The New Haven Chargers football team defeated the Saint Anselm Hawks on Saturday, 49-21. The Chargers honored seniors C.J Fitzpatrick, Francis Palmer, Dan Iannone, Jordan Francklin, Keiran Ryan, Jonathan Badyna, Miles Pease, Ajee Patterson, and Mark Clements before the game for senior day.   

 As usual, New Haven put on an offensive showcase. The first of the Chargers’ seven touchdowns came on New Haven’s second drive, when quarterback Ajee Patterson threw to graduate student Joe Caico. Following the extra point, the scoreboard remained 7-0 for the remainder of the quarter.

 Following a drive that culminated in a touchdown by running back Ryan McCarthy, Saint Anselm scored to cut the score to 14-7. On the ensuing drive, Patterson rushed for 33 yards on first down, charging the offense downfield and resulting in a touchdown pass to senior running back Chris Liggio. Liggio finished the day with 10 carries for 32 yards on the ground and two receptions for six yards and a touchdown. After another Saint Anselm touchdown, the Chargers went into the half up 21-14.

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Cole McManus /The Charger Bulletin

Coming out of the break, the Chargers put their foot on the gas pedal and scored 21 unanswered points. Patterson completed two touchdown passes to Badyna and Caico and handed the ball off to sophomore Nyshere Woodson, to cap off the three-touchdown quarter. The last touchdown for the Chargers came in the fourth quarter on a third and three with just about seven minutes left in the game. Woodson broke off a 58-yard run that put the game away.

Patterson finished the game 14 for 22 for 185 yards and four touchdowns. He is now 347 yards away from breaking the all-time school record.     

Woodson was the team’s leading rusher on the day as he rushed for 119 yards on 10 carries, of which two were touchdowns. Before the game, Woodson had only accumulated 58 yards rushing in three games played on the season  

Badyna led the team on the receiving end with five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. AJ Greene was the team’s second leading receiver, with two receptions for 47 yards.    

 Next weekend, the Chargers travel to Long Island to take on LIU Post in what has turned into the NE10 Championship. Both New Haven and the Pioneers are 8-0 in conference play. LIU has consistently been in the top 25, while New Haven has received votes but not reached a ranked position yet. In the Super One region, LIU is ranked third, behind New Haven and Notre Dame (Ohio).