier did tonight.

So far it looks like coach Will Brown has struck gold with JuCo transfers Guerrier and Gerardo Suero, who was named America East Player of the Week, but only scored 16 points on Monday (that's his lowest total of his college career).

Mike Black added nine points and nine assists, while Ralph Watts scored 12 points, off the bench. It was a quiet night for Logan Aronhalt, who fouled out with just five points.

Courtesy UAlbany Athletics

The Great Danes seem to be getting harder and harder to try and scout because they've had five players (Suero, Guerrier, Watts, Black, Aronhalt) score in double figures already this season and they still aren't totally healthy.

UAlbany (2-2) will be run in to much more of a test on Tuesday, when they take on the host Patriots from George Mason (3-2).

Ryan Pearson is averaging 20.8 points per game, while Vertrail Vaughns is averaging 15.0 points and Sherrod Wright is checking in at 11.8 points per game.

The Patriots are coached by former Siena coach Paul Hewitt, who is in his first season after being fired from Georgia Tech. 

The way UAlbany is playing this should be a good game.

The University at Albany is back on the road this evening, competing in the third and fourth rounds of the Preseason NIT Tip-Off.

The Great Danes take on Monmouth (0-3), at the Patriot Center, on the campus of George Mason University. UAlbany will play the Patriots on Tuesday evening.

Here is a link to my story about the team heading back on the road, focusing on sophomore Luke Devlin, as he continues to return from offseason back surgery.

On paper, UAlbany should be favored to beat the Hawks, who have lost their three games by an average of 37.7 points per game.

Monmouth has played Villanova, Virginia Tech and George Mason, so they have played some very difficult competition.

The talk surrounding the Great Danes continues to be about Gerardo Suero, who is averaging 25.7 points per game through his first three career games for UAlbany.

These back-to-back games will challenge the Great Danes.

From UAlbany Sports Info Department

Photos are courtesy Bill Ziskin

West Long Branch, N.J. – Andrew Smith ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, as UAlbany came from behind in the second half for a 41-24 Northeast Conference victory over Monmouth on Saturday afternoon at Kessler Field. The Great Danes remained in a tie for first place in the conference standings.

Monmouth (5-5, NEC 4-3) cashed in on a Jameson Zacharias’ interception during the first series on the second half to take a 17-14 lead. The Hawks moved seven plays for the go-ahead touchdown. Craig Peterson, who completed 32 of 49 passes for 296 yards and two scores, guided his team into position. Freshman Julian Hayes drove five yards over the left side and into the end zone.

UAlbany (7-3, NEC 6-1) responded with 27 unanswered points in regaining the lead. Herb Glass booted the first of two field goals to draw his team even. After the Great Danes’ defense forced a punt, Smith broke loose on a 62-yard touchdown scamper for a 24-17 margin with 1:36 remaining in the third period. Smith, who rushed for 131 yards on 14 carries, busted out on the right and raced up the sideline.

The Great Danes, who have won seven of their last eight contests, extended the lead to 31-17 early in the final stanza. Dan Di Lella, a senior quarterback, hit tailback Dillon Romain in the left flat with a screen pass and the sophomore advanced up the sideline to finish off a 53-yard scoring play. The drive started when cornerback Leon Saddler picked off a Peterson pass.

UAlbany used special teams play to end its scoring outburst. With the Great Danes lined up for a punt at the Monmouth 44, Smith took a short snap and threw a jump-pass to Justinian Mason. The sophomore free safety caught the ball in the middle of the field and worked his way to paydirt. Glass added a 39-yard field goal with 3:08 left.

“We had big plays in all three phases of the game,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose team will play for the NEC championship and NCAA automatic berth next Saturday. “We couldn’t seem to get off the field (on defense) in the first half, but we went to a nickel package and that helped. I told our coaches we are in a ten-round fight and we just need to keep punching.”

In the first quarter, Monmouth scored with the opening kickoff on a 12-play drive that resulted in Eric Spillane’s 37-yard field goal. Peterson, a senior signal-caller, made the key plays with a third-down completion and a 27-yard throw to Mitchell Pollard. Following a short punt, the Great Danes went ahead on Smith’s one-yard run. The touchdown was set up by Di Lella’s 32-yard pass to wide receiver Cole King.

The Hawks came back with a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive for a 10-7 advantage. Peterson kept the sequence alive with four third-down passes, including a six-yard touchdown completion to tight end Mike McLafferty. UAlbany struck quickly again to go back in front. Di Lella found tight end Brian Parker wide open in the middle of the Monmouth zone and the redshirt freshman rumbled 55 yards to the end zone for a 14-10 lead. The Great Danes had an opportunity to increase its lead, but Di Lella was held short of the goal line on a fourth-down sneak with 1:30 remaining in the period.

“It was an inside zone play,” explained Smith on the 62-yard touchdown run. “I bumped it out and felt them (the defense) at my feet, but I just kept going. This is a big championship game coming up. This is what we came here for; it’s playoff time.”

UAlbany’s Di Lella passed for a career-high 306 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first UAlbany quarterback to throw for 300-plus since 1997. Hayes rushed for 78 yards on 18 carries for the Hawks, who came into the contest tied for third in the conference standings.

“We had a much better attitude and were determined to win,” said Di Lella about his team coming off a last week’s league loss. “They were in my face and my rib cage on that screen pass, but I knew we had a great play. We want to be explosive.”