GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: October 29, 2022
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LOCATION: Brian Kelly Stadium
Worcester, Mass. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE FIRST LOOK
After a bye week last weekend, the Chargers return to action with the homestretch in sight as they head to Assumption for a critical Northeast-10 match-up with the Greyhounds. The only undefeated team in the NE10, New Haven heads to Worcester to face the one-loss Greyhounds with that lone NE10 loss against Bentley.
INSIDE THE SERIES
New Haven and Assumption meet for the 16th time in the history of the two programs, which dates back to the Chargers first year in the NE10, 2009. Despite an overall record that stands in favor of the Greyhounds (8-7) New Haven has won the last three straight meetings against Assumption. Prior to the current UNH streak of wins, Assumption had won six straight against the Chargers, including a 17-14 decision in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship game in 2015. Included in the series is three-straight years where the teams met twice, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
GAME DAY FORECAST
It will be a mirror image of the last time the Chargers took the field when they do so on Saturday in Worcester as the forecast calls for some clouds in the morning giving way to mostly sunny skies for the afternoon with a high around 60 degrees. The Saturday night low is 38 degrees. There is a 6% chance of precipitation and a 56% humidity level. Winds on Saturday will be around five miles per hour out of the north-north-east. Sunrise on Saturday is set for 7:16 a.m. while sunset will be at 5:44 p.m.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Despite an offensive explosion in the week prior to the bye week with 10 touchdowns against Post, the Chargers have been primarily a defensive driven team in Northeast-10 Conference play. In the three conference games ahead of the Post match-up, the Chargers forces six turnovers - three interceptions and three fumbles. Add to that four more against Post and New Haven's defense is certainly a tough match-up. All combined over those four games, New Haven has scored 34 points off of those turnovers. Overall, for the season, Onyemem leads the Blue and Gold with 49 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries that he has returned for 105 combined yards. He has also forced two fumbles and has broken up three passes. Offensively, it has been sophomore running back Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) who has put up three 100+ yard games this season, including back-to-back career high afternoons on the road at Bentley and Saint Anselm. For the season, Ais leads all NE10 running back with an average of 99.3 yards per game which ranks 26th in all of NCAA Division II, while his 695 rushing yards is the 39th most in the nation. The man marshalling all of that offense for the Chargers is graduate quarterback Connor Degenhardt (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) who enters the weekend against Post with 1,311 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, while adding three more touchdowns in the ground game.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
After suffering their first conference loss in a close, low scoring, battle against Bentley, the Greyhounds responded with a 24-7 road win against American International last weekend. For the season, the Greyhounds offense has been evenly split as they average 173.3 rushing yards per game and 144.0 passing yards per contest. Leading the Greyhounds offense on both ends has been senior quarterback Jack Cady who is responsible for nine of the teams 15 touchdowns. He leads Assumption in the running game with 421 net yards on 82 attempts with a team-high five TD's. Under center, he has completed 106-of-208 passes for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns. Following him in the running game is Berrell Neal who has 416 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Assumption is led by Lorenzo Valencia who has 39 tackles, while Jael Feliz and Brandon Santell follow with 37 and 32 tackles, respectively. The pair also each have 6.5 tackles for loss, part of 45 total for the Greyhounds.
NEXT ON TAP
It will be a busy Saturday in West Haven when the Chargers next take the field on Saturday, November 5 for Homecoming in Charger Nation. In addition, the Blue and Gold are also hosting Senior Day with 21 Chargers being honored prior to the 1:00 p.m. kickoff against the Franklin Pierce Ravens. Fans who are unable to attend the came can catch all of the action live on the Charger Sports Network, part of NE10 NOW.
