Last week, the Chargers hosted the Division III Western Connecticut (WestConn) State University Wolves and won, 69-0.
The Chargers entered the matchup coming off a big Homecoming win over Pace, improving their record to 3-3. The Wolves arrived with confidence after a dominant 63-15 victory over Juniata College and carried an impressive 4-1 record into the game. With more than 6,100 fans packing the stands on a beautiful sunny afternoon, both teams came out looking to make a statement.
The Wolves won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball at the start of the game. Through the first quarter, WestConn was not able to do anything with the ball. The Chargers took quick control of the game, and stopped the Wolves to gain control of the ball. The Chargers struck fast with a commanding drive, and finished with a touchdown on a short rush by quarterback AJ Duffy. The extra point made the score 7-0 early on. The Wolves again were stopped, and forced to punt the ball back, which would be a common theme throughout this game, and led to another Chargers scoring drive. This time on a 49-yard throw from Duffy to Jalen Smith, which advanced the score to 14-0. Throughout the rest of the first quarter, Westconn remained unable to do anything with the ball, and the Chargers finished out the quarter with possession.
The second quarter was all New Haven, as the Chargers completely took control of the game. Duffy led an explosive offense and opened the quarter with a 40-yard rushing touchdown to push the lead to 21-0. The momentum kept rolling when Duffy connected with Isaac Glaudin for a 22-yard score, followed by an interception by Nikkem Reynolds that set up another quick touchdown pass from Duffy to Brian Thomas, which made it 35-0. WestConn had no answer on offense, going three-and-out multiple times while New Haven continued to pile on. Duffy capped off the dominant quarter with a 20-yard touchdown strike to Mark Didio Jr., and gave the Chargers a commanding 42-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Chargers picked up right where they left off to start the second half, marching down the field behind a 51-yard bomb from Duffy to Kevonne Wilder before settling for a short field goal to make it 45-0. On WestConn’s next possession, Brodie Williams jumped a pass and took it back for a pick-six, and extended the lead to 52-0. Not long after, Smith broke free for a 71-yard rushing touchdown, completely blowing the game open at 59-0. With the game out of reach, New Haven began rotating in backups, but the dominance didn’t stop. Jake Tripptree connected with Ty Cannistraro on a short touchdown pass late in the third to push the score to 66-0.
By the fourth quarter, the Chargers had pulled their starters and focused on running the clock. Thomas added one last big run to set up a field goal, giving New Haven 69 unanswered points. The defense continued to swarm, forcing multiple punts and recovering a late fumble before kneeling out the final seconds to seal the blowout.
With this dominant win over Westconn, the Chargers moved to an overall record of 4-3. The Chargers will be back in action on Oct. 25 as they travel to face the Long Island University (LIU) Sharks. The game will be held at LIU Football Stadium and kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. For more information, visit NewHavenChargers.com.
