WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The University of New Haven football team dropped its first game of the 2011 season with a 13-10 loss to the College of William and Mary (D-I FCS)
Saturday night. With the loss, the Chargers fall to 2-1 overall, while the Tribe improve to 2-1 on the season.
After winning the toss and deferring to the second half, the Chargers opened the big NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision game on defense. The UNH defense forced the Tribe to go three-and-out before blocking the ensuing punt to gain possession at the William and Mary 30-yard line. Five plays later, Chris Scifo (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas / Central Connecticut State University) connected on a 28-yard field goal to give the Chargers the opening lead, 3-0.
On William and Mary’s second possession, New Haven once again forced a punt and regained possession at its own 46-yard line. As the Chargers marched down the field, they came upon a 4th-and-3 from the Tribe 22-yard line. After coming out in field goal formation, holder Brice DeRosa (Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt Whitman / Iona College) picked up the snap and rolled out to his right. His ensuing pass headed just through the hands of Kameel Lashley (Boston, Mass./Boston Comm. Leadership Academy) in the right side of the William and Mary endzone.
The Tribe took over possession at its own 22-yard line and took the ball 39-yards on six plays to the UNH 39-yard line. Senior linebacker Mike Gomes (Brockton, Mass./Brockton ) then stepped in front of a Michael Paulus pass and grabbed his first interception of the season. The Chargers took over possession and got one play off before the conclusion of the first quarter.
New Haven and William & Mary both tallied two punts to open the second quarter. On the Chargers’ final possession of the first half, the Tribe picked off a pass from Ryan Osiecki (Seymour, Conn./Seymour / Univ. of Louisville) which was tipped at the line of scrimmage. William and Mary then capitalized after taking possession in Charger territory and scored a game-tying field goal with no time remaining in the first half. Drake Kuhn connected from 21-yards out to even the score at 3-3 going into halftime.
The UNH defense struggled stopping the run in the opening half, giving up 101 yards to the Tribe’s leading rushed Jonathan Grimes.
After deferring in the opening kickoff, the Chargers took possession to open the second half. The first drive resulted in a a punt after six plays, while William and Mary took over the ball at its own 41-yard line. The Tribe took the ball 59-yards on 10 plays over the course of 4:27 and capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Michael Graham to Grimes. The successful point after game W&M a 10-3 lead with 7:03 left in the third quarter.
Back-to-back punts by the Chargers and then the Tribe gave UNH the ball at its own 48-yard line. After a false start penalty and two plays Ronnie Nelson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ) scrabbled out of the pocket and was picked off by Terrell Wells who returned the ball 29 yards to the UNH 25-yard line. W&M had five plays and went six yards before the third quarter came to a close.
Clinging to a 10-3 lead, William & Mary attempted a 30-yard field goal on the third play of the fourth quarter. The kick sailed wide left and the Chargers’ regained possession down 10-3 with 14:13 left in the fourth quarter.
New Haven took over the ball at its own 20-yard line and began a game-tying touchdown drive. The drive went 80-yards in eight plays and was capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass and catch by Osiecki and Demetrius Washington-Ellison (Rahway, N.J./Rahway / Univ. of Maine). Scifo’s point after tied the game at 10-10 with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter.
William & Mary was forced to punt on its next possession as did the Chargers who gave the ball back to the Tribe at the W&M 17-yard line with 8:17 left in the fourth. The Tribe then marched 62-yards on six plays, including a 56-yard pass and catch by Graham and D.J. Mangas. William & Mary then regained the lead with a 28-yard field goal with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers immediately answered with its own inspiring drive. Starting from their own 43-yard line, the Chargers went 36-yards in four plays to the W&M 21-yard line. Osiecki then launched a pass deep down the field, near the W&M goaline, and Jabrel Mines stepped in front of the intended receiver ending the Chargers near-scoring drive.
The Charger defense held strong and forced a three-and-out to give the offense one more shot at tying the game in the closing minute. The William & Mary punt found its way to the UNH 23-yard line, where the Chargers would begin their final attempt at tying or winning the game. After conveting on a big 3rd-and-4, the Chargers found themselves in another third-down at their own 39-yard line. The ensuing Osiecki pass was caught by Nick Music (West Milford, N.J./West Milford ) just three yards short of the first down. The Chargers final opportunity then came on 4th-and-3 from their own 44-yard line. Osiecki’s pass to Washington-Ellison fell short and the Chargers chances of a comeback fell short with 31-seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Osiecki led the Chargers’ offense with one touchdown and 213 yards on 19-of-35 passing. The senior also throw a pair of interceptions in the loss. Josh Smart (New Haven, Conn./Hamden ) led the receiving corps with four catches, while Jason Thompson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ) totaled a team-high 73 receiving yards off three catches. Washington-Ellison added 50 yards off three catches, while Chris Ruffin (New York, N.Y./Phillip Randolph) collected three catches for 24 yards.
The UNH rushing game struggled to get off the ground. The team combined for 33 rushing yards on 27 carries. Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay ) led the team with 23 yards rushing.
Defensively, a number of different players stepped up when needed. Charlie Hatchett (Bridgeport, Conn./Stratford / Santa Monica College) led the side with 11 total tackles, while Mike Gomes (Brockton, Mass./Brockton ) added nine and Desmond Anderson (Jacksonville, Fla./Edward H. White / Becker College) added eight. Defensive lineman, Raheem Stanley (Hartford, Conn./Weaver ) also played big with seven stops and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
The Chargers return to action on Saturday, September 24 when they travel to Assumption College for another night game. Game time in Worcester, Mass. Is set for 7:00 p.m. next Saturday night. Stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com throughout the week for complete coverage.
