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WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Not a lot of words needed to be exchanged as the entire University of New Haven football team gathered on the sideline in between the third and fourth quarters.

Since the 2021 squad gathered for the first practice, the only goal was to win the Northeast-10 Conference title. A talented and physical Assumption team was 34 yards away from taking a lead in a game that host New Haven needed to win to set up next week's first-place showdown against Bentley.

So many of the players who played starring roles inside a rain-soaked Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium could have left their football playing days in the rear-view mirror but chose to come back specifically for what transpired on the final Saturday in October and especially what will occur on the first Saturday of November.

Khyon Fitzpatrick (Union, N.J./Paramus Catholic) pulled down an interception in the end zone on the eighth play of the fourth quarter, Zach Mauro (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) extended two drives in the fourth quarter with physical runs as he followed an offensive line consisting of graduate students Michael Cappuccilli (Walkill, N.Y./Wallkill), Mike Zecchin (Thiells, N.Y./North Rockland), John Tyrrell (Bronx, N.Y./Iona Prep), Michael Wilson (Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Middletown South) and William Ayers (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow). Fellow graduate student Khalim Cisse (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) wrapped things up in the hard-earned 16-10 win with a crunching hit on Assumption quarterback Jordan McAfee resulting in a safety. Mauro secured the ensuing onsides kick to give the Chargers their sixth straight win.

"It was raining the whole game, we knew coming into the game that it was going to be a run-heavy game and a four-point game fourth quarter and we are up," said Zecchin, a team captain who started in his 32nd consecutive game. "Regardless of what the weather is, we know we have to run the ball out and that is kind of the mindset going into it and that is what we have to do. We are obviously happy and obviously aware of what is coming up next week. 

"This is why we did it. At the beginning of the year before our first game, he [New Haven football coach Chris Pincince] called the captains up to talk to the team the Friday night before the first game and he asked us to say why we came back for our fifth or sixth season and we all said we want to win a NE10 championship and right now it is one game away and we can't wait for it."

New Haven (7-1, 6-0 in the Northeast-10) led by four points at halftime before Mauro got the call five times on a six-play, 59-yard scoring drive. Mauro capped the opening possession of the second half with a 7-yard touchdown run to put the Chargers up 14-3.

Assumption (4-4, 4-2), which came into the contest just a game behind Bentley and New Haven in the Northeast-10 standings, answered right back on the fourth-down pass from Jordan McAfee to a wide-open Vincenzo DiCarlo to make it 14-10 with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter.

Both teams had chances on their next possessions.

New Haven twice converted on third downs but on a 4th-and-4 at the Assumption 30, Kevin Foelsch (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) was tackled three yards shy of the first down.

Assumption used the running of Exum-Strong and McAfee to drive inside the New Haven 10. On 2nd-and-goal, Fitzpatrick came down with an interception in the end zone to prevent the Greyhounds from taking the lead early in the fourth quarter.

New Haven was able to eat up some clock on two of its final three drives. 

"We all looked at each and said this is what it comes down to," said Mauro, who ran for 133 yards. "All the hard work we put in, it is time to show up and that is what we did.

"It is like a little kid playing out there in the rain. We had to keep the ball on the ground a lot because of the rain because the conditions are difficult. All the credit to my O-line, they were fighting every single play. Without them creating holes for me, we won the game because of our O-line."

Speaking of credit, punter Luke Silvia (Newton, Mass./Newton) deserves some as well in the win. Assumption's dangerous return man Isaiah Huff had an 86-yard kickoff return earlier in the game but he wasn't able to return any of Silvia's six punts. The Greyhounds started four drives inside their own 20 after Silvia punts including two inside the 10.

"He did a great job punting the football, we did a great job protecting him," Pincince said. 

Pincince also mentioned the job the Tommy White (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tottenville), who snapped on the punts, did in his first game as a long snapper in four years.

Fitzpatrick and Isaac Etienne (Winterhaven, Fla./Auburndale) ended Assumption's first two drives with interceptions. However, the Chargers got no points out of the first two turnovers of the game.

The Chargers' defense came up with another big play on Ryan Dolce's (Union, N.J./Union) fumble recovery to give New Haven the ball at the Greyhounds' 5. Three plays later Connor Degenhardt (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) scored from 1 yard out. Briant DeFelice's (Massapequa, N.Y./Farmingdale) extra point made it 7-0 with 5:08 left in the first quarter.

Huff returned the ensuing kickoff to the New Haven 14 to set up a 28-yard field goal by Patrick May.

Assumption drove inside the UNH 20 in the final minute of the second quarter but May was short on a 42-yard field goal to keep it a 7-3 game.

That set up a pressure packed final two quarters. The defense had to not only protect a slim lead but deal with the NE10's second-leading rusher Khaleed Exum-Strong.

"The pressure is there, we are a defense and they have the ball at the end of the game and we know it is going to be put on us," said Fitzpatrick, who had five tackles as well as his two interceptions. "We executed the game plan and it was a burden off our shoulders [when Cisse's big hit ended Assumption's final possession]."

Exum-Strong, a Connecticut native who was recruited by the Chargers, had 139 rushing yards.

"We knew it was going to be a physical game," Fitzpatrick said. "He doesn't go down on the first hit, we knew we had to bring it to him. He is tough to bring down and I'll give him that."

Exum-Strong had a 43-yard run and if he didn't miss part of two drives in the fourth quarter due to an injury, he might have added to that total.

"Khaleed is a great player," Pincince said. "We recruited him five years ago from right up the street from Norwich Free Academy and Trinity-Pawling. We wanted him to come here and he has terrorized us for the last four years. A great kid, that is a great team, great kids on the other side of the field and [Assumption] Coach [Andy] McKenzie and his coaching staff, it is a pleasure to play a football game like that when it is just football and our kids just happened to make one more play than them."

New Haven came into the game as one of the top passing teams in the NE10 but Degenhardt was just 4 of 9 for 17 yards. He scrambled on multiple occasions to avoid oncoming pass rushers and added 38 of the Chargers' 189 rushing yards. Paul Cooper (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) finished with three of New Haven's four receptions. On defense, Shawn Tafe (Bronx, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) had nine tackles and Ryan Hodgins (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) added eight. The only statistic that really matters is zero. That is the number of losses in conference play for New Haven and Bentley. They will play in West Haven on Nov. 6 at 1 p.m.

Bentley still has to play Assumption and New Haven will play at Franklin Pierce on Nov. 13 but both teams know what is at stake when they meet.

"It is why a lot of us came back after the COVID year," Mauro said. "A lot of us could have gone off and done our thing but we had a lot of kids come back for this one reason because we have unfinished business."