On Saturday at a packed Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in Butler County, Pennsylvania the New Haven Chargers were unable to start their season with a win.
Last season, the Chargers were 8-3 overall, and in the Northeast 10 Conference (NE10) they finished 6-1, and won the NE10 Championship.
But they aren’t alone in having a great 2023 season as Slippery Rock went undefeated in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with a perfect record of 7-0 in conference play and 11-0 on the season. Slippery Rock made a PSAC championship game appearance, but took the loss against Kutztown University in that game.
The first quarter was filled with defense, and both teams were looking to build momentum. But both teams struggled to find a rhythm, until Slippery Rock quarterback Brayden Long found wide receiver Mike Solomon on an 8-yard pass out for the touchdown.
But then walk-on soccer player Blake Nicholas came out to kick the extra point, and ended up kicking the ball slightly wide to the right. After the score, both teams went back and forth on offense.r The Chargers’ running back Christopher Ais made his name known as he was finding his stride throughout the quarter, and on the other side of the ball, Todd Hill made plays in the backfield that put pressure on the Chargers’ passing and running game.
The second quarter saw more scoring. The Chargers were able to drive down the field with some big runs from their running backs Christopher Ais, Justin Felder and Zaon Laney. Unfortunately, they ended up being stopped, and went for a field goal, which kicker Josh Hamel missed.
The Chargers then got the ball back, and defensive back Eddie Faulkner IV blitzed Chargers quarterback Daelen Menard, stripped him, then grabbed the ball and returned it 38 yards added to the scoreboard with an one-handed catch by wide receiver Kam Kruzelyak, which put the game 0-18 and then 0-19 after new kicker Jake Mullins made the extra point.
But for the Chargers weren’t out of the fight yet. With 25 seconds left in the quarter, quarterback Daelen Menard connected with receiver Mikey Caines for a 35-yard touchdown, which brought the score to 19-7, after a made extra point by kicker Josh Hamel.
No one scored through the third quarter until the end, when Slippery Rock drove down the field after they forced a turnover on 4th down, and ended up getting a field goal, which made the score 22-7, the final score.
The Chargers struggled through the fourth quarter to get any momentum as they couldn’t get anything done inside Slippery Rock territory.
Notable players included running back Christopher Ais, with 69 yards on the ground, and eight yards through the air; wide receiver Mikey Caines, with five receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown. For Slippery Rock, quarterback Brayden Long finished the game 123 QBR, with a completion percentage of 60%, as well as 129 yards and 2 TDs and no interceptions. The Chargers will face Pace on Friday. For more information, visit NewHavenChargers.com
