PHOTO GALLERY
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – As a top-five run defense in the country, the New Haven football team held its opponent to under 100 yards rushing for a seventh-straight game, limiting Post University to just 177 total yards on offense with only 64 yards on the ground as the defense led the Chargers to a 51-7 home win over the Eagles. With the win, New Haven improves to 6-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference.
The 177 yards allowed by New Haven's defense is the second-straight game with 177 or less and the third in the last four games. Additionally, the 64 rushing yards allowed is the fourth lowest on the season and the 113 passing yards is the third lowest allowed in a game this season.
As a unit, New Haven spread the wealth on defense as 28 players all finished with at least one tackle as the Blue and Gold went deep into the depth chart against the Eagles. Leading the efforts was a trio of players who all finished with five tackles, Jalen Fisher (Pasadena, Calif./Chaminade College Prep), Jack Quander (Gainsville, Va./Patriot) and Devin O'Malley (Pawtucket, R.I./St. Raphael Academy).
Among its 66 total tackles, New Haven registered nine tackles for loss including five sacks, two of which went for a double digit loss. Leading the efforts was Quander and David Abolarinwa (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) who each finished with 1.5 sacks for 12 and 13 yards, respectively. Lucas Young (North Arlington,N.J./DePaul Catholic) was also credited with a 10-yard sack. Additionally, two of the five sacks resulted in a fumble with Abolarinwa and Ricky Encarnacion (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) both stripping the ball out on one occasion with Israel Bey (Manville, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Chisom Okoro (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) each credited with a fumble recovery. Fisher also added an interception to his five tackles.
"I thought we played really hard even in the first half when the numbers didn't show it," commented head coach Chris Pincince. "We made a few corrections at the half. Our defense was awesome all day. I think we let Post get one good play all day."
Offensively, New Haven relied heavily on its running game which racked up 346 yards, second most on the season. Leading the efforts was Justin Felder (Hollis, N.Y./Holy Cross HS) who finished with 160 yards and two touchdowns as he was tabbed the Avelo Airlines Player of the Game. Overall, New Haven relied on seven rushers on the day with Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) and Zaon Laney (Hoboken, N.J./Rahway) followed Felder with 83 and 72 yards, respectively.
"I think the guys up front did a great job, offensive line and tight end wise," continued Pincince. "Whether it's Justin [Felder], Christopher [Ais], Zaon [Laney]or later we were able to get Jalen [Smith] and Jayden [Shwed] in there. Justin Felder (Hollis, N.Y./Holy Cross HS) is probably one of the more mature people we've had in our program the last few years. Obviously he could be a frontline player, he could be a guy that carries the ball 15-20 times a game, but he understands that other guys are there and we're splitting them up for health reasons. I really hope that he gets rewarded for a great effort today and I hope everyone gets to hear his story."
In addition to the run game, New Haven added 172 yards in the air for a total of 518 total yards on offense, the second most of the season behind a 600+ yard effort at Bentley. Graduate quarterback Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) finished his day 11-of-22 for 163 yards and a pair of touchdowns where he connected with Logan Schmidt (Carlise, Pa./Big Spring) and Zach Rhodes (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail). Jack Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty) also saw a handful of snaps with the senior QB able to connect his only pass of the day with his younger brother Matt for a Chandler to Chandler nine yard haul.
The Chargers win over Post partnered with an Assumption loss on Friday night at American International and a Saint Anselm win over Franklin Pierce on Saturday, New Haven and Saint Anselm will meet as the top two teams in the Northeast-10 Conference in a game that could likely determine the league championship.
"They beat Franklin Pierce which leaves us locked at the top," said Pincince. "After what happened a year ago, we're certainly going to go into the game with a different mindset. We got a little banged up today, so we need to heal up over the next couple days. It's a bit of a different work week with Election Day this week, so hopefully we can heal up. But we'll need some guys to step up if those guys can't play and hopefully continue to run the football on offense."
All of the action in the crucial NE10 match-up is slated for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Grappone Stadium and will be carried live on NE10 Now on Flo College.
