WORCESTER, Mass. – A game-ending drive for the New Haven football team came up short as the Blue and Gold dropped a 14-19 decision on the road at Assumption on Saturday. With the decision, New Haven falls to 5-2 on the year and 4-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the Greyhounds having an identical schedule with the win.
The Chargers trailed by 12, 7-19, following a fourth-straight field goal from the Greyhounds Massimo Sgambati who connected from distances of 39, 43, 48 and 32 to give his team the lead with 13:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After getting the ball back on its own eight-yard line with 10:31 to play in the game, the Chargers marched 92 yards in just over five minutes to pull within a single score on a Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) rushing touchdown with 5:30 left on the clock.
The Chargers defense came up clutch on the ensuing Greyhounds drive forcing the home team to a three and out but they would get the ball right back on the fourth down punt which was muffed and recovered by the Greyhounds.
Again, New Haven's defense stood strong as the Greyhounds got the ball back on the Chargers 21 yard line but the Blue and Gold forced Assumption to try for a fifth-straight field goal. The quick feet and hands of Chris Campbell (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) would wreak havoc on the 38-yard attempt leaving it well short thanks to his block and giving his offense an opportunity to score a game-winning touchdown.
Taking over on its own 21 yard line with 1:53 to play, New Haven would turn to its quarterback Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) to lead them to victory. The graduate student slung a 14-yard pass through the middle to Zach Rhodes (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) on third down to extend the drive but came up empty on the next four attempts, turning the ball over on downs and along the Greyhounds to kneel out the victory.
Overall for the game, the Chargers defense did not surrender an offensive touchdown, limiting the Greyhounds scoring to a kickoff return touchdown and four field goals. Additionally, the New Haven defense held Assumption to just 176 yards of total offense, limiting the Greyhounds to 95 yards rushing, the fifth-straight game holding an opponent under 100 yards on the ground. Assumption added 81 yards on 9-of-24 passing.
Leading the New Haven defense on the day was Jalen Fisher (Pasadena, Calif./Chaminade College Prep) who finished with nine tackles, seven of them solo. Among his nine tackles were 1.5 for a loss of three yards while he also had a breakup late in the fourth quarter which helped force the Greyhounds into their final field goal opportunity. Devin O'Malley (Pawtucket, R.I./St. Raphael Academy) and Campbell followed Fisher with seven and six tackles, respectively. Campbell also added a TFL, part of six total for the Chargers.
New Haven was able to get to the Greyhounds quarterback a number of times, forcing him to react and limiting his passing opportunities. Leading the way on the QB pressure was Joe Vitale (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) who added a pair of hurries to his five total tackles, while Davon Colon (Cromwell, Conn./Xavier) and Jack Quander (Gainsville, Va./Patriot) each finished with sacks, the latter of which results in a 13-yard loss.
Offensively, the Chargers split their 302 total yards down the middle with 150 rushing yards and 152 passing yards. On the ground, New Haven was led by Zaon Laney (Hoboken, N.J./Rahway) who finished with 62 yards while Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) followed with 40 and Justin Felder (Hollis, N.Y./Holy Cross HS) chipped in 27. Menard also finished with positive yards, closing out the day with 23 rushing yards while he also scored both of the Chargers touchdowns on goal-line keepers.
In the air, Menard finished 14-of-34 with two interceptions. His 14 completions were split across six receivers with Matt Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./East Coast Prep) leading the way with five catches for 65 yards, including a 33-yard grab on the sideline on fourth-down that set up the Chargers second touchdown in the fourth quarter. The longest pass of the day for Menard went for 42 yards to Mike Caines which was the final play of the first quarter and set the Blue and Gold up on the eight-yard line and eventually resulting in the first touchdown of the afternoon.
New Haven will return to West Haven for the first time in four weeks when they next take the field, hosting the Post University Eagles on Saturday, November 2. Kickoff against the Northeast-10 Conference's newest affiliate member is slated for 1:00 p.m. with the Blue and Gold celebrating Military Appreciation Day against the Eagles. All of the action from DellaCamera Stadium will be carried line on NE10 Now on Flo College.
