Prior to the rainy homecoming game against Saint Anselm on Saturday, Oct. 14, the New Haven Chargers were undefeated in the Northeast-10 (NE-10) conference. Unfortunately, the Chargers were unable to keep this winning streak, suffering a tough 13-9 loss against the Hawks.
Saint Anselm took the 7-0 lead in the first quarter after a touchdown on a 10-yard run by wide receiver Anthony Brown and the Chargers were unable to answer back until after the half. After running 26 plays in the Hawks’ territory, New Haven was only able to score one touchdown on a busted coverage by Saint Anselm. The touchdown was scored in the third quarter by wide receiver Dev Holmes on a 44-yard pass from quarterback Daelen Menard. With just 30 seconds left in the third quarter, the Chargers took a two-point lead when linebacker Damon Burton blocked a punt, causing the ball to roll out of the end zone for a safety.
On New Haven’s next offensive play, a 27-yard run by running back Christopher Ais put the Chargers in scoring position. However, they were unable to capitalize on this opportunity as two penalties pushed New Haven back and a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Back on defense, Burton got to the Saint Anselm quarterback Anthony Santino on a blitz. Unfortunately, Santino threw the ball down the field against double coverage to Brown for a huge 63-yard gain. Brown scored four plays later on a five-yard run, taking the 13-9 lead over the Chargers.
In an attempt to answer back, New Haven drove into the red zone on the next drive after Menard’s pass to tight end Kevin Foelsch resulted in a conversion on fourth down. The Chargers were unable to take back the lead, passing up a field goal and turning the ball over on downs when Foelsch was tackled short of the first down marker.
The Chargers and the Hawks traded fumble recoveries with linebacker Joe Vitale forcing a fumble and defensive lineman Jack Quander recovering to give the Chargers an opportunity to take back the lead. New Haven was able to drive it down to Saint Anselm’s 35, but they fell short once again after another pre-snap penalty and three straight incompletions.
In the end, the score remained 13-9 in favor of the Saint Anselm Hawks as the Chargers dropped a heartbreaking game that ended their undefeated status in the NE-10. It was a back-and-forth matchup but costly turnovers, offensive struggles and the inability to capitalize on good field position were detrimental for the Chargers. After the upset on Saturday, the NE-10 standings are now dependent on the game between first-place Assumption and Saint Anselm next week. Either the Hawks will fall two games out of the NE-10 lead, or there will be multiple teams tied at the top of the standings.
New Haven will use its bye week to prepare for a big home game against Assumption on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. For more information on this game and more, visit NewHavenChargers.com.
