NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The University of New Haven football team (4-2,4-1 NE-10) led end-to-end for the second straight week en route to its fourth straight victory, defeating the Merrimack Warriors 45-14 on the road at Martone-Mejail Field in North Andover, Mass. Leading the Chargers on the day were senior's Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) and Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History). Anderson finished with 86 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while Headen collected 111 yards on seven catches.

Senior quarterback Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) closed out his fourth straight game with 250 or more yards, collecting 279 total on 20 completions in 32 attempts. Included was one touchdown pass when he connected with tight end Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) for a 12-yard score. That catch for Badyna was his second TD of the season.

In addition to Patterson's TD in the air, Kellen Croce (Middlebury, Conn./Gunnery School / Maine) also threw a touchdown pass when on a fake field goal attempt, he connected with C.J. Fitzpatrick (Pearl River, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) for a 13-yard completion. The touchdown was the first of the season for both Croce and Fitzpatrick.

Along with Anderson's 86 yards, Thuc Phan (Greensboro, N.C./Deerfield / Elon) would run for 66 yards on seven carries, including the longest of the day, a 43-yard pick up. Joining Headen in leading seven players who finished with a catch was Anderson who collected 47 yards in the air and Rishawn Harris (Springfield, Mass./Putnam Vocational Technical Academy) who finished with 34 yards on three receptions.

Defensively, four different players led the Chargers with five tackles each. Among the leaders was Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) who along with his five tackles collected one of the two fumble recoveries in the game. The other came from Matt Olivo (Carteret, N.J./Saint Joseph) who returned his 47 yards and set up an 18-yard scoring drive for the Blue and Gold.

SCORING

·         8:40 1st – UNH Anderson 12-yd run (Stock kick) – Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 3:08 – Score: 7-0

·         4:17 1st – UNH Stock 24-yd field goal – Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 2:40 – Score: 10-0

·         1:35 1st – MC Martin 59-yd run (Camarro kick) – Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:42 – Score: 10-7

·         12:37 2nd – UNH Martin 12-yd pass from Patterson (Stock kick) – Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 3:58 – Score: 17-7

·         7:09 2nd – UNH Anderson 2-yd run (Stock kick) – Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards, 3:50 – Score: 24-7

·         00:38 2nd – UNH Fitzpatrick 13-yd pass from Croce (Stock kick) – Drive: 7 plays, 51 yards, 1:53 – Score: 31-7

·         11:53 3rd – UNH Thomas 3-yd run (Stock kick) – Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards, 1:27 – Score: 38-7

·         3:00 3rd – UNH Anderson 1-yd run (Stock kick) – Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 5:52 – Score: 45-7

·         9:29 4th – MC Lucas 33-yd pass from Martin (Camarro kick) – Drive: 10 play, 80 yards, 4:05 – Score: 45-14

STATISTICAL LEADERS

·         Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) led the Chargers offense with a season-high three touchdowns, while he ran for 86 total yards on 21 carries with his longest of the day going for 14 yards. He also added 47 yards on four catches and 29 return yards.

·         Senior quarterback Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) closed out his fourth straight game with 250-plus yards, wrapping up his day with 279 yards, converting 20-of-32 attempts. He also threw for one touchdown, connecting with tight end Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) for a 12-yard score.

·         Senior wide receiver Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) finished with seven catches for 111 total yards, including a 28-yard catch.

·         Defensively, the Chargers were led by four players who all finished with five total tackles. Leading the way was senior linebacker Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) who along with his five tackles also recovered one of the two Warrior fumbles. Joining him in leading the team was Corey Mitchell (Jacksonville, N.C./Northside / Elon), Scott Lavelle (West Milford, N.J./DePaul Catholic) and Nigel Davis (Williamsville, N.Y./Saint Joseph's Collegiate Institute).

·         Along with Condit's fumble recovery, Matt Olivo (Carteret, N.J./Saint Joseph) also recovered a fumble, returning his 47 yards to set up an 18-yard scoring drive.

HIGHLIGHTS

·         After going three-and-out on its opening drive, the Chargers marched 59 yards on its second drive of the day with Andre Anderson (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) scoring his first touchdown of the day, running in from 12 yards out. Over the entire drive, Anderson ran for 25 yards, while a 28 yard pass from Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) to Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) was the biggest play of the drive as that came as UNH faced a fourth and three.

·         The Chargers would score again on their next drive, this time as Danny Stock (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge / Buffalo State) drilled a 24-yard field goal straight down the middle, continuing his season-long streak of perfect field goal attempts, now at seven-for-seven.

·         The Blue and Gold would make it three straight scoring drives on their next attempt with Patterson connecting with tight end Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) for a 12-yard pass that capped off a 69-yard drive. That pass was the fourth of four attempts that were all completed by Patterson as his passes accounted for 42 yards on the drive.

·         New Haven wasn't going to go into the locker room without trying something new in the first half. Facing a fourth down at the Merrimack 13 yard line, the Chargers appeared to set up for a field goal attempt, but trickery would follow as Kellen Croce (Middlebury, Conn./Gunnery School / Maine) took the snap and found C.J. Fitzpatrick (Pearl River, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

·         The Chargers defense came out of the locker room after the break and put up a pair of big plays, ending the Warriors first two possessions of the half with fumbles. The first came after a 37 yard pass for the Warriors, however Matt Olivo (Carteret, N.J./Saint Joseph) recovered the fumble and returned it 47 yards to set up a drive of just 18 yards for the Chargers offense. The second fumble recovery came from Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell).

·         The Blue and Gold's running backs accounted for both of the Chargers second half touchdowns with Lemar Thomas (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) scoring from three yards out and Anderson scoring his third of the game on a one-yard run.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         The three touchdowns for Anderson gives him 37 total touchdowns for his career, 35 rushing, one receiving and one return, which allows him to move into fifth all-time, passing Jason Thompson (2009-12) who finished his career with 36.

·         Anderson also moved up one spot in career rushing yards, finishing with 86 against the Warriors, which gives him 2,414 total for his career. With those 86 yards he moves into fourth all-time, passing Corey Jones (1996-99) who finished his career with 2,333 yards.   

·         Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune)'s 279 yards is his fourth straight game with 250 or more yards as he connected on 20 of his 32 pass attempts. He also threw one touchdown.

·         Danny Stock (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge / Buffalo State)'s 24-yard field goal now makes him a perfect 7-of-7 on the season, while he moves into a tie for fifth place in the career record book, matching the output of Pat Fitzpatrick (1987-90).

·         Also climbing in the record books was senior wide receiver Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) who moved up two positions as he finished the game with 111 yards on seven receptions. Those 111 yards now gives him 1,999 for his career, passing Demetrius Washington (2009-12) and Ketric Barnes (1996-00). He is now five yards shy of moving into seventh all-time, which would mean passing Ralph Pacifico (1981-84) who finished his career with 2,003 receiving yards.

NEXT ON TAP
The Chargers continue their stretch of back-to-back road contests when they travel to Stonehill for a nationally televised match-up against the Skyhawks. Opening kickoff against Stonehill is slated for 6:00 p.m. at W.B. Mason Stadium, with the game broadcast on ESPN3 as part of the NCAA's Division II Football Showcase. This is the second time that UNH and Stonehill meet on a national stage with the Chargers defeating the Skyhawks 45-41 in a 2012 game shown live on the CBS Sports Network.