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WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) ran back a fumble recovery 69 yards, capping off an end-to-end victory over the visiting Pace Setters on Senior Day at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 2,741. The Chargers improve to 6-3 overall, 6-2 in the Northeast-10, while Pace falls to 1-8 on the season and 0-8 in the NE-10.

Harris' runback touchdown was the first of his career and the first time a Charger has returned a fumble for a touchdown since November 9, 2013 against Bentley. The fumble, which was forced by Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy) came as Pace attempted a fake field goal with Clements punching the ball loose and Harris having an open path to the end zone.

That score was part of five touchdowns on the day, including two in the air and a pair on the ground. Junior quarterback Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) opened up the scoring on the Chargers second drive of the game as he closed out the drive with a two-yard completion to Rishawn Harris (Springfield, Mass./Putnam Vocational Technical Academy). He also found Henry Adegunle (Rockaway, N.Y./Channel View) late in the third quarter for the Chargers final score of the game.

Both rushing touchdowns came with the ball tucked into the arms of junior running back Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury), his first multi-touchdown game of the season. Officer finished the game with a team-high 77 yards on the ground, scoring from four yards and six yards out.

Defensively, New Haven was led by senior Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) who finished with 11 tackles, the only Charger to record double figure stops. Condit has recorded double figures in tackles in all but one game in 2015. Joining him in leading the way was transfer Dean Tsopanides (Orange, Conn./Torrington / Iowa) who finished with eight tackles, while Devon Porchia (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) and Dave Calderon (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) led New Haven with five solo tackles a piece. In addition to his forced fumble in the third quarter, Clements added four tackles, one of which was the only Charger sack on the day, driving Pace back 12 yards on the play.

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

·           The Chargers scored twice in the opening quarter, the first of which came in the air as junior Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) capped off a six-play, 58-yard drive with a two-yard pass to the corner of the end zone for Rishawn Harris (Springfield, Mass./Putnam Vocational Technical Academy). Leading up to that scoring play were back-to-back first downs with an 11-yard run for Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) and a 16-yard rush by Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse). The play that set up the touchdown was a 26-yard completion to Andrew Parent (Franklin, Mass./Franklin).

·           The second scoring drive for New Haven came on its four possession, with that drive starting out with a 13-yard run from Courtney Moshood (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto). What set up a four-yard rushing score for Officer was a pair of big passes including a 31-yard completion to Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) and a 13-yard connection with DeeJay White (Brooklyn, N.Y./Sheepshead Bay / Bowling Green State University). The 31-yard pass to Headen came on a third and nine for the Chargers.

·           For the quarter, Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) led the Chargers on the ground with 38 yards on five carries, while Patterson finished with 86 yard on seven completion in 11 attempts. White had his number called the most in the opening quarter, completing three catches for 22 yards.

·           Defensively, four Chargers finished with two tackles in the period; Devon Porchia (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) who had a pair solo tackles, while Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy), Ralph Jonathas (Everett, Mass./Everett) and Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) each had a solo and an assisted tackle.

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

·           After trading drive for the first 12 minutes of the second quarter, the Chargers defense came up big on a fumbled snap by the Setters which was covered up by Dave Calderon (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) at the Pace 34. New Haven would need just over a minute to turn that fumble into seven points, thanks to four-straight rushes by Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury), the last of which resulted in his second touchdown of the afternoon. His longest run in that stretch was a 14-yard dash.

·           Officer's touchdown was part of 45 yards on the ground for the junior running back, leading the Chargers offense in the second quarter.

·           Defensively, Dean Tsopanides (Orange, Conn./Torrington / Iowa) and Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) each led New Haven into the locker room with four tackles a piece, with three of Tsopanides' solo stops. In addition to the fumble recovery by Calderon, the junior linebacker finished with three tackles, all solo stops.

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

·           The Chargers would convert their second turnover into seven points in the third quarter when a fake field goal by the Setters turned out costly. The fumble, which was forced by Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy), was picked up by graduate lineman Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) and run 69-yards to the back of the end zone, giving New Haven a 27-3 lead.

·           After forcing Pace to a three-and-out on its next possession, the Chargers marched down field again to score for the final time thanks to a 22-yard pass into the back left corner of the end zone where Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) found Henry Adegunle (Rockaway, N.Y./Channel View) for six points. Overall, the drive for New Haven lasted just over two minutes and consisted of five plays for 51 yards.

·           The Chargers split their offense rather evenly in the third quarter, gaining 22 yards in the air, all on the touchdown pass to Adegunle, while netting 30 yards on the ground with Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) leading the charge with 12 yards on two carries.

·           Defensively, Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) led the way with four third quarter tackles, pushing him into double digits. Following him was Matt Olivo (Carteret, N.J./Saint Joseph), Devon Porchia (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) and Dean Tsopanides (Orange, Conn./Torrington / Iowa) who all finished with three stops.

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

·           New Haven turned its running game over to Justen Wilson (Hamden, Conn./Hyde Leadership) in the fourth quarter and he came up big, collecting 48 yards on the ground on eight carries. Included in those runs was a 13-yard scamper, one of two double figure pickups for the back.

·           In the air, Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) finished perfect in the final period, completing all three of his attempts for 39 yards.

·           Leading New Haven defensively in the fourth quarter was Luis Mercer (San Antonio, Texas/Earl Warren) who finished with a pair of solo tackles.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·           The 69-yard fumble recovery touchdown for Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) was the first time in his career that he has found the back of the end zone for six points. It is also the first time a Charger has returned a fumble for a touchdown since November 9, 2013 when Kendall Marks (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) ran back a fumble recovery 31 yards against Bentley.

·           Overall, Pace fumbled the ball six times with New Haven recovering two of those. In addition to Harris' recovery, Dave Calderon (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) picked up his first recovery of the season, which also led to a Charger touchdown. The 14 points off turnovers for New Haven is the second most this season behind 17 points against AIC.

·           Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy), the reigning Defensive Player of the Week, continued to show his promise when he dropped a Pace quarterback 12 yards behind the line for his first sack of the season.

·           The two rushing touchdowns for graduate running back Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) is the first time this season he has run for multiple scores. Overall for the season, Officer has scored five times.

·           Senior Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) finished with 11 tackles, the eighth time this season and fifth-straight time he has finished with double figure tackles. The Caldwell, N.J. native now stands six tackles shy of breaking the single season record for tackles set Erik Lesinski in 1987.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·           Graduate lineman Drake Harris (Union, N.J./Union) ran back his second fumble recovery of the season 69 yards for his first collegiate touchdown.

·           Senior linebacker Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) finished with 11 tackles, putting him six shy of tying Erik Lesinski's school record 134 tackles (1987).

·           Graduate running back Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) ran for multiple touchdowns for the first time this season, scoring twice on the ground against Pace.

·           JR QB Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) threw for two touchdowns, his third-straight game with two or more and pushing him into double figures for the season.

UP NEXT
The Chargers close out the regular season on the road with a date at Saint Anselm on Saturday, November 7. The season finale is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start at Grappone Stadium. Complete coverage of Charger football can be found at www.NewHavenChargers.com.