Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. – The University of New Haven football team defeated Bentley University 28-23 Friday night in a Northeast-10 contest in Massachusetts. With the win the Chargers improve to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Falcons fall to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
With over 100-yards for the first time in his career, Victor Jones led the Chargers with 195 yards rushing on 29 carries for two touchdowns. Quarterback Ryan Osiecki added 110 yards passing, but the ground game was the answer Friday night for the Charger offense. Mike Gomes led the UNH defense with 11 stops, an interception and a pass breakup.
On the opening drive of the first quarter, Bentley took the ball 67 yards in just 3:42. A Bryant Johnson 5-yard run capped the drive and gave the Falcons a 6-0 lead. After the point after sailed through the uprights, the Falcons led 7-0 just minutes into the game.
The Chargers immediately answered on their ensuing drive. Quarterback Ryan Osiecki and running back Victor Jones led New Haven down the field. The drive went 73-yards on 10 plays before Osiecki connected with Sharieff Hall for a 16-yard touchdown pass and catch. Chris Scifo was successful on the extra point to even the score at 7-7.
Through the rest of the first quarter and a majority of the second, the Chargers and Bentley exchanged punts. As time was running under two minutes in the half, Bentley rallied and turned an Osiecki interception into a 9-play 32-yard drive which ended in a 31-yard field for the Falcons.
After a squib kick by the Falcons, the Chargers regained possession on their own 45-yard line. Five plays later the Chargers found themselves in field goal territory with under 30-seconds in the half. Osiecki then attempted a long pass toward the endzone, which was picked off by the Falcons. Bentley then ran the clock out after one run from its own 20-yard line.
Jones led the Chargers with 46 rushing yards in the first half, while Hall and Mike DeCaro combined for 22 yards. Osiecki went 10-for-17 in the half with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Chargers open the second half with a long kickoff return from Hall, which gave the Chargers the ball inside the Bentley 30-yard line. A penalty on the play brought the ball back to Charger territory and within the 40-yard line. The Chargers would eventually turn the ball over on downs at the Bentley 18-yard lines when a fake field goal gave the ball back to the Falcons.
The Falcons ensuing drive ended on a punt which Baragon Bradley returned to the UNH 48 yard line.
New Haven mounted a clock-eating 10-play, 77-yard drive which took nearly six minutes off the clock. Behind 67-yards from running back Victor Jones, the Chargers capped the drive with a one-yard go-ahead touchdown run by Jones with just over 13-minutes left in the game. Scifo ones again connected on the point after and gave the Chargers a 14-10 lead.
The UNH defense answered, stalling the Falcons inside their own territory on their next possession. After three plays the Falcons went back to punt and Kervin Edouard came up big with a block. The ball fumbled back into the Bentley endzone and was eventually recovered by George Gerosa for the UNH touchdown. With the point after, UNH went up 21-10 with just under 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
On the Falcons ensuing drive, Akaki Ramishvili dropped back from his linebacker position on first-and-10 and intercepted Bentley quarterback Bryant Johnson. The Chargers then went 34-yards on three plays and took a 27-10 lead off a 23-yard touchdown run by Jones. Scifo made his fourth conversion and put UNH up 28-10 with 10:11 left in the second half.
Bentley once again struggled on the next kickoff return and the Chargers nearly recovered a fumbled ball inside the Falcons own 20-yard line. A penalty retained possession for the Falcons who then drove down the field and scored a touchdown off a 28-yard touchdown pass. The Falcons tried for the two-point conversion and trailed 28-16 with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers regained possession just inside their own 20-yard line and the Falcons eventually forced third-and-long for UNH. After Osiecki’s pass sailed out of the reach of Hall, penalty flags flew and the Falcons were called for pass interference as the 15-yard penalty kept the Chargers drive alive. UNH continued to run the ball successfully, taking minute after minute off the game clock. Bentley eventually forced a Chargers punt with 2:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons worked the passing game toward the sidelines and eventually chipped their way into New Haven territory on the next possession. Bentley capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown with 30-seconds remaining. The good extra point brought Bentley within five, 28-23. Bentley then attempted an on-side kick which was kicked out of bounce. Osiecki then took a knee for the Chargers to seal the victory.
Jones paced the way all night for UNH who finished with a total of 352 offensive yards. The Falcons tallied more with 402, but the Chargers controlled the clock, especially in the second half with a total of 32 minutes with the ball. As a whole, the Chargers gained 242 rushing yards on 42 carries for a 5.8 yard average.
Along with Jones’ 195 yards, Mike DeCaro added 22 yards and Hall added 12. Demetrius Washington-Ellison added five catches for 40 yards, while Hall grabbed three and a touchdown.
Along with Gomes, Charlie Hatchett added nine tackles, while Bernard Risco, in for J.D. Chalifoux, added six and one tackle-for-loss. Ramishvili added three stops, a tackle-for-loss, an interception and a pass breakup.
The Chargers return to action on Saturday, October 4 when they travel to North Andover, Mass. to take on Stonehill College. Game time against the Skyhawks is set for 1 p.m. Catch the game live on 88.7 FM WNHU with commentators Craig Mortali and Pat Ryan. Pregame will start at 12:30 p.m.
