This weekend, the Chargers traveled to Albany, New York, at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium to take on the University of Albany Great Danes. In a much-anticipated game, and the largest crowd the Chargers had seen, with a roughly 6,600 in attendance, the Chargers sought their first win of the season. Coming off two tough losses in their transition into their D1 tenure, the Albany Great Danes hadn’t found much success throughout the start of the season either, as they were in a similar boat as the Chargers, coming in at 0-2 after losing to Big Ten powerhouse Iowa and a close shootout against Delaware State.
To start the first half, the Chargers won the coin toss for the third consecutive time this season and elected to defer to the Great Danes. The Great Danes started their first drive with the ball on the 25. They found some early success in their first possession but ended up stalling out and were forced to punt early. The Chargers started their first drive on their own 32. They found early success with a 15-yard pass and catch from quarterback AJ Duffy to wide receiver Nikkem Reynolds, followed by a sequence of short to intermediate runs and passes, which inevitably led to the Chargers’ first points of the game, a 38-yard field goal by kicker Myles Hansford. With the game 3-0 in favor of the Chargers, the Great Danes looked to respond and put some points on the board but turned the ball over on downs, which gave the Chargers the ball back at their own 37. Similar to their first drive, they dumped the ball off underneath and found success, followed by a sequence of rushes by running back Brian Thomas, who gained 21 yards in three plays. They followed their successful runs with a 21-yard throw and catch from Duffy to Joshua Tracey, followed by another 12-yard throw and catch, this time to Matt Chandler for a touchdown. With a successful extra point attempt, the Chargers were up 10-0. On the Great Danes’ following drive, they still were unable to find success. After a successful drive that included a huge 36-yard throw and catch from quarterback Jack Shields to receiver Caden Burti, the Chargers’ Liam Godwin intercepted a pass, giving the Chargers the ball to end the first quarter.
With the Chargers’ first drive of the second quarter, they got right back to business, starting at their own 47. They drove down the field in a lengthy drive, which included some short to intermediate rushes by running back Zaon Laney, as well as some great throws and catches from Duffy to Tracey for 14-yards and Evan Chieca for 18-yards. These plays led to the Chargers being on the Great Danes’ 3-yard line, where Duffy found Chieca for a 3-yard touchdown. Chieca’s touchdown made it 16-0 pending the PAT, which was good and advanced the Chargers to a 17-0 lead.The Great Danes, were in need of a score to make the game manageable but again were unable to find anything and were forced to punt after a three-and-out due to a false start penalty. After a bad penalty on the punt against Albany, the Chargers started at the Albany 44-yard line. They swiftly got back to work and drove down the short field which led to another Duffy passing touchdown, this time reaching 21-yards to Reynolds and advancing the score to 24-0 after a successful extra point. On Albany’s following drive, they were finally able to get their offense going, driving down the field and finding the end zone plus a successful extra point after a 15-yard throw and catch from Shields to Woodell Griffin, making it 24-7 before the end of the half.
To start the second half, the Chargers received the ball and looked to extend their lead after a dominant first half. On their first drive of the half, they started slowly, picking up where they left off, until the Great Danes’ defense stopped the Chargers in their tracks and forced them to punt. With the ball, the Great Danes needed to shift the momentum and put points on the board, which they did. After a tough drive starting at their own 48-yard line, Shields connected with Tavahri Groves for a 13-yard touchdown plus the extra point, which cut the Chargers’ lead to 24-14. Throughout the remainder of the third quarter, neither team was able to do anything with the ball.
To start the fourth, the Chargers and Great Danes continued trading possessions until Albany was able to get the gears going. With the game nearing an end, Albany was able to spark fire and drive down the field. A sequence of plays drove them down, including some small runs initially leading to a third down, and then a big 20-yard throw and catch from Shields to receiver Kylen Austin, keeping Albany afloat. They continued slowly picking apart the Chargers until they were stopped and met a challenge on fourth down, where they settled for a field goal, and made the score 24-17. The Chargers started their vastly important drive at their own 19 and were looking to get some points on the board after a dry and tough second half, but the Albany defense held strong and forced a punt. To start, Albany lined up in the shotgun set and looked to pass but Shields was taken down for a sack by Sir Hezekiah Ragland, and lost 7 yards. Following the sack, Albany had a chain of successful plays, gaining nine yards on a pass, 15 yards on a pass then 10 yards on a pass, putting them in great position. They continued surgically picking apart the Chargers’ defense until they were at the Chargers’ 19-yard line. The Chargers defense stayed strong and forced three straight incompletions and a timeout by Albany before a game-deciding fourth down and long. Shields lined up in the shotgun, the ball was snapped, he dropped back and the Chargers pounced, as Sebastian Conwell, alongside Pete Melle, got through and sacked Shields, closing out the game. The Chargers went on to kneel out the clock, winning 24-17.
After the big win on the road, the Chargers’ record improved to 1-2, while Albany fell to 0-3. Next week, the Chargers will play their first home game of their D1 tenure, taking on the 1-2 Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals. For more information about this game and the Chargers season, check out NewHavenChargers.com.
