FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
First NE10 Title for the Chargers Since 2012.
WEST HAVEN, Conn. - There were moments of quiet reflection shortly before the opening kickoff as many of the stars of the 2021 New Haven football team jogged across Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium to greet their parents and other family members before their final regular-season home game. A few hours later, the atmosphere was significantly more festive.
Center Mike Zecchin, guards Mike Wilson and Mike Cappuccilli, safety Shawn Tafe and running back Zach Mauro were in the middle of one of the wildest post-game scenes on the Blue and Gold turf field at UNH.
"It is surreal almost," Cappuccilli said. "The five years, it has been tough but now we are champions. We have been working for five years to get to this moment."
The moment was a coronation. After narrowly missing in its quest to win the Northeast-10 football title, the Chargers had their championship moment by overpowering a ninth-ranked and previously undefeated Bentley 31-14 before a crowd of 3,076 on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
The Chargers didn't just beat a Bentley team riding a 13-game winning streak, they overpowered them.
New Haven ran for a season-high 286 yards and the majority of them were run directly behind Wilson, Zecchin and Cappuccilli. Mauro had 175 yards on 27 carries, Shamar Logan and Jake Conlan combined for 95 yards and quarterback Connor Degenhardt had three touchdown runs.
"The offensive line worked really hard," Mauro said. "They opened up everything for us and it is all due to the O-line. They overpowered the D-line and Bentley has a very good defensive line. It was awesome to overpower them and give us opportunities to move the ball down the field."
The Falcons came into the game ranking third in the Northeast-10 in rushing defense but they had no answers for the Chargers especially during scoring drives of 82, 80 and 80 yards.
The defensive front was just as impressive. Bentley had 130 yards of total offense heading into the fourth quarter and 50 of them came on a run by Andrew Brazicki.
"We practiced hard this week and we made sure that we limited mistakes," said Tafe, who had one of the Chargers' two interceptions. "It is not the points that we wanted to give up but we were able to win the game."
Defensive end Khalim Cisse, another of the players who opted to return for an additional season, had seven tackles including 2.5 of the Chargers' four sacks. Cisse's fourth-down sack on Bentley's final possession was one of the plays that set off the celebrations.
Bentley finished with 219 yards of total offense. It was the third time in the last four games that New Haven held the opposing offense under 250 yards.
"In the last month they are really dialed in, they all worked together and are on the same page," New Haven coach Chris Pincince said. "We have gotten better, we had so many new faces to start the year. We are healthy right now and I am excited to see how far we can take this."
New Haven (8-1, 7-0 in the Northeast-10) has put in a bid to host a game or games in the NCAA Division II playoffs. First, the Chargers travel to play at Franklin Pierce in the regular-season finale. The season began with a 30-14 win over Franklin Pierce but that was deemed as a non-conference game.
Regardless of what happens in that game and Bentley's final regular-season game against Assumption, New Haven will be considered the NE10 champions.
The Chargers finished tied with Bentley atop the conference standings in 2019 but the Falcons won the title based on their win over the Chargers. A loss to LIU Post in 2018 ended New Haven's title hopes that year. They also fell a win short in 2013 and 2015 as the Chargers came tantalizingly close to the program's first conference title since 2012.
What made this championship run so special was the commitment so many of the key players made to the program. New Haven did not play during the 2020 season due to COVID-19. A total of 16 players had fulfilled their graduation requirements but chose to return for one reason.
"There are 16 of us who graduated and are done but we all had one goal in mind to come back and do what we did today," Mauro said. "We weren't going to let anything keep us from doing what we did today."
New Haven took the opening kickoff and embarked on the most time-consuming drive of the season.
Degenhardt kept the drive alive with a pair of third-down runs. Facing 3rd-and-2 at the Bentley 15, Mauro appeared to be right at the line to gain but a lunge just before hitting the turf gave the Chargers the first down. Degenhardt scored from two yards out on the next play to cap the 15-play, 82-yard drive that took 9:02.
Third-down sacks ended Bentley's first two drives.
The Chargers failed to capitalize on a drive that started on their 46. It looked like the inability to extend the lead would result, in the game being dominated by the Chargers, with the score being tied.
Degenhardt was hit from behind as he dropped back to pass in the shadow of his own end zone. Bentley recovered to give the Falcons a first down at the 5. On the next play, Bentley reached into its offensive bag of tricks. Brazicki took the direct snap and after taking a couple steps toward the line of scrimmage attempted a jump pass. Khyon Fitzpatrick came down with the interception in the end zone something that seems to be a weekly occurrence for him.
The New Haven offense went back to work with Mauro running five times for 49 yards, Paul Cooper coming up with a seven-yard completion on 3rd-and-6 to set up Degenhardt's 9-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds left in the first half.
Bentley opted to try to get some points on the board late in the first half. Tafe intercepted a forced pass in the middle of the first to give the ball to the New Haven offense at midfield with 13 seconds left.
After a pass from Degenhardt to Cooper, Mauro got the call with six seconds left for the 11-yard run. Although the scoreboard clock showed all zeroes, the officials conferred and said New Haven got a timeout called with 1 second left. Briant DeFelice kicked a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
A 50-yard run by Brazicki on the first offensive play of the second half to set up a 16-yard run by quarterback Stephen Sturm.
Degenhardt threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Dev Holmes and added a 1-yard scoring run to push the lead to 31-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Bentley (8-1, 6-1) added a 20-yard Noah Neville touchdown reception with 11:38 remaining but that was all the Falcons could muster.
Neither quarterback put up gaudy statistics. Degenhardt didn't need to throw often with the way the running game was rolling. Sturm was just 12 of 20 for 120 yards for one touchdown and one interception.
"We made sure he couldn't stay in a clean pocket and it would be hard for him to make throws," Tafe said. "That is what we did. We made big hits and we made big plays."
Now the Chargers will turn their focus to a Franklin Pierce team that gave New Haven a solid test back in September. A win would increase the chances of New Haven getting to open postseason play at home.
"We have to do our job and beat Franklin Pierce so we can host a playoff game," Pincince said.
For the 16 players who decided to prolong their time as Chargers, it will be another act in what has been an unforgettable final season at New Haven.
There's only one thing that needs to be said ... WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!! #ChargeOn
— New Haven Football (@UNewHavenFB) November 6, 2021
Check out @Jim_Fuller1's recap ⬇️ https://t.co/TLYxHiAZ1L pic.twitter.com/cc41abKNrU
There's only one thing that needs to be said ... WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!! #ChargeOn
— New Haven Football (@UNewHavenFB) November 6, 2021
Check out @Jim_Fuller1's recap ⬇️ https://t.co/TLYxHiAZ1L pic.twitter.com/cc41abKNrU
-Release provided by New Haven athletic communications-
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
