MANCHESTER, N.H. – The University of New Haven defense held Saint Anselm scoreless through the final three quarters, including forcing a goal line fumble as the Chargers picked up their first Northeast-10 victory of the season over Saint Anselm 23-7 at Grappone Stadium. Leading the Blue and Gold overall was senior wide receiver Devin Martin (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) who finished with a career-high 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall, New Haven collected 400 total yards on offense with the passing game netting 307 yards as senior quarterback Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) completed 19-of-29 passes, including three for touchdowns. Martin's 137 yards led four targets for Patterson while Justin White (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) hauled in 116 yards for his third straight game with 100-plus. Damon Rodgers (Charlotte, N.C./Cheshire Academy) closed out the day with 27 yards and a touchdown while Elijah Singh (Bloomfield, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) also pulled in 27 yards.

On the ground, the Chargers were led by sophomore Ryan McCarthy (Montclair, N.J./Bergen Catholic) who finished with 46 net yards on 12 carries. Greg Orekoya (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) added 45 yards, while JoJo Robinson (Edgewater, N.J./Leonia) finished with 15 rushing yards.

Defensively, New Haven held the Hawks to 247 total yards, including just 75 yards in the passing game. The Blue and Gold also forced a pair of fumbles, the first late in the second quarter and the final one at the goal line as New Haven turned that into a 12-play, 99-yard scoring drive.

Overall, senior Stefano Bicknese (Somers, N.Y./Somers / USMAPS) led the Chargers offense on the day with 10 tackles, his first game of the season in double figures. Junior Kevin Robinson (East Orange, N.J./Montclair) followed with nine tackles, while sophomores Nicholas Sutton (Pennsville, N.J.) and Jeremiah McNear (Perth Amboy, N.J./Perth Amboy) finished with six and five, respectively. McNear was one of two Chargers to drop the Saint Anselm QB behind the line on the day, joined by Afiz Din-Gabisi.

Freshman Sharman Nalls (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) and senior captain Miles Pease (Sicklerville, N.J./Saint Joseph / Milford Academy) each finished with a fumble recovery, with Pease securing the goal line miscue that resulted in a New Haven touchdown.

HOW THE CHARGERS SCORED

·        After a scoreless opening quarter for New Haven, the Chargers quickly found the end zone just four seconds into the second quarter. The Chargers took advantage of a big penalty against the Hawks on the drive, a roughing the kicker call that set the Blue and Gold up with a fresh set of downs at midfield. Following that penalty, Patterson and Martin connected for a long range pick-up, 22 yards that put New Haven at the Hawks 21. After a nine-yard rush ended the quarter, Patterson made quick work at the start of the new period, finding Martin in the corner of the end zone from 12 yards out.  

·        After winning the opening coin toss, the Chargers took advantage of their deferred kickoff by turning the opening drive of the second half into a 21-yard field goal from Danny Stock (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge / Buffalo State). Included in the drive, which started at the Saint Anselm 36 thanks to a 13-yard return from Scott Lavelle (West Milford, N.J./DePaul Catholic), were a pair of 20-plus yard completions from Patterson. Both of the passes found Martin down field with the second, setting the Chargers up with first and ten at the Hawks 20. McCarthy and Orekoya took over from there, combining for five rushes that left New Haven at the five yard line for Stock.

·        The New haven defense held Saint Anselm to just 18 yards on their first drive of the half, while the Chargers turned their second drive into seven points as Martin and Patterson connected for the second time on the afternoon. The second play of the drive proved to be the longest of the day for New Haven as Patterson and Martin combined for a 52-yard completion.

·        The running game proved big on the final scoring drive for New Haven as the Chargers picked up 44 yards on the ground before a 33-yard pass from Patterson to Martin capped off the drive and the provided the final margin, 23-7.  

UP NEXT
The Chargers return to West Haven, hosting Pace on Saturday, September 23. New Haven will be in search of its ninth straight win over the Setters when they host Family Day at DellaCamera Stadium. Kickoff against the Setters is slated for 1:00 p.m. Complete coverage of the New Haven football team can be found at www.NewHavenChargers.com.