GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: October 19, 2024
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LOCATION: Jess Dow FieldÂ
New Haven, Conn. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
TICKETS | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE FIRST LOOK
The first trophy of the season is on the line this afternoon in the annual Battle for the Elm City which is a narrative the Chargers have dominated in recent memory, winning the last 13-straight Elm City games. With New Haven coming off of a bye week, the Chargers will look to maintain its defense strength from its last game where they held the AIC Yellow Jackets to just 83 yards of total offense, the first time holding a team under 100 yards since November 2014.
INSIDE THE SERIES
·        New Haven and Southern Connecticut State meet for the 36th time in the history of the two programs.
·        The Chargers hold a 28-6-1 record in the previous 35 meetings, with the all-time series dating back to 1981.
·        In the 15 meetings since football returned to the Blue and Gold in 2009, the Chargers hold a 15-1 record, including winning the last 15 meetings.
·        In the current streak of 15-straight wins, the Chargers have outscored the Owls by an average of two touchdowns, including a 34-7 win last season in West Haven.
·        Among the current 15 game win streak for New Haven is 13 straight Elm City Trophy victories.
A WIN OVER SCSU WOULD...
·        be the fifth straight win for the Chargers.
·        be the 16th straight vs SCSU, including 11-straight under head coach Chris Pincince - one of seven teams the Chargers head coach has never lost to.
·        keep the Chargers undefeated in Northeast-10 Conference play.
·        be the 287th overall victory in the 45 plus year history of Charger Football.
·        be the 257th victory since the Chargers began playing at the Division II level - first DII season was 1982.
GAME DAY FORECAST
After a cool start to the day, New Haven and Southern Connecticut couldn't ask for better conditions three weeks into October. The forecasted high temperature at kickoff is 66 degrees under sunny skies with a zero percent chance of precipitation. Additionally, winds will be nearly non-existent with any winds coming out of the south-south-east at five miles per hour. Sunrise on Saturday is 7:07 p.m. with sunset coming soon after the conclusion of the game at 6:05 p.m.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven returns to the gridiron for the first time in two weeks after enjoying the bye week last weekend. The Blue and Gold will look to maintain their traditional defensive power which returned last time out against American International when they held the Yellow Jackets to just 83 total yards - 42 rushing and 41 passing - shutting the Yellow Jackets out 56-0. That 56-point performance against AIC marks the fourth-straight game with 45+ in the scoring column which is the first time since the 1997 season the Chargers have scored 45 or more in four consecutive games. Entering week seven, New Haven is averaging 40.0 points per game. Much of that offensive success for the Chargers comes from its running game which heading into this week against SCSU has galloped for just shy of 1,250 yards (1,233), averaging 246.6 yards per game. Leading the efforts is senior Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) (610 total rushing yards) who had a career-high 227 yards at Bentley, marking the first time since the 2015 season a player has run for 200+ yards in a single game. Ais isn't the only back to watch out for as Zaon Laney (Hoboken, N.J./Rahway) is just behind him on the year with 411 rushing yards and combined the pair has eight touchdowns (Ais 6, Laney 2). Under center, New Haven continues to rely on its returning starter, Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna), who has 935 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, completing 62-of-121 pass attempts. The other highlight for the Chargers has been in the return game where junior Kha'lil Eason (Norwalk, Conn./Brunswick School) is averaging 37.6 yards per return with three returns of 80+ yards including a pair he returned to the house for touchdowns. Defensively, New Haven is led by the pair of Christopher Campbell and Jalen Fisher (Pasadena, Calif./Chaminade College Prep) who enter week seven with 35 and 32 tackles, respectively. The Chargers have also been a force in stopping the ball behind the line of scrimmage with a total of 32 TFL and 15 sacks, with the latter of those numbers the 12th most in NCAA D2.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Coming off of its first Northeast-10 Conference victory of the season last weekend on the road against Post, Southern Connecticut looks for its first back-to-back wins of the year with an overall record of 2-4 coming into the weekend. Offensively, the Owls have split their yards nearly straight down the middle, averaging 172.8 rushing yards per game and 186.8 passing yards per game. They have also split their 20 total touchdowns straight down the middle with 10 coming on the ground and 10 as part of the passing game. Leading the offense on the season is quarterback Keith Ridley who is completing just over 65% of his pass attempts for 1,121 total yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground, the reigning NE10 Player of the Week E'lijah Gray leads the team with 696 net yards, averaging 116.0 per game and 5.3 per attempt. Defensively, the Owls are surrendering 29.5 points per game to their opponents with Joe DiGello the clear leader on the defensive side of the ball with 40 total tackles, including 4.5 for loss, three sacks while he also has an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
NEXT ON TAP
Continuing a month where the Chargers will only play on their home field once, the Blue and Gold will head back on the road next weekend as they head to Worcester, Mass. to take on the only other currently undefeated team in the NE10, Assumption. Kickoff from the Greyhounds Brian Kelly Stadium is set for 12:00 p.m. as Assumption celebrates homecoming against the Chargers. All of the action in the conference battle will be available on NE10 Now on Flo College.
