BOX SCORE PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – In a game featuring over 1,000 yards of total offense, the University of New Haven football team fell seven yards short in a 29-26 loss to visiting Stonehill on Saturday afternoon at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium. The Chargers were led offensively by 153 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards by Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay ).
 
After today's results, New Haven, Stonehill and American International all stand atop the Northeast-10 Conference at 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the Northeast-10. The Chargers, who will host the Yellow Jackets on Nov. 2, remain in control of their own destiny for a spot in the NE-10 Championship Game with three contests remaining in the regular season.
 
In addition to live, high-definition coverage on NewHavenChargers.com, today's homecoming game was broadcast throughout Connecticut on CPTV Sports.
 
For the third time in as many weeks for New Haven, the outcome came down to the game's final snap. After a Stonehill scoring drive and two-point conversion staked the visitors to a 29-26 lead, the Chargers took over with 23 seconds to play at their own 40-yard line. Ronnie Nelson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ) started the march with a 26-yard strike to Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History), and a connection with DeCaro brought the ball to the Skyhawks' seven-yard line with two seconds remaining. A pass intended for Nick Music (West Milford, N.J./West Milford ) in the corner of the end zone hit the turf incomplete, and Stonehill escaped with a three-point victory.
 
Nelson finished 17-for-31 passing for 320 yards and three touchdown passes. The Chargers' signal caller also ran for 69 yards on the day. Tight end Michael Flacco (Audobon, N.J./Gateway Regional / The Community College of Baltimore County - Catonsville) led the receiving corps with five catches for 62 yards and a score, with Music and Henry Adegunle (Rockaway, N.Y./Channel View) each reeling in a touchdown grab as well.
 
Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) had the biggest offensive day of his young career a 63-yard reception to setup a touchdown as well as 26 yards rushing on three carries.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, cornerback Najae Brown (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount St. Michael / Trinity Pawling) made seven tackles with three pass break-ups and an interception in the end zone to stifle a Stonehill drive at the three-yard line in the closing seconds of the first half. Herbens Antenor (Malden, Mass./Malden) made a team-leading nine tackles to go along with a pass break-up from the rover spot in the Chargers' secondary.
 
Up front, Jaylen Johnson (Linden, N.J./Linden) and Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) each picked up a sack, with Sean Berglund (Wolcott, Conn./Wolcott) and Alex Dyer (Westbrook, Conn./Westbrook) teaming up to dump Stonehill quarterback Logan Meyer a third time. Matthew Fallico (Syracuse, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius / Hudson Valley) had a team-best 1.5 tackles-for-loss, and Kervin Edouard (Somerville, Mass./Somerville ) picked up three quarterback hurries.
 
Meyer was 22-for-41 passing with three touchdowns and an interception while amassing 288 yards through the air. The Skyhawks' Colin Markus led all rushers with 172 yards and a touchdiown. Nate Robitaille had 90 receiving yards on nine catches and a 21-yard rush on a lateral to bring the ball into the red zone.
 
Defensively, Stonehill was led by Brian Harrington with 17 tackles and a forced fumble. Sterry Codrington also blocked two kicks with a sack and 10 total tackles.
 
The Skyhawks started the scoring with a nine-play, 72-yard drive on their opening possession. Meyer connected with Robitaille for 13 yards to cap the march, and Steve Grzywacz's extra point gave the visitors a 7-0 advantage.
 
Both offenses were slowed for most of the first quarter, with the next four possessions ending in punts. New Haven ended the dry spell with a 96-yard drive that spilled into the second quarter. The drive included a first-down pass to Flacco on 3rd-and-6 and a 23-yard pass to Adegunle before concluding with a 40-yard touchdown strike from Nelson to Adegunle off a tipped ball in the end zone.
 
Stonehill went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, and the Chargers then needed just two plays to take their first lead of the day. The drive started with a short pass to Anderson that the rookie running back took 63 yards down to the visitors' three-yard line, and DeCaro punched it in on the next play. The extra point was no good, as the New Haven lead stood at 13-7.
 
The Skyhawks responded in kind with a two-play drive of their own. Markus broke out for a 64-yard scamper and finished off the final four yards on the next snap to reclaim the advantage for Stonehill at 14-13.
 
A punt that netted just five yards started the Chargers at midfield with 3:22 to play in the opening half, and DeCaro promptly cut the field in half again with a 25-yard run. Consecutive rushes by DeCaro gained 14 more yards, and a jumpball to Flacco over the middle resulted in an 11-yard score.

The 20-14 lead appeared in jeopardy in the waning seconds of the half as Stonehill marched to a first-and-goal at the three-yard line with 43 seconds to play. However, Brown swooped in and intercepted a Meyer pass on the next play, and New Haven took its six-point edge into the locker room.
 
Both teams had two drives stall to open the third quarter before New Haven hit paydirt on the final drive of the period. The Chargers took over at their own 20-yard line with 4:22 remaining and needed just four plays to move into Stonehill territory. The drive remained primarily on the ground all the way to the Skyhawks' 20-yard line before a pitch-and-catch from Nelson to Music as the quarter expired. The extra point was blocked, giving New Haven a 26-14 advantage entering the final stanza.
 
Stonehill struck again on the ensuing drive. Though the possession began with a Harris sack for a loss of eight, the visitors converted on 3rd-and-7 and later on both 4th-and-7 and 3rd-and-9. Gordon McLeod hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 26-21.
 
New Haven was forced to punt on its next drive, and Stonehill was stopped on fourth down on its next possession as the five-point margin held deep into the final quarter. The Chargers took over at the 39-yard line with 3:35 to go and marched into the red zone, but a turnover on downs gave the ball back to the Skyhawks with 1:16 to play and 78 yards to go. After a pass interference call on a jumpball down the middle started the drive in the right direction for Stonehill, Meyer nearly had the ball knocked from the grip before finding Robitaille for a 50-yarder down to the New Haven 13-yard line. With 32 ticks left from the seven-yard line, Meyer slung a fade to Corey White, who brought the ball down in the corner of the end zone. A two-point conversion pass to Robitaille pushed the score to its eventual final of 29-26 with 27 seconds to go.
 
Next week, the Chargers will play the final road game of the 2013 schedule. New Haven travels to crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday, Oct. 25. Prior to kickoff at Assumption this evening, the Owls are 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the Northeast-10. The Chargers' regular season concludes on back-to-back Saturdays at DellaCamera Stadium with visits from American International (Nov. 2) and Bentley (Nov. 9).