GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: October 23, 2021
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LOCATION:Â WB Mason Stadium
North Easton, Mass. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE FIRST LOOK
Back-to-back weeks on the road for the Chargers as they head back to the Bay State to face the Stonehill Skyhawks on Saturday afternoon. As one of just two teams who have yet to lose in conference play, the Chargers put their unbeaten record on the line against a 3-1 team in the Skyhawks who are coming off a victory over Saint Anselm in the battle for the "Ol' Bronze Hawk."
INSIDE THE SERIES
New Haven and Stonehill meet for the 13th time in a series that dates back to the Chargers first season in the NE10, 2009. Overall, the Chargers hold a 10-2 record in the previous 12 match-ups. The Chargers opened up the series winning six of the first seven meetings and have now won the last four against the Skyhawks.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Key plays at the right time is what helped keep the Chargers unbeaten in the Northeast-10 when they defeated American International 30-14 last weekend. Among those key plays was a heads-up move by running back Jake Conlan (West Haven, Conn./Trinity-Pawling) on special teams when he recovered his own teams kick off which got held up in the wind, setting the Chargers up in AIC territory after just having put the lead into a two-score scenario. One of the highlights of the season for New Haven has been its defense, which is among the best in the country when it comes to tackles for loss, racking up 48 total and 208 loss yards, with their 8.0 tackles for loss average 19th best in the nation. Leading those defensive efforts is Ryan Hodgins (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) who enters Saturday with 45 total tackles, while Khalim Cisse (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and Khyon Fitzpatrick (Union, N.J./Paramus Catholic) each lead the way with seven and 6.5 TFL, respectively. The Blue and Gold defense has also forced nine turnovers in its last two games combined. Offensively, graduate transfer quarterback Connor Degenhardt (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) marshal's a UNH offense that is averaging 32.5 points per game with 13 rushing TD's and 11 passing TD's. For the season, Degenhardt has completed 108-of-182 passes for 1,473 yards with his main target transfer wide receiver Dev Holmes (Troy, N.Y./Troy) who has 33 catches for 651 yards and six touchdowns. Additionally, New Haven is averaging 145.2 rushing yards per game, led by Shamar Logan (Brooklyn, N.Y./Erasmus Hall High School) who has 318 rushing yards to his credit. Zach Mauro (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) (241 rushing yards) and Jake Conlan (West Haven, Conn./Trinity-Pawling) (140) follow.
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
After suffering a loss in their NE10 opener against currently undefeated Bentley, the Skyhawks have rattled off three-straight wins against Assumption, American International and Saint Anselm, including a shutout of the Yellow Jackets 25-0. For the season, Stonehill has nearly doubled up its opponents on the ground where they average 207 yards per game, while getting 221.3 yards per outing in the air. Running back Justin Felder has been the biggest headache for opponents as he leads the team with 11 touchdowns which has come on his 136 rushing attempts which has racked up 664 yards. Fifth-year quarterback Anton Stoneking runs the Skyhawks offense, completing 93-of-162 pass attempts for 1,328 yards.
STICKY FINGERS
New Haven's defense was nothing but impressive in week six against Saint Anselm with the highlight of the afternoon six interceptions which is currently the most by any team in NCAA Division II this season. Among those six INT were two that were returned for touchdowns with those two pick six's coming just 41 seconds apart. The first was from Khyon Fitzpatrick (Union, N.J./Paramus Catholic) which he returned 58 yards, while freshman Christian Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) had the second, returning it 63 yards to the house. Overall, Ais finished with two INT's that afternoon with the second one returned 16 yards for a total of 79 return yards on the day. For the season, New Haven has eight interceptions which is 16th most in all of NCAA D2.
NEXT ON TAP
New Haven returns home for the first time in three weeks to cap off the month of October with its annual Pink Game in support of the Colleen Sorbello Cancer Research Laboratory. Visiting DellaCamera for the day will be the Assumption Greyhounds, a perennial NE10 championship contender who stands at 3-3 on the season following back-to-back wins over Franklin Pierce and Southern Connecticut. Kickoff from the Blue and Gold turf is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with all of the action available live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW.
