WEST HAVEN, Conn. – A 48-yard pitch-and-catch from Yianni Gavalas to Brandon Gomes on the final play of the afternoon propelled visiting Saint Anselm to a 37-34 decision over the University of New Haven football team on Saturday afternoon at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium. The Chargers were led by 290 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes from quarterback Joey Bradley.
 
With the loss, New Haven falls to 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Chargers will earn the fourth seed on NE-10 Championship Weekend and will travel to Assumption next Saturday, Nov. 15, to wrap-up the 2014 campaign. Saint Anselm improves to 6-4 overall and 5-4 in NE-10 play and will host Stonehill next weekend.
 
The Hawks' last-second score came following a five-play, 66-yard march for the Chargers, capped by a four-yard Bradley touchdown pass to Lemar Thomas (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) on fourth down to stake New Haven to a 34-31 lead with 20 seconds remaining.
 
The Saint Anselm drive began in New Haven territory at the 48-yard line with 13 seconds to go. Herbens Antenor (Malden, Mass./Malden) broke up the visitors' first Hail Mary attempt, but Gavalas then connected with Gomes, who scampered down the sideline into the end zone as time expired.
 
Bradley's 290 yards and four scores came on a 20-of-31 passing day. His scoring strikes went to Thomas, Rishawn Harris (Springfield, Mass./Putnam Vocational Technical Academy), Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) and Henry Adegunle (Rockaway, N.Y./Channel View). Brandon Fowler (Prospect, Conn./Woodland Regional / Connecticut) had a team-best four receptions for 41 yards as nine different Chargers got in on the action through the air.
 
On the ground, Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) had a game-best 78 yards on nine carries highlighted by a 48-yard scamper to set up a New Haven fourth-quarter touchdown. Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) added 58 yards, and Thomas had 42 rushing yards and a touchdown.
 
Linebackers Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) and Matt Zakrzewski (Traverse City, Mich./Saint Francis / Indiana) led the Chargers' defense, which forced five turnovers on the afternoon. Condit had a game-high 16 tackles, while Zakrzewski made 15 stops with one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.
 
In the secondary, Kendall Marks (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) and Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy) each had an interception. Stefano Bicknese (Somers, N.Y./Somers / USMAPS) forced two fumbles and Antenor forced one in addition to making 10 tackles.
 
Mike Intrieri led the battle in the trenches as New Haven amassed four sacks. Intrieri had 1.5 sacks, Matthew Rossi (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) had one, and Dave Calderon (Neptune, N.J./Neptune), Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) and Isaac Coates (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank / Grambling State) each picked up a half-sack.
 
Gavalas finished the day with 439 yards on 42-of-56 passing with three touchdowns and an interception. The Hawks had three receivers with more than 100 yards – Gomes (125), Justin Bernard (151) and Ahkeen Williams (102). All three wideouts reeled in a touchdown as well. Gavalas and Joe Hayman each ran for 40 yards with a score for Saint Anselm.
 
In total, the contest featured exactly 1,000 yards of offense. Saint Anselm accounted for 549 yards and the Chargers' amassed 451.
 
The Hawks began the game with an on-side kick recovery, but the New Haven defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possession. The Chargers also went three-and-out on their first drive, but defense held once again. This time, Saint Anselm reached the New Haven 23-yard line but was stifled on 4th-and-6.
 
The ensuing Chargers' drive produced the first points of the afternoon. Bradley went 5-for-5 on the possession, capped by a 35-yard strike to a wide-open Harris for a touchdown. The Brian Roberts (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst Central) extra point staked the Blue and Gold to a 7-0 lead with 5:31 to play in the opening quarter.
 
Saint Anselm was stopped again on a fourth-down attempt on the next drive, this time with Antenor breaking up the try. The Chargers would be stymied on their drive, but soon regained possession as the defense forced a three-and-out, and Clements swooped in to intercept a fake punt attempt thrown by Joel Jorgensen.

Clements' pick and return setup the New Haven offense in Hawks' territory at the 47-yard line. A 10-yard completion to Fowler and 12-yard rush for Officer moved the ball to the 25-yard line as the first quarter expired.
 
After converting a 3rd-and-11 with a 17-yard hookup to Fowler, Bradley capped the march with a nine-yard connection to Badyna to run the lead to 14-0.
 
The Hawks responded with a Gavalas 15-yard touchdown run, but New Haven needed just two plays to counter. Thomas began the ensuing drive with a 23-yard run into Hawks' territory, and Adegunle then grabbed a screen pass and followed his blockers for 42 yards to paydirt.
 
The defense forced turnovers on the next two Saint Anselm possessions – a strip and recovery by Zakrzewski and a Marks interception – to preserve the 21-7 lead into the locker room.
 
The Hawks opened the third quarter with a fast-paced drive that spanned 11 plays and 74 yards in just 3:31. A five-yard rush from Hayman into the end zone capped the march and trimmed the New Haven lead to 21-14.
 
After an empty possession each way, the Hawks picked up a safety on a blocked punt. Zach Bartak got a hand on the ball, and Anthony Greenfield (Bloomfield, N.J./Paramus Catholic / Wagner) intentionally took the safety to cut the margin further at 21-16.
 
That tally held into the fourth quarter, when a 53-yard strike from Gavalas to Bernard put the Hawks in front for the first time. A two-point conversion pass from Gavalas to Williams extended the Saint Anselm lead from 24-21 with 10:23 to go.
 
New Haven drove to the edge of the red zone, threatening to regain the lead, before a fumble forced by Zach Hayes and scooped up by Andrew Lebowitz gave possession back to the Hawks. However, the Chargers responded in kind on the very next play as Bicknese forced a fumble and Zakrzewski fell on it.

The turnover granted a new set of downs to the Chargers at the 26-yard line. New Haven capitalized on the short field as a Thomas touchdown run put the Blue and Gold back on top, 28-24.
 
Saint Anselm regained control with 6:07 to play and embarked on a 12-play, 63-yard drive to climb back into the lead. A 12-yard touchdown pass from Gavalas to Williams ended the drive with 2:05 to go.
 
The New Haven two-minute drill began with a bang as Bradley launched a 54-yard heave to Courtney Moshood (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto) to move the ball into the red zone at the 12-yard line. A holding penalty backed up the drive by 10 yards, but a 13-yard pass to Moshood on 3rd-and-16 set the Chargers up with a manageable 4th-and-3 from the five-yard line as time continued to tick away.
 
After a Chargers' timeout with 24 seconds to go, Bradley threw a short swing pass to Thomas, who turned the corner to pick up the first down and break the plane for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but New Haven had still regained the lead at 34-31 with 20 seconds to go.
 
However, Saint Anselm would convert on its final opportunity and score the winning touchdown to escape with a 37-34 victory.
 
New Haven kicks off its 2014 season finale at Assumption on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. The Chargers and Greyhounds are meeting as a part of NE-10 Championship Weekend for the second consecutive season.