WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Visiting American International scored 20 fourth-quarter points to rally past the University of New Haven football team, 43-34, at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium in West Haven on Saturday afternoon. Ronnie Nelson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ) threw four touchdown passes for the Chargers.
 
After the loss, New Haven stands at 6-3 overall and 6-2 in the Northeast-10. The Yellow Jackets, who clinch a spot in upcoming NE-10 Championship Game against Stonehill, improve to 7-2 on the season with a 7-1 conference mark.
 
Nelson was 18-for-26 through the air for 242 yards and four scoring strikes as well as an interception. Nick Music (West Milford, N.J./West Milford ) led the receiving corps with six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History), Roshawn Wilson (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) and Michael Flacco (Audobon, N.J./Gateway Regional / The Community College of Baltimore County - Catonsville) each hauled in a scoring grab for the Chargers.
 
Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay ) ran for 84 yards, including the game's opening touchdown with Nelson adding 52 yards on the ground. Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) rumbled for 35 yards and Headen picked up 14 to cap the team's 184-yard rushing performance.
 
Defensively, Sherwood Jonathas (Everett, Mass./Everett) and Matthew Fallico (Syracuse, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius / Hudson Valley) had a team-leading 12 tackles apiece. Fallico also notched one tackle-for-loss. Najae Brown (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount St. Michael / Trinity Pawling) added 10 stops from the secondary, and Cory Jasudowich (North Branford, Conn./Cheshire Academy) blocked an extra point one week after blocking a pair of punts that were returned for touchdowns in the win at Southern Connecticut State on Oct. 25.
 
AIC quarterback Kevin Arduino played a role in five total touchdowns on the afternoon. He was 19-for-31 for 243 passing yards with a pair of touchdown throws and ran for a game-high 166 yards on 22 carries with three scores. Maurice Easterling also ran for a Yellow Jackets' touchdown, and Stephan Davis and Cal Brownridge were on the receiving end of Arduino's TD passes.
 
After a three-and-out each way to begin the game, and 51-yard punts from both New Haven's Anthony Greenfield (Bloomfield, N.J./Paramus Catholic / Wagner) and AIC's Daniel Backx, the Chargers took over on their own 27-yard line early in the first quarter. DeCaro began the march with a 10-yard rush and, two plays later, scampered for another first down. A 23-yard hookup from Nelson to Music moved New Haven into Yellow Jackets' territory before DeCaro finished the drive with a 24-yard run to paydirt. The scoring drive went 72 yards in nine plays over 3:07 as the Chargers took a 7-0 lead.
 
After AIC answered with a 30-yard field goal by Jared Husley, the Chargers were on the move again. An aggressive play-call saw New Haven the offense on the field for 4th-and-1 from its own 30-yard line. The gamble proved successful as Anderson bounced to the outside on fourth down and raced 30 yards to the AIC 40-yard line. Nine plays later, the 13-play surge was complete on a Nelson 16-yard touchdown pass to Headen to extend the lead to 14-3.
 
The Yellow Jackets appeared poised to answer with a trip to the redzone of their own, but the Charger defense came up with a stop on fourth down from the 21-yard line. New Haven capitalized on the stuff with a 42-yard touchdown from Nelson to Wilson, who made a one-handed grab en route to the endzone.
 
AIC responded with a 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that ended with Easterling scoring from five yards out. Jasudowich blocked the extra point as the margin ran to 21-9 in favor of the Chargers.
 
The first turnover of the game proved costly, as a New Haven fumble started the Yellow Jackets in solid field position at the home 28-yard line. Arduino hit paydirt from four yards out to cut the deficit to 21-16 entering halftime.
 
The Chargers' defense made another fourth-down stand just outside the redzone on the opening drive of the third quarter, but the offense went three-and-out on its first opportunity in the second half. AIC then claimed its first lead of the afternoon on another Arduino rushing touchdown that put the visitors on top, 23-21.
 
The Blue and Gold would reclaim the lead late in the third quarter. Nelson connected with Music for a 24-yard gain and then found him down the middle for 23 yards and a score. The Brian Roberts (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst Central) extra point sent the game into its final stanza with the Chargers holding a 28-23 advantage.
 
Just two plays into the fourth quarter, AIC took the lead that proved insurmountable on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Arduino to Davis that gave the Yellow Jackets a 30-28 advantage. Following an interception, Arduino threw another scoring strike, hooking up with Brownridge for 30 yards. The extra point was no good, but AIC maintained a one-possession cushion at 36-28.
 
The Chargers' next drive stalled on downs in AIC territory, and Arduino took the Yellow Jackets 65 yards in six plays over the next 3:26 to build a multiple-possession lead at 43-28 with 4:41 to go.

The Chargers would strike one final time on a 20-yard touchdown from Nelson to Flacco. The two-point conversion attempted was stopped and New Haven continued to trail, 43-34. The Chargers were unable to recover an onside kick attempt, and one first down allowed AIC to run off the final 3:25 of the game and lock up the road win.
 
New Haven returns to the gridiron on Saturday, Nov. 9, hosting NE-10 foe Bentley at 1 p.m. at DellaCamera Stadium. The contest will be broadcast live in high definition and available free of charge on NewHavenChargers.com. The Chargers are now locked into the third seed in the conference and will host an opponent to be determined on Nov. 16 as a part of Northeast-10 Championship Weekend. Details will be announced as they are finalized.