Game Details: September 29 | 1:00 p.m.
Location: Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium | West Haven, Conn.
Game Links: Watch Live | Live Stats
Twitter: @UNHChargers | @NewHavenNation
New Haven Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Bentley Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
THE FIRST LOOK
Looking for its fourth straight victory, New Haven welcomes Bentley to DellaCamera Stadium for just the second home game of the season. The Chargers are coming off of a six touchdown performance last time out at Merrimack, highlighted by a career-high 175 yards and three touchdowns from wide receiver Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central). Bentley has dropped its last two games (Merrimack & LIU Post) after opening up NE10 play with a come-from-behind victory over Southern Connecticut.
INSIDE THE SERIES
· New Haven and Bentley meet for the 10th time in the history of the two programs.
· The Chargers hold a 7-2 record in the previous nine meetings, all since football returned to West Haven in 2009.
· Prior to an overtime loss last season, the Blue and Gold had won seven straight, with the lone loss in the initial match-up in 2009, a 25-18 decision in West Haven.
· All but three of the games between New Haven and Bentley has been decided by one possession or less, including a 22-21 nail biter in 2015 with Danny Stock (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge / Buffalo State) cementing the victory with a 34-yard FG with two seconds remaining in regulation.
A WIN OVER BENTLEY WOULD...
· extend New Haven's current streak to four straight, all since opening NE10 play.
· be the eight victory in the last nine meetings against the Falcons
· be the fourth straight win against Bentley on the Chargers home turf
· keep New Haven undefeated in NE10 play with two other teams currently unbeaten in the league; Assumption & LIU Post
· be the 244th overall victory in the 40-year history of Charger Football.
· be the 214th victory since the Chargers began playing at the Division II level - first DII season was 1982.
GAME DAY FORECAST
The upcoming weekend looks to be fantastic in the West Haven area with temperatures at game time on Saturday predicted to be 71 degrees under mainly sunny skies. Early clouds will dissipate by game time. There is a 10% chance of precipitation with winds at 10 mph out of the North West. The humidity level is predicted at 74%.
NEXT ON TAP
At the midway point of the season, New Haven will enjoy the NE10 bye week with no game scheduled for October 6. Overall, just one conference team will play during the bye week, that being LIU Post who will take on the PSAC's Shippensburg. The Chargers will return to action with a trip north on Interstate 91 for a date with the American International Yellow Jackets in Springfield on Saturday, October 13. Kickoff against AIC is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Averaging nearly 16 points more than their opponents, New Haven is coming off its third-straight victory heading into week five. Leading the Blue and Gold into their return to DellaCamera Stadium is transfer wide receiver Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) who enters the week as the one of the top receivers in the NCAA. Following a career-high 175 yards last week at Merrimack, Williams currently ranks first in the nation in receiving yards and receiving yards per game while he is third in receptions and fourth in receiving touchdowns. The reigning NE10 Offensive Player of the Week added three touchdowns against the Warriors, the first player with three receiving touchdowns since 2012. Captaining New Haven's offense is senior QB Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) who racked up his third 300-plus yard game against the Warriors, throwing four touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his pass attempts. New Haven's ground game has also picked up over the last two outings with 202 and 161 yards respectively against SCSU and Merrimack. Leading the way on the ground has been junior Ryan McCarthy (Montclair, N.J./Bergen Catholic) who finished with 96 yards against Southern Connecticut and senior Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) who racked up 92 yards versus Merrimack. Defensively, New Haven's returning leadership of Jordan Francklin (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) (36 tackles), Mcprecia Remy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Millwood) (26 tackles), Miles Pease (Sicklerville, N.J./Saint Joseph / Milford Academy) (25 tackles) and CJ Fitzpatrick (25 tackles) leads a defensive unit that has forced at least one turnover in all four games this year, totaling eight on the season (four interceptions and four fumbles).
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
After trailing 16-0 at the half, the Falcons put on a furious comeback to eventually post a 24-22 win over Southern Connecticut for their lone victory of the season. Bentley has dropped its last two games to Merrimack and LIU Post heading into week five of the 2018 campaign. Overall, Bentley's offense has scored just six touchdowns, three rushing and three receiving, while junior kicker Grant Buchanan has shown great range going 5-of-5 in field goal attempts with a season-long of 46 yards. Sophomore Stephen Sturm has started all four games under center, collecting 445 yards on 48-of-86 passing with a pair of touchdowns. Additionally, classmate Seamus Leary has completed 12 passes on the year for 128 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, starting tailback Andrew Brazicki leads the team with 274 net yards and a pair of touchdowns on 70 rushing attempts. Meanwhile, Sturm and Leary have relied on 10 different targets downfield with senior wide out Jordan Zlogar leading the way with 20 receptions for 233 yards. Defensively, five different players lead a balanced attack, all collecting 20 or more tackles through the first four games.
HONOR ROLL
Following the Chargers NE10 opening victory over Pace, a pair of players were honored by the league office on Monday when quarterback Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) was named Player of the Week and Jordan Francklin (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week. The accolades are the first of the season for the Blue and Gold. Patterson amassed 305 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes while running in for a third against the Setters. Overall for the game, Patterson completed 78.6 percent of his pass attempts and collected 16 yards on the ground. Francklin led New Haven's defense for the second-straight week when he collected 10 tackles, recovered a fumble and picked off a Dan Anarella pass returning it 43 yards to set up a New Haven scoring drive. For the season, Francklin leads the Chargers with 18 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
HONOR ROLL PART TWO
Following a 13 point game, the most points by a single Charger in the tenure of head coach Chris Pincince, New Haven's Michael Stalenyj (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) secure his first collegiate honor when he was tabbed the NE10 Special Teams Player of the Week. Stalenyj drilled his three field goal attempts straight down the middle from distances of 26, 27 and 30 yards, which is the longest of the season for the Blue and Gold. In addition, he finished a perfect 4-of-4 in point after attempts.
HONOR ROLL TAKE THREE
Following a career night at Merrimack, transfer wide receiver Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) hauled in his first NE10 honor as a Charger when he was named the Offensive Player of the Week on September 24. Williams is the second New Haven player to pick up the award following Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) in week two, while kicker Michael Stalenyj (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors following week three. Against Merrimack, Williams racked up a career-high 175 yard on nine catches, which included three touchdowns. All three of his touchdown catches went for 35 yards or more. Among them were back-to-back 36-yard touchdowns which came on the first and second play of their respective drives.
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Chargers gained over 500 yards in total offense, but dropped a 27-24 overtime decision in its final road game at Bentley. Leading the Chargers on the day was WR Justin White (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) who finished his fifth game of the season with 100-plus yards. White was one of six targets for QB Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) who completed 70 percent of his 35 pass attempts. Overall, Patterson finished with 319 passing yards, 138 of which fell to White who completed 10 passes on the day. On the ground, freshman Zach Mauro (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) earned the start in the backfield, closing out the day with 53 yards on 16 attempts, not losing a single yard in the ground game. Leading the Chargers ground assault all together was the QB Patterson who finished with 68 net yards on 17 attempts. All three of the Chargers touchdowns came in the running game with Patterson, Orekoya and Devin Martin (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) all scoring. Defensively, New Haven was led by junior DB Jordan Francklin (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) who finished with 10 tackles, eight of which were solo stops. Included in his 10 tackles were three that resulted in 19 yards lost, with one of those a sack that drove the Bentley line of scrimmage back 11 yards.
LAST TIME OUT
It was the Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) and Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) show in North Andover as the Charger football team upended Merrimack 44-18 to pick up its third straight victory and remain undefeated in the Northeast-10. Williams completed a trio of scoring receptions, all for 35 or more yards, becoming the first receiver at New Haven to complete three scoring receptions since 2012. Overall, Williams closed out the night with 175 yards on nine catches, with the majority of that coming in the first half when he had 162 yards on eight catches. Patterson finished the night with 316 passing yards, his third game of the season with 300 or more yards. Overall, he completed 19 of 27 passes, a 70 percent average with four touchdowns. The senior QB relied of seven receivers with Damon Rodgers (Charlotte, N.C./Cheshire Academy) and AJ Greene (Middle Island, N.Y./Newfield) following Williams with 48 and 47 yards, respectively. A late fourth quarter touchdown pass to sophomore Chris Carlyle (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) was the only other passing touchdown of the night for Patterson. On the ground, New Haven picked up 161 yards, all from three different players. Leading the way was Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) who finished with a career high 92 yards on 17 carries. Ryan McCarthy (Montclair, N.J./Bergen Catholic) followed him with 60 yards on 14 attempts while Greene was the only other to attempt a rush as he picked up nine yards. Liggio and McCarthy also added six points to their season total with rushing touchdowns of four and six yards, respectively. Defensively, New Haven was led by three players who racked up double digit tackles with senior captain Miles Pease (Sicklerville, N.J./Saint Joseph / Milford Academy) leading the way with 11 total, seven of those solo tackles. In addition, Pease also collected the only turnover of the night, an interception late in the fourth quarter that he returned 45 yards. Rounding out the defensive leaders was Jordan Francklin (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) and CJ Fitzpatrick who each finished with 10 tackles.
VERY WELL SEASONED
Arguably the longest tenured Charger in program history, New Haven has the benefit of a quarterback who has started the last 35 games under center. Prior to taking over, He had the opportunity to learn from two great quarterbacks before he even entered the white lines. For his career, Patterson has completed nearly 60 percent of his attempts and stands second in program history in completions (611) and total yards (8,072). He has also thrown 59 touchdowns which enters the week third in Charger history. Patterson needs just 144 completions and 1,501 yards to take over the top spots in each category, while with 13 touchdowns he would move into second all-time.
RETURNING FOR MORE
Graduate student tight end Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) returns to complete his eligibility in 2018 after having his senior campaign cut very short when he suffered a season-ending injury in the opening game of the season. An NE10 Second Team honoree as a junior, Badyna Started all 33 games through the 2016 season. Including this year, Badyna has completed 41 catches for 311 yards and six touchdowns. At 6-3, 250 he also provides a big block in addition to a large O-Line.
LEADERSHIP IS EVERYTHING
In a vote of all active football student-athletes, the Chargers named four Captains for the 2018 season, three of which return to that role for a second-straight year. Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) and Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) will represent the offense while Miles Pease (Sicklerville, N.J./Saint Joseph / Milford Academy) and Mark Clements (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest / Worcester Academy) make up the two defensive members of the leadership corps. Clements is the lone new face among the captains after taking the 2016 season away from the Blue and Gold turf.
MR. POPULARITY
With a host of connections to the NFL, junior wide receiver Damon Rodgers (Charlotte, N.C./Cheshire Academy) brings another level of attention to the Blue and Gold. The majority of that attention comes in the form of Instagram where he has more than 318,000 followers. Rodgers came to New Haven with a pair of immediate family members who are currently in the NFL, while his cousin Jairus Byrd is a DB with the Carolina Panthers. His connections to the Panthers goes deeper as his father, Richard, coaches the Carolina defensive backs. Additionally, his brother, Richard, is a tight end with the Philadelphia Eagles after playing the last four seasons with Green Bay. Finally, Rodgers uncle, Gil, played 10 years and was a Pro Bowl cornerback with the San Diego Chargers and is currently an assistant coach with Illinois.
TRANSFERS
The Chargers roster in 2018 includes eight newcomers who enter with a significant amount of experience as all come to West Haven from other institutions. Among those eight, three are expected to start the season opener, however all eight will play a significant role. Included among the transfers for 2018 is a graduate wide receiver who spent the last four years at NE10 foe American International, Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central). Three other transfers also played in the NE10, all of which come across town from rival Southern Connecticut State. Included in that trio is Osaro Emersole who is the projected starter at left tackle. Additionally, two of the transfers come from Division I institutions with Francis Palmer (Brewster, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) making the trip south on I-91 from Central Connecticut State University. With the loss of kicker/punter Danny Stock (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge / Buffalo State) from last season, Palmer will make an immediate impact with his boot.
PINK GAME
The Chargers will continue a long standing tradition of dedicating a game during the month of October to Breast Cancer Awareness. This season, the October 20 home game against Assumption will serve as the Pink Game with a host of special events on tap. Part of the festivities will include honoring survivors in attendance. Those who wish to participate will join the Band, Dance and Cheer team on the field for the pregame tunnel as well as be honored on the video board. For more information or to register as a survivor please contact Amanda Tomaselli in the Department of Athletics at 203-932-7362.
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO
Among nine players who were named to All-Conference teams in 2017, the Chargers return four, all of which on the defensive side of the ball. A trio of returning honorees come from the NE10 All-Conference Second Team with linebackers Jordan Francklin (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) and Scott Lavelle (West Milford, N.J./DePaul Catholic) and lineman Christian Sullivan (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) all earning the distinction. Combined, the trio accounted for 152 total tackles last season, including 24 tackles for loss. Among those 24 tackles for loss were 9.5 sacks as well. Despite suffering a season-ending injury midway through the year, linebacker Mcprecia Remy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Millwood) scored All-Rookie accolades last season. IN just four games, Remy collected 20 tackles, including two for loss, while also picking off a pair of passes and forcing a fumble.
FAMILIAR FACES ON THE SIDELINES
They may not be between the white lines in 2018, but a pair of All-Americans, Zach Voytek and Eliot Leubner (Rochester, N.Y./Rush Henrietta), will return to the sidelines for the Blue and Gold as members of the coaching staff. Voytek, who returns to New Haven after participating in camp with the Buffalo Bills in the fall of 2017, will work with the Chargers tight ends. Leubner, who completed his eligibility last fall as a key piece of the o-line, will serve as the Director of Football Operations.
WHAT D2FOOTBALL.COM IS PREDICTING FOR WEEK 5 (Paul Falewicz)
Bentley lost their second straight game as they were crushed by LIU Post 38-3. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead but that was the high point of the afternoon in New York. The offense struggled on third down and was not able to extend drives to build confidence. The Falcons will need to repeat their second half performance weeks ago when they played across town. The offense needs to convert and help to control the clock. The defense will need to find a way to limit Patterson and all of his weapons. New Haven is cruising right now, and the latest victim was Merrimack by the score of 44-18. They have won three straight and Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) is a big reason for the success. He is completing the majority of his throws as he has plenty of targets to spread the ball around to. The Chargers need to stretch the field with the arm of Patterson to help the running backs find holes. The defense will need to pressure the quarterback and take advantage of mistakes. New Haven will take care of business at home. Prediction: New Haven 38, Bentley 16
PRESEASON PROPS
In a vote of head coaches, the New Haven football team was picked to finish fourth in the NE10 as announced by the league office. The Chargers, who finished 2017 with a 6-5 record under fourth year head coach Chris Pincince, totaled 57 points, six shy of the Bentley Falcons who were picked to finish third. Assumption and LIU Post who finished 2017 first and second in the standings were picked to finish in the same order garnering 77 and 76 points, respectively. The Greyhounds garnered six of the 10 possible first place votes with LIU Post earning the remaining four.
2018 Northeast-10 Football Coaches' Poll
1. Assumption – 77 (6)
2. LIU Post – 75 (4)
3. Bentley – 63
4. New Haven – 57
5. Southern Conn. – 44
6. Merrimack – 40
7. Stonehill – 36
8. Pace – 24
9. American Int'l – 20
10. Saint Anselm – 13
(#) indicates first-place votes
