THE FIRST LOOK
In a rematch of what turned out to be the 2023 Northeast-10 Conference title game, New Haven heads to Waltham, Mass. to take on the undefeated (3-0) Bentley University Falcons on a field they narrowly squeezed out a win (14-13) in the first of two meetings between the squad's last season.
INSIDE THE SERIES
·       New Haven and Bentley meet for the 17th time in the history of the two programs.
·       The Chargers hold a 13-3 record in the previous 16 meetings, all since football returned to West Haven in 2009.
·       Prior to an overtime loss in 2017, the Blue and Gold had won seven straight, with the lone loss in the initial matchup in 2009, a 25-18 decision in West Haven.
·       All but six of the games between New Haven and Bentley have been decided
·       by one possession or less, including both meetings last season - 14-13 in Waltham and 24-17 in West Haven.
A WIN OVER BENTLEY WOULD...
·       hand the Falcons their first loss in 2024 after they opened up the season with wins over West Chester, Saint Anselm and SCSU.
·       be the sixth straight win over Bentley, all since the return to the field following the CoVID-19 pandemic, with two wins in 2019, one last season and two last season.
·       keep the Chargers undefeated in Northeast-10 Conference play.
·       be the 285th overall victory in the 45 plus year history of Charger Football.
·       be the 255th victory since the Chargers began playing at the Division II level - first DII season was 1982.
GAME DAY FORECAST
The Chargers third road game in the month of September will come under ideal conditions in Waltham with the high of the day predicted at 71 degrees under partly cloudy skies. Winds will come out of the east-north-east at 5-10 miles per hour with a humidity level of 74% and a minimal 9% chance of precipitation. Sunrise on Saturday is 6:39 p.m. with sunset coming soon after the conclusion of the game at 6:30 p.m.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers ramped up their offense in their week 3 NE10 opening win over Franklin Pierce, finishing the game with 430 total yards, 264 yards passing and 166 yards rushing. Graduate QB Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) spread his offense around among a multitude of players, relying on eight players downfield and a pair in the backfield with Zaon Laney (Hoboken, N.J./Rahway) (90 yards) and Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) (76) accounting for all 166 net rushing yards. Ais finished with a pair of touchdowns, including a 21-yard sprint to the endzone while Menard threw a trio TD's to three different players including Josh Zamot (Millville, N.J./Holy Spirit) and Matt Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./East Coast Prep) who each hauled in their first career touchdowns. Overall for the season, Menard has 538 passing yards, fifth most in the NE10 with his six TD's tied for the most. Ais leads the Chargers with 260 rushing yards which is third most in the conference. Defensively, the Chargers are led by graduate defensive back Jalen Fisher (Pasadena, Calif./Chaminade College Prep) who has 23 tackles, a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble. Following Fisher is Chris Campbell (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) with 20 tackles and Joseph Vitale with 18 tackles, including a team-high 2.5 TFL.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The lone undefeated team in the Northeast-10 Conference heading into the second week of league play, Bentley is averaging 19.0 points per game while allowing just 13.7 points per game. The Falcons have split their offense rather evenly with an average of 203.7 yards passing and 121.3 yards rushing. Leading the offense is graduate quarterback Brett Pullman who has amassed 606 yards and one touchdown, going 58-104-4. Pullman's single passing TD is part of just five total for the Falcons who have also relied on veteran kicker Mason Campbell who is 5-5 in field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards. On the ground, Vinnie Holmes leads the team with 283 yards on 64 attempts with an average of 94.3 yards per game, including a 105-yard game in the Falcons season-opening win over West Chester.
NEXT ON TAP
The Chargers will return to West Haven for just the second time this season as they open the month of October with a visit from the American International Yellow Jackets for Homecoming on the Blue and Gold turf of DellaCamera Stadium. Kickoff in the Northeast-10 Conference battle is slated for 1:00 p.m. with all of the action available on NE10 Now on Flo Sports.
