WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven football team scored the final 17 points of the afternoon to surge past visiting Assumption, 27-17, as a part of Northeast-10 Championship Weekend. Ronnie Nelson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ) threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes in his collegiate finale.
 
With the win, the Chargers improve to 8-3 and clinch their fourth consecutive season with at least eight wins. The victory is also the 42nd of Head Coach Peter Rossomando's career as he moves past Tony Sparano (1994-98) and into second place on the program's all-time list. Mark Whipple owns the program record with 48 victories on the sidelines at New Haven from 1988-93.
 
Assumption concludes its 2013 campaign at 6-5. The Chargers also claimed the regular-season matchup between the two teams, 21-18, in Worcester on Oct. 4.
 
Nelson was 15-of-27 through the air for 239 yards with fourth-quarter touchdown strikes to Courtney Moshood (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto) and Nick Music (West Milford, N.J./West Milford ). He added 60 yards rushing.

Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay ) led the way on the ground with 94 yards on 14 carries. Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) pitched in with 55 yards, and Anthony Tillman (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) posted 36 yards with a rushing touchdown.
 
Music made four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown, and DeCaro also hauled in four passes for 16 yards. Moshood had a 43-yard grab in the first half and a 35-yard touchdown catch that proved to be the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Chris Higgins (Cumberland, Maine/Bridgton Academy ) had two receptions for 35 yards, with Michael Flacco (Audobon, N.J./Gateway Regional / The Community College of Baltimore County - Catonsville), Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) and Tillman rounding out the passing attack with one catch apiece.
 
In total, New Haven racked up 242 rushing yards and 239 passing yards for 481 yards of total offense.
 
Defensively, the Chargers limited Assumption to just 61 yards of offense in the second half and 249 for the game. Herbens Antenor (Malden, Mass./Malden) and Najae Brown (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount St. Michael / Trinity Pawling) shared the team high of eight tackles and combined for five pass breakups in the secondary. David Nooks (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls / Lackawanna College) added four breakups from the safety spot. Up front, Kervin Edouard (Somerville, Mass./Somerville ) had three tackles-for-loss.
 
Assumption was led by 79 yards rushing and two scores by Matt Pedone and a 13-for-32 showing by quarterback Bobby Jordan. Pedone was also the Greyhounds leading receiver with seven grabs.
 
After three scoreless possessions for New Haven and two empty trips by Assumption, the visitors got on the board first with a quick 74-yard drive. The march was jumpstarted by a Pedone rush of 28 yards with an additional 15 yards tacked on due to a facemask. Four plays later, Pedone scampered the final 20 yards into the endzone to stake the Greyhounds to a 7-0 advantage with 6:10 remaining in the opening quarter.

On the ensuing New Haven possession, the Chargers marched 68 yards in seven plays to paydirt. A 43-yard completion to Moshood and a 13-yard connection with Headen set up a three-yard scoring plunge by Tillman, who had 27 rushing yards on the drive.
 
A 10-yard touchdown run by Pedone on the second play of the second quarter put the Greyhounds on top, but the visitors would not find the endzone again after establishing the 14-7 lead.
 
After a drive stalled for each team, New Haven took over near midfield with 6:42 left in the first half following a defensive stand capped by a tackle-for-loss from Edouard on 3rd-and-3. Nelson promptly found Higgins for 15 yards to move into Assumption territory and connected on an 11-yard screen pass to Tillman for another first down. A 20-yard strike to Higgins moved the drive into the red zone, but the Asusmption defense would hold from there. Brian Roberts (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst Central) salvaged the drive with a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.

The Greyhounds took over with less than four minutes remaining in the half, and Tad Beuchert booted a 46-yard field goal in the final minute to send the visitors into the locker room holding a 17-10 advantage.
 
The New Haven defense ceded two first downs to start the second half before forcing a punt. Patrick Tyler pinned the Chargers at the six-yard line, and the Blue and Gold embarked on a 16-yard drive covering 71 yards over the next 6:16. Nelson completed a 15-yard pass to Music on 3rd-and-11 and later ran for a first down on 3rd-and-10 to set up a career-long 40-yard field goal from Roberts to pull the Chargers with four points at 17-13 midway through the third quarter.
 
New Haven forced a pair of punts – missing a field goal in between the two Assumption drives – as the score held into the fourth quarter. The Chargers first drive of the final stanza resulted in the go-ahead touchdown. DeCaro picked up the first 23 yards of the possession – 17 on the ground and six through the air – and Moshood accounted for the final 35 yards as he got behind the defense and hauled in a strike from Nelson in the back of the endzone. The extra point put the Chargers on top for the first time in the contest at 20-17 with 10:04 left.
 
The Chargers forced a three-and-out started by an Edouard tackle in the backfield and ended with a pass breakup by Rodney Lanham (Bridgeport, Conn./Bridge Academy) on third down. The Greyhounds lined up to punt, but Tyler was unable to handle the snap and Darrius Pritchett (Queens, N.Y./Avon Old Farms) tackled him for a huge loss to setup the New Haven offense at the six-yard line.

The Blue and Gold needed just one play to extend their lead. Nelson completed a pass to Music on the outside, and the Charger wideout raced for the corner of the endzone to give New Haven a 27-17 lead at the 8:33 mark of the fourth quarter.
 
After trading empty possessions, Assumption threatened on offense for the final time. The Greyhounds drove into Charger territory but Antenor knocked down a pass attempt on third down, and the visitors opted for a 53-yard field goal attempt on fourth down. Ali Mourtada's kick had the distance by sailed wide right to end the threat.
 
The Chargers took over with 2:44 left and picked up one first down before lining up in victory formation three times to cap the 27-17 win.

Today's game marked the final outing in the careers of 18 seniors, including the final three "Kayo Boyz" who joined the program in the inaugural season of the new era in 2008 – DeCaro, Music and Brandon Ruberti (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand ).