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There was a feeling of what could have been as the University of New Haven football team gathered around head coach Chris Pincince following a 27-13 loss to No. 24 Bowie State.

The Chargers took the lead on Shamar Logan's (Brooklyn, N.Y./Erasmus Hall High School) 11-yard touchdown run as he bounced off a would-be tackler shortly after crossing the line of scrimmage and rumbled in for his first touchdown of the season. Briant DeFelice's (Massapequa, N.Y./Farmingdale) extra point gave UNH the 7-6 lead with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.

Bowie State, which jumped on a New Haven fumble in the end zone for the game's first touchdown, took over the game with two other crucial turnovers. 

New Haven quarterback Connor Degenhardt (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) was engulfed by multiple Bulldogs late in the third quarter. The ball was jarred loose and Bowie State defensive lineman Kendell Robinson scooped the ball up and scored untouched. On New Haven's next drive, Degenhardt's pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and landed in the hands of the opportunistic Robinson. Two plays later, Isaiah Rainey-Nix hauled in the 15-yard touchdown pass and suddenly the Bulldogs led 21-7.

"As an offense, this one is completely on us and it falls on my shoulders," said Degenhardt, who was 22 of 44 for 177 yards and also had a 1-yard touchdown run on the final play of the game. "We scored that touchdown and it feels like tides were changing a little bit. We were moving the ball great at the beginning of the game but we just have to learn to finish drives, if we finished a couple of drives at the beginning of the game, it would probably be a little different.

"That is the worst part of it for me, like I said to the guys after the game, remember what this feels like and as an offense, we are never going to give away a game again. It is completely on our shoulders, the defense played out of their mind today and they did a great job shutting down a really dynamic offense and I think we need to do a better job of having their back, putting points on the board and not putting them in a bad situation. I can't throw a pick down that close or get strip sacked. We have to protect the ball better. The team that was going to win that game was the one who won the turnover battle and we didn't win the turnover battle."

The three of the next six UNH drives after the Chargers took the lead resulted in negative yardage and on the other three, New Haven gained 5, 11 and 2 yards. The chance to secure a rare home win against a ranked opponent slipped through their fingers. 

"We have to be better at protecting the ball, it is what we talk about and what we preach," Pincince said. "We went into the game needing to [execute] on first down and not turning the football over. Obviously we turned it over three times and they didn't turn it over and that is absolutely a reason why we didn't win the football game."

The Bulldogs (2-1) didn't go over the 200-yard mark in total offense until the fourth quarter. Even after fourth-down completion gave Bowie State the ball on the 3 on the Bulldogs' final drive of the game, the Chargers made stops on first and second down. New Haven nearly forced a fourth down but the escapability of Bowie State quarterback Ja'rome Johnson enabled him to scurry into the end zone.

The New Haven defense held Bowie State to 251 yards and finally started to get to Johnson as the game wore on.

The Chargers don't have much time to lick their wounds with rival Southern Connecticut State coming into DellaCamera Stadium next week.

"You always learn more from failure than you do from succeeding so it is going to be another stepping stone for us to take," said New Haven defensive lineman Affiz Din-Gabisi (Somerset, N.J./Franklin), who had four tackles including a sack. "We are not going to dwell on this feeling but we are definitely going to remember this and we are going to try to get better. 

Pincince told his team that they aren't quite there yet. The chance to watch film against a Bowie State team featuring four starting offensive linemen weighing at least 300 pounds and a physical front seven led by Robinson will provide some lessons for the Chargers to take into the week of practice.

 "We can learn that we need to be better," Pincince said. "I told the kids that if you come to work tomorrow morning and watch the film with an open mind of this is what I need to improve on, it is a worthwhile endeavor."

 Shawn Tafe (Bronx, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) and Ryan Hodgins (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) led New Haven with seven tackles each. Khyon Fitzpatrick (Union, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and Khalim Cisse (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) had six tackles and a sack each. Kasi Hazzard (Hillside, N.J./Edison) led the Chargers with 68 yards on five catches. Brett Huber (Milford, Conn./Foran) also had five receptions including an interception-saving grab as he wrestled the ball out of the hands of a Bowie State defensive back as they landed on the turf.