THE FIRST LOOK
New Haven looks to rebound from its first conference loss which came at the hands of Bentley under the lights in Waltham, Mass. last weekend. The Charger also look to remain unbeaten against Pace in a series that dates back to the Chargers first season in the NE10, 2009. Pace enters DellaCamera Stadium with an unblemished NE10 record having defeated Franklin Pierce and Saint Anselm.
INSIDE THE SERIES
- New Haven and Pace meet for the 11th time in a series that dates back to October 24, 2009.
- New Haven looks to remain unbeaten in the all-time series which includes back-to-back shutouts in 2013 (65-0) and 2014 (40-0).
- Overall in the previous 10 meetings, New Haven has outscored Pace 458-116, or an average of 34.2 points per game.
A WIN OVER PACE WOULD...
- break the Setters undefeated record in NE10 play
- be the 11th-straight win for the Blue and Gold against Pace in the all-time series
- keep New Haven unbeaten on its home turf
- be the 252nd overall victory in the 41-plus year history of Charger Football.
- be the 221st victory since the Chargers began playing at the Division II level - first DII season was 1982.
GAME DAY FORECAST
Autumn is upon us and the temperatures will certainly prove that on Saturday with the high for the day set at 59 degrees with bright sunny skies. The low for the day is predicted at 51 degrees while there is a 0% chance of rain and a comfortable 52% humidity level. Winds on Saturday will be around nine miles per hour out of the east. Sunset will be 6:27 p.m.
NEXT ON TAP
The next two games for New Haven will come away from DellaCamera Stadium with the first on the docket a visit to Manchester, N.H. where they will face off with the Saint Anselm Hawks. The Chargers second game of the season under the lights is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff. New Haven will not return home until November when they welcome the newest NE10 member Franklin Pierce on Saturday, November 2.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Last week, the Chargers surrendered 24 unanswered points dropping a 14-31 decision at the hands of Bentley University. Against the Falcons, both of New Haven's touchdowns came in the ground game with
Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) and
Nick Robins (Nephi, Utah/Juab) each rushing for a score. Through the first four games in 2019, the Chargers have gained an average of 173.5 points in the ground game and 169.8 in the air. Leading the ground assault on the season is sophomore
Shamar Logan (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School for Youth & Community Development) who has racked up 341 net yards ono 58 attempts for an average of 5.9 yards per carry. Following Logan in the ground game is senior captain
Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) who has picked up 166 net yards on 29 attempts for an average of 5.7 per carry. Junior quarterback
Nick Robins (Nephi, Utah/Juab) leads a pair of Division I transfers, completing 59 percent of his passes for 592 yards and four touchdowns. Junior
Christian Lupoli (Branford, Conn./Notre Dame) follows with 87 yards on 11-of-16 passing. Graduate wide receiver
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) leads a group of eight wide outs with 21 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Chargers are led by graduate transfer
Zach Cofrancesco (East Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) and sophomore
Ryan Hodgins (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) who each have 30 and 22 tackles, respectively. The Chargers defense has also forced nine turnovers with junior
Shawn Tafe (Bronx, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) pulling in three of the team's six total interceptions.
SCOUTING THE SETTERS
One of two teams with a 2-0 record in the Northeast-10, the Setters are riding a three-game win streak into week five after defeating Franklin Pierce and Saint Anselm to open conference play. As a team, Pace is outscoring their opponents by more than 20 points with the majority of their offense coming in the passing game where the Setters are averaging 240 yards per game. Leading Pace into West Haven is its senior quarterback Carlton Aiken who has racked up 884 yards, connecting on 71-of-116 of his pass attempts, throwing for eight touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-high 227 yards on 48 attempts and finishing off three drives with a rushing touchdown. In addition to Aiken, Jhalen Bien-Aime leads the Setters in the backfield with 208 yards on a team-high 56 carries while also scoring three touchdowns.
HONOR ROLL
Rookie RB
Shamar Logan (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School for Youth & Community Development) and junior DB
Shawn Tafe (Bronx, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) each hauled in some brass following week two earning Rookie of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively. Against Stonehill, Logan ran all over the O-Line racking up 157 rushing yards on 22 carries with a pair of touchdowns. His first collegiate score came in the first quarter when he broke through the middle of the line and sprinted straight down the left hash marks to the end zone to put the Chargers on the board. He then took the ball for both plays of a two play, 19-yard drive that ended with his second touchdown of the afternoon. For the season, Logan has amassed 218 rushing yards and an average of 6.2 yards per carry. Tafe picked apart the Stonehill passing game, intercepting a pair of Skyhawk passes, returning them for a total of 33 yards. He also added five tackles.
GOING FOR DISTANCE
Through four games, the Chargers have not been shy of looking for big plays, racking up 22 plays of 20 yards or more, including seven or more of 40+ yards. The longest of the season so far was a pair of 58-yard plays against American International, the first a pass from
Nick Robins (Nephi, Utah/Juab) to
AJ Greene (Middle Island, N.Y./Newfield) and the second a pick-six from
Allah Sessions (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira). On the ground,
Shamar Logan (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School for Youth & Community Development) has broken through the line on three occasions for 40+ yards, including twice against Stonehill for 47 and 42 yards, the first of those going for a touchdown. Last season the Chargers finished the year with 84 plays of 20 yards or more, including six of 50-plus yards.
RETURNING IN 2019
The Chargers boast 42 total lettermen returning in 2019, including 23 on offense, 17 on defense and a pair of kicker/punters. Additionally, the Chargers return 14 starters from a year ago, including four of the five starters on the offensive line. Finally, the Chargers return six of 13 players who received all-conference honors last season, highlighted by the lone first teamer to return; wide receiver
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central).
IT'S ALL ON THE LINE
The Chargers offensive line was nothing but exceptional last season and this year expect much of the same as the Blue and Gold return four of their five starters. Add to that, all 10 players on the depth chart have significant playing time under their belts on the line. Last season, the Chargers O-Line contributed to 4,827 total yards on offense, the most in the NE10, which included just shy of 2,000 rushing yards. Additionally, the O-Line allowed opponents to sack quarterback
Ajee Patterson (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) just three times through the 10-game regular season.
BIG BOOT
The Chargers will return a big boot in 2019 with
Michael Stalenyj (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) returning as one of two kicker/punters. Stalenyj closed out his rookie campaign in 2018 a perfect 9-of-9 in field goal attempts while he was also 34-of-38 in extra point attempts. So far in 2019, Stalenyj stands at 4-of-5 in field goal attempts, with his longest conversion of the season from 35 yards. He has also converted 11 extra point attempt. For his career, his 45 PAT conversions stands one shy of entering the top-10 in program history, while his 13 field goals made is currently tied for seventh all-time.
FLIPPING THE FIELD
One area the Chargers will look to recover from a large loss is their punting game. Last season, graduate student
Francis Palmer (Brewster, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) averaged 40.4 yards on 31 punts including a pair of 50+ yard boots. He also pinned Charger opponents inside the 20 eight times with his longest punt of the season going for 59 yards. The lone Charger who returns after attempting punts last season is wide receiver
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) who on seven kicks averaged 36.6 yards and pinned the opposition inside the 20 once.
WELL OILED MACHINE
Second-year transfer wide receiver
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) has quite the resume heading into his final season on the gridiron. The Springfield, Mass. native closed out his first season wearing the Blue and Gold by hauling in a single season school record 1,171 yards on 65 catches with 11 touchdowns. In addition to his yardage record, Williams' 11 touchdowns was also tied for fifth most in a single season among wide receivers in program history. So far in 2019, Williams has completed 21 catches for 283 yards with one touchdown. Overall, Williams enters Saturday's game needing 478 yards to reach the top-10 in program history for receiving yards.
TRANSFER SUCCESS
Head coach
Chris Pincince is hoping that last year's success of graduate transfer
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) will carry over to 2019 with the addition of five graduate transfers this season. A pair of the transfers,
Zach Cofrancesco (East Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) and
Dennis James (Hillside, N.J./St. Peter's Prep), are high up on the depth chart, both defensively. Cofrancesco hails from East Haven, Conn. transferring to New Haven after completing his undergraduate degree at LIU Post. James (St. Francis, Pa.) is one of two players transferring from Division I schools, joined by
Nigel Beckford (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame) (Maine). Rounding out the graduate transfers for 2019 is Mohammed Berry, a defensive back who comes from Seton Hill.
ON THE RADAR
The postseason run for New Haven didn't go unnoticed as the Chargers were among teams receiving votes in the preseason AFCA Division II Coaches poll released by the organization on August 26. New Haven garnered 65 votes in the initial poll with that total placing them 29th in the tally. Following last year's NCAA Tournament run New Haven was slated 23rd in the final AFCA poll which was released following the national championship game.
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO
Among 13 players who were named to All-Conference teams following the 2018 campaign, the Chargers return six. Highlighting the group is a First Team selection in
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) who led the Chargers with 65 catches and 1,171 total receiving yards. Joining him offensively are o-lineman
Osaro Eromosele (Hillside, N.J./DePaul Catholic) and
Mike Zecchin (Thiells, N.Y./North Rockland). A pair of defensive players return with
Scott Lavelle (West Milford, N.J./DePaul Catholic) and
Markel Johnson (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) both earning accolades last season. Combined the pair collected 117 tackles and combined for 24 tackles for loss last season. Rounding out those returning players who were honored last year was rookie kicker
Michael Stalenyj (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) who earned a spot on the All-Rookie team. Last season, Stalenyj finished a perfect 9-9 in field goal attempts while converting 34-of-38 extra point opportunities.
UNDER THE LIGHTS & ON THE BIG SCREEN
For the second-straight season, the New Haven football team was selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Showcase with this year's game coming in week 4 under the lights at Bentley. The game, which was part of the hybrid model, was available with an enhanced streaming broadcast through the NCAA's social media accounts - specifically, the Division II Facebook and Twitter pages. As did last season's game against Southern Connecticut, this year's match-up against Bentley also aired live on MyTV 9 throughout Connecticut.
LEADERSHIP IS EVERYTHING
In a vote of all active players,
Gavin Dowd (Williston Park, N.Y./Herricks),
Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross),
Christian Sullivan (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) and
Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) were all tabbed captains for the 2019 campaign. All first-time leaders for the Blue and Gold, Dowd, Liggio and Williams are all major components of the offense while Sullivan anchors New Haven's defensive line.
FAMILIAR FACES ON THE SIDELINES
They may not be between the white lines in 2019, but All-American
Zach Voytek and four-year starting tight end
Jonathan Badyna (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) return to the sidelines for the Blue and Gold as members of the coaching staff. Voytek returns for his second season working with the Chargers tight ends after spending the 2017 NFL training camp season with the Buffalo Bills. Badyna, who completed his eligibility last fall, will serve as the Director of Football Operations.
WHAT D2FOOTBAll.COM IS PREDICTING FOR WEEK 5 (Paul Falewicz)
Pace used a second-half surge to defeat St. Anselm 42-21 last Saturday. Carlton Aiken was a dual-threat and continues to make plays when the ball is in his hands. The Setter defense allowed points early and then tightened up for their third straight victory. For the Setters to win on the blue turf, they will need to play with confidence. They need to play 60 minutes and make smart decisions when they have the chance. Pressuring the quarterback and scoring in the red zone will be the difference. New Haven lost on the road to Bentley 31-14. The Chargers were good in the opening five minutes as they had two scoring drives but struggled the rest of the evening. The offense was not able to generate much, and the defense had no answer for the Bentley offense. For the Chargers to win on the blue turf, they will need to get back to basics. The offense needs to move the chains and establish the running game. The defense needs to get to the quarterback and cause bad decisions that result in turnovers. This game has the makings of the game of the weekend. Both teams need to win to stay in contention for the league title. The defense might be the difference and New Haven has a slight advantage there.
Prediction: New Haven 24 Pace 23
PRESEASON PROPS
Coming off of an NCAA Championship Second Round appearance last season, the Chargers have been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2019 NE10 Championship in a poll of the league's nine head coaches. New Haven racked up a total of 63 points and seven of the nine possible first place votes, finishing nine points ahead of the Assumption Greyhounds who scored the remaining two first place tallies.
2019 Northeast-10 Football Coaches' Poll
1. New Haven – 63 (7)
2. Assumption – 54 (2)
3. Pace – 49
4. Bentley – 40
4. Southern Connecticut – 40
6. Stonehill – 29
7. American International – 23
8. Saint Anselm – 18
9. Franklin Pierce – 8
(#) indicates first-place votes
GAMEDAY IMPROVEMENTS
If you haven't visited Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium since the NCAA Championship game against Slippery Rock, you are going to find a welcome addition with the construction of a permanent restroom and concession building. The new building is located on the southeast corner of the stadium, just inside the main entrance.
