WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Senior quarterback Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) pushed through on a one-yard keeper with 4:44 remaining in the game, providing the difference as the University of New Haven football team took down the third seeded No. 8 West Chester Golden Rams by a 35-28 margin in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Championship.
With the victory, partnered with seventh seeded Slippery Rock defeating second seeded LIU Post in Brookville, the Chargers have earned hosting rights for the second round and will welcome The Rock to West Haven on Saturday, November 24. Follow NewHavenChargers.com for updates on game time, ticket sales and additional information.
The go-ahead touchdown by Patterson late in the fourth quarter was the fifth of the day he had a hand in, scoring two on the ground and throwing three more as part of a 265 yard day in the air. Overall, Patterson connected on 16-of-24 pass attempts and gained 44 yards on 11 attempts, including a 23-yard pick up on third down.
In the passing game, Patterson spread the wealth evenly across eight different receivers. Leading the way was graduate transfer Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) and sophomore Brett Huber (Milford, Conn./Foran) who each finished with 59 yards. Williams split his yardage across three catches, including a 48-yard haul that resulted in a touchdown on a four-and-three from just inside of West Chester territory. Huber's 59 yards came on a pair of catches for 33 and 26 yards.
In addition to Williams' touchdown reception, tight ends Jake Lareau (East Granby, Conn./East Granby) and Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) each finished with six points on the day on their only catches of the afternoon. The longest pass of the day for Patterson was one of two caught by junior receiver AJ Greene (Middle Island, N.Y./Newfield), a 50-yard haul that set up the Blue and Gold with first and goal on the Rams four yard line. Patterson would end up closing out that drive with his first rushing score of the day.
In the ground game, New Haven net 141, led by junior Ryan McCarthy (Montclair, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and senior Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) who finished with 72 and 67 yards, respectively. The pair successfully grabbed double digit yardage on a number of occasions, while neither one lost a yard in any of their 24 combined attempts.
Defensively, New Haven tamed the Golden Rams offense, holding a team that averaged 214.9 yards per game on the ground to just 100 rushing yards. Leading the way for the Chargers was senior defensive back Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy) who finished with 10 total tackles, nine of which were solo stops. He also finished with a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
Joining Clements in leading the way was Devon Nzepuome (Milton, Mass./Milton) who finished with five total tackles, two of which went for loss including one of four total sacks by the Chargers defense on the day. In total, New Haven finished with eight tackles for a total of 24 loss yards, with the four sacks accounting for 16 of those yards. Also among the leaders was Scott Lavelle (West Milford, N.J./DePaul Catholic) who chipped in five tackles, one of which was a sack, while also forcing a fumble.
New Haven will host an NCAA tournament game on the Blue and Gold turf of Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium for the first time since 2012 when they dropped a 17-15 decision to Indiana (Pa.) in the second round of the national event.
