GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: November 12, 2022
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LOCATION: Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium
West Haven, Conn. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE FIRST LOOK
There is a trophy on the line this weekend as New Haven puts its streak of 11-straight Elm City Championships on the line when they head across town to take on the Southern Connecticut State University Owls in the regular season finale at Jess Dow Field.
INSIDE THE SERIES
New Haven and Southern Connecticut State meet for the 34th time in the history of the two programs. The Chargers hold a 26-6-1 record in the previous 33 meetings, with the all-time series dating back to 1981. In the 14 meetings since football returned to the Blue and Gold in 2009, the Chargers hold a 13-1 record, including winning the last 13 meetings. In the current streak of 13-straight wins, the Chargers have outscored the Owls by an average of two touchdowns, including a 48-9 rout in 2012 and a 38-9 rout last season in West Haven. Among the current 13 game win streak for New Haven is 11 straight Elm City Trophy victories.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
There is one goal on Saturday, maintain control of the Elm City trophy for a 12th straight Battle of the Elm City. All season long, defense has been the name of the game for the Blue and Gold, forcing 12 turnovers (8 interceptions, 4 fumbles) over the past six games, including eight in the last four conference games. All combined over those 12 turnovers, the Chargers have scored 34 points off of their opponent's mistakes. Overall, for the season, David Onyemem (Dracut, Mass./Central Catholic) leads the Chargers defense with 63 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries that he has returned for 105 combined yards. He has also forced two fumbles and broken up four 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 93.0 yards per game which ranks 33rd in all of NCAA Division II, while his 837 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 this weekend against the Owls with 1,860 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, while adding three more touchdowns in the ground game. His 25 touchdowns is tied for the eighth most in a single season at New Haven.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
The Owls enter the regular season finale and Battle of the Elm City averaging 10 points less than their opponents, putting up just 18.5 points per game, while giving up 28.4 to their opponents. Southern has split its offense rather evenly, averaging 112.7 yards on the ground and 183.4 yards in the air, while their 296.1 total yards per game average is just shy of 100 yards less than their opponents. The Owls are also struggling to convert on third and fourth down, going just 46-of-143 (32%) on third down and 8-of-20 (40%) on fourth down. Leading the Owls offense is quarterback Marc Reali who enters Saturday with 1,183 yards on 91-of-174 passing, with eight touchdowns. On the ground, the Owls have relied on 12 different backs, with Diante Wilson leading the team with 447 yards on 104 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per game. Defensively, the Owls are led by Hasan Dominick and Robert Nunez who have 73 and 71 yards, respectively.
NEXT ON TAP
Following today's regular season finale, New Haven will await word of a potential postseason at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Division II Super Regional. The top seven teams in Super Region 1 will earn a bid to the postseason, with the top seed earning a bye and seeds 2, 3 and 4 all hosting first round games on Saturday, November 19.
