HIGHLIGHTS (YouTube)

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Led by 402 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns by senior quarterback Ronnie Nelson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ), the University of New Haven football team defeated the visiting LIU Post Pioneers 48-23 Saturday afternoon at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium.

With the win, New Haven improved to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The conference win was its 19th straight dating back to 2011. The Pioneers dropped to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the NE-10.

Nelson went 18-for-25 with 364 yards and three touchdowns. The Stuart, Fla. native added 38 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the win. His top receiver, Michael Flacco (Audobon, N.J./Gateway Regional / The Community College of Baltimore County - Catonsville) grabbed four catches for 90 yards. Ty Headen (Newark, N.J./American History) also grabbed four receptions for 69 yards and one score. Courtney Moshood (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto) also caught a touchdown pass on a 73-yard bomb from Nelson.

As a team, New Haven amassed 502 offensive yards on 52 plays (9.7 yards per play). The total included 405 passing yards and 97 rushing yards.

Defensively, the Chargers were on the field for an amazing 96 plays and allowed 471 total yards (4.9 yards per play). The Pioneers ran for 149 yards and threw for another 322 yards. Matthew Fallico (Syracuse, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius / Hudson Valley) and Tyler Condit (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) both led the squad with 11 tackles apeice. Najae Brown (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount St. Michael / Trinity Pawling), Herbens Antenor (Malden, Mass./Malden) and David Nooks (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls / Lackawanna College) each added nine tackles, while Brown added an interception. The leader of the defensive line, Kervin Edouard (Somerville, Mass./Somerville ) finished with a team-high three tackles-for-loss, one pass breakup and five total tackles.

New Haven wasted no time getting on the board as Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay ) took the opening kickoff 78-yards to the house in 14 seconds. After forcing a quick three-and-out, the Chargers offense took over at their own 40-yard line and went 60 yards on three plays to take a 14-0 lead. The series was highlighted by a 41-yard reverse pass by DeeJay White (Brooklyn, N.Y./Sheepshead Bay / Bowling Green State University) to Roshawn Wilson (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) to bring the ball inside the red zone. Two plays later, Nelson found Headen for a 15-yard strike and the team's second touchdown of the afternoon. Anthony Greenfield (Bloomfield, N.J./Paramus Catholic / Wagner) completed the point after and the Chargers went ahead 14-0.

LIU Post answered with a 13-play, 66-yard touchdown drive of its own. Pioneers' quarterback Steven Laurino and Joe Botti connected on the play of the series with a 27-yard to bring the ball inside the UNH red zone. Laurino threw a five yard strike to Chris McGrane nearly midway through the first quarter.

Both teams exchanged punts before the Chargers found themselves back up inside their own one-yard line on first-and-10. The Pioneers took advantage and forced a safety one-play later, cutting the lead to 14-9. LIU Post would strike once again on its following drive to take its first lead of the game. The Pioneers went 49-yards on 11 plays before Laurino ran for a seven-yard touchdown with just over one minute left in the opening quarter.

Trailing 16-14, New Haven immediately answered. Nelson would complete a 73-yard touchdown strike to Courtney Moshood (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto) on the first play of the drive to put UNH back in the lead as the first quarter expired.

The team's exchanged possession four different times in the second quarter. Neither team entered the red zone as Brown halted a LIU Post drive with an interception with 5:20 remaining in the first half. The Chargers would then go 83 yards on 10 play before Nelson scrambled four yards for another UNH touchdown. Greenfield's point after went wide left and New Haven took a 27-16 lead with 2:05 left in the second quarter. The score was the only of the second quarter and the Chargers held on to an 11-point lead at the break.

After the Pioneers unsuccessful opening possession of the second half, New Haven expanded its lead with another scoring drive. The Chargers rattled off four plays of 15-plus yards and Trevor Officer (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) rolled in for an 11-yard touchdown with 11:12 on the clock in the third stanza. Greenfield's point after gave UNH a 34-16 lead. Again, New Haven's third quarter touchdown was the only points of the quarter as the game went into the fourth with an 18-point advantage.

The Chargers' capalized again in their opening series of the final quarter, going 91-yards on nine plays to take a 41-16 lead. The series included a 16-yard strike to Nick Music (West Milford, N.J./West Milford ) and a 25-yard reception by Wilson before UNH faced first-and-goal from the LIU Post six-yard line.

The Pioneers scored on their second drive as well, going 79-yards on nine plays to bring the score to 41-23. New Haven's final score of the afternoon came with just under four minutes left in the game. Nelson completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Flacco to improve its lead to 25 points, 48-23.

The Pioneers ran out the clock in the final four minutes and the Chargers sealed its third-straight win.

New Haven hits the road for a pair of NE-10 contest at Assumption Friday night and then at Merrimack on Saturday, Oct. 12. The Chargers will return home for their 2013 homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 19 against Stonehill College.