NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A pair of blocked punts from rookie linebacker
Anthony Repollet (Hamden, Conn./Hamden Hall Country Day School) led to nine points and helped the New Haven football team retain the Elm City Trophy for the 10th straight meeting against the Chargers crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University.
Repollet started off the scoring when he blocked his first punt on the Owls opening drive in the first quarter. Senior defensive back
Josiah Shumaker (Ledyard, Conn./Ledyard) scooped up the loose ball at the 13-yard line and eased his way into the end zone to put the first points on the board. Repollet would strike again on the Owls opening drive of the second quarter, this time with the blocked punt dribbling out of the back of the end zone for the safety. The initial blocked punt for the rookie was the first time the Chargers have blocked a punt since the 2016 season while the safety on his second blocked punt was the first time the Blue and Gold have recorded a safety since the 2013 campaign.
Overall, New Haven's running game led the way as the Chargers racked up 175 net yards rushing which amounted to nearly 70 percent of their 260 total yards on offense. Leading the way individually was rookie running back
Shamar Logan (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School for Youth & Community Development) who completed his third straight game in triple digits with 121 net yards on 22 carries. Senior
Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) followed with 37 yards and quarterback
Christian Lupoli (Branford, Conn./Notre Dame) wrapped up the running game with 17 yards.
Lupoli added his 17 rushing yards to 85 passing yards as he completed 11-of-20 pass attempts with his longest throw of the afternoon gaining 19 yards and falling into the hands of
Paul Cooper (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park). The leading target for the junior quarterback was senior
AJ Greene (Middle Island, N.Y./Newfield) who hauled in three catches for 20 yards while
Brett Huber (Milford, Conn./Foran) and
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) followed with a pair of completions each.
Defensively, New Haven was led by sophomore linebacker
Ryan Hodgins (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) who finished with eight tackles, four solo and four assisted. Junior
Allah Sessions (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira) followed with seven tackles while graduate students
Dennis James (Hillside, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) and
Zach Cofrancesco (East Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) each chipped in five tackles with the five stops from James all solo tackles.
New Haven's defense also racked up three sacks on the day, all coming from different players. Senior
Markel Johnson (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) added to his team-high sacks, now at 5.5 on the year, with a seven yard loss while
Devon Nzepuome (Milton, Mass./Milton) and
Khalim Cisse (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) each added sacks as well and now stand second and third on the team, respectively.
Following the opening score for the Chargers on Repollet's first blocked punt, the Chargers added to their tally with a second quarter touchdown courtesy of Logan who ran in from 35 yards out. That run from Logan was the only play in the drive for the Blue and Gold who took over at the Owls 35 after a short punt trickled out of bounds. That touchdown would be the difference at the intermission.
The Chargers would then follow up Repollet's second blocked punt for a safety with another touchdown, this time with Liggio trotting in from five yards out to give New Haven a 23-7 lead. That run from Liggio wrapped up a seven play, 74 yard drive for New Haven.
The Owls would go on to score twice more and looked to knot the game up with a 46-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter but the attempt went left and short of the uprights turning the ball over with 84 seconds remaining and three SCSU timeouts. Needing a single first down to put the game in the books, the Chargers turned to their senior running back on a second and nine with Liggio scampering straight up the middle for 12 yards to put the tally in the win column.
New Haven will return to action in two weeks when they make their third appearance of the season at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium on November 2. Following the bye week next weekend, the Chargers will host the newest member of the Northeast-10, Franklin Pierce in week nine with kick off slated for 1:00 p.m.
