GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: November 2, 2024
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LOCATION: Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium
West Haven, Conn. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
TICKETS | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE FIRST LOOK
After succumbing to the Assumption Greyhounds for what was the first loss in Northeast-10 Conference play this season, New Haven looks to get back in the win column as they welcome the newest affiliate member of the NE10 Post to DellaCamera Stadium. With four teams all sitting at 4-1 in the conference standings the opportunity for a repeat NE10 title is still very much in the mix.
INSIDE THE SERIES
·        New Haven and Post meet for the second time in the history of the two programs.
·        New Haven won the opening meeting in convincing fashion with a 67-20 final, the most points scored by the Chargers since a 2013 road win over Saint Anselm (70-26).
A WIN OVER POST WOULD...
·        return the Charger to the win column after suffering their first NE10 loss last week at Assumption.
·        keep the Chargers unbeaten against the Eagles in this just the second meeting between the two squads.
·        keep the Chargers as one of four one-loss teams in the NE10 standings.
·        be the 288th overall victory in the 45 plus year history of Charger Football.
·        be the 258th victory since the Chargers began playing at the Division II level - first DII season was 1982.
GAME DAY FORECAST
An unexpected fall stretch of warm weather continues as the Chargers get back to work on Saturday under good conditions thanks to the warm spell. The forecasted high temperature at kickoff is 60 degrees under sunny skies with a minimal, three percent, chance of precipitation. Additionally, winds will be calm, with any winds coming out of the north-north-west at 11 miles per hour. Sunrise on Saturday is 7:25 p.m. with sunset coming soon after the conclusion of the game at 5:45 p.m.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers look to get back in the win column on Sunday and remain undefeated on their home turf as they welcome the Post Eagles to town. The Blue and Gold will look to maintain their traditional defensive power which has held its last six opponents to less than 100 rushing yards, including a season-low 29 rushing yards against SCSU. Additionally, New Haven racked up a season-high eight sacks against the Owls, as they enter this weekend fifth in all of NCAA Division II in team sacks, averaging 3.57 per game. Leading the Chargers defense is Jalen Fisher (Pasadena, Calif./Chaminade College Prep) with 47 total tackles, while five different players all have two or more total sacks, led by Davon Colon (Cromwell, Conn./Xavier) with six. Offensively, New Haven is averaging 33.6 points per game with much of its offensive success coming from its running game which heading into this week against Assumption has galloped for 1,539 yards, averaging 219.9 yards per game. Leading the efforts is senior Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) (758 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 544 rushing yards and combined the pair has 10 touchdowns (Ais 7, Laney 3). Under center, New Haven continues to rely on its returning starter, Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna), who has 1,214 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year, completing 88-of-170 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 38.5 yards per return with three returns of 80+ yards including a pair he returned to the house for touchdowns.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Since a season-opening win over West Virginia Wesleyan, the Eagles have not been able to find the win column as they enter today's game with a 1-7 overall record and winless in six NE10 games. For the season, the Eagles are averaging 24.9 points per game however on the flipside they are surrendering 39.1 points on average to their opponents. Offensively, the Eagles have seen two-third of their offense come in the passing game where the average 207.6 yards per game with Malakai Taylor seeing the majority of the action due to an injury to Tyler Phommachanh. Taylor is currently connecting on 46 percent of his attempts (86-of-187) for 1,381 yards and 12 touchdowns. On the ground, Post is led by Isaiah Emmanuel who has 651 of the team's 852 total yards, averaging 81.4 yards per game and 3.7 yards per attempt. Defensively, Michael Gabettie is the outright leader with nearly 30 tackles more than the next closest player as he enters the weekend with 102 stops, including a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss. In the loss column, Zachary Jones followed him with five of his 25 total tackles going for loss, while he also leads the team with 2.5 sacks.
NEXT ON TAP
For one last time in the regular season, New Haven will embark on a road trip as they head to the Granite State to face the Saint Anselm Hawks, also one of the four teams who enter week nine with a 4-1 NE10 record. Opening kickoff between the Chargers and Hawks is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 9 at Grappone Stadium. All of the action in the conference battle will be available on NE10 Now on Flo College.
