Blue Devils Suffer First NEC Loss as Wagner Wins 32-27 on Staten Island on Saturday Afternoon

Senior running back James Mallory rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns, but the Central Connecticut State University football team dropped a 32-27 decision to Wagner College on the road on Saturday afternoon. Wagner scored the game-winning touchdown with just 26 seconds left on the clock to move to 5-1 in league play, in a first place tie with the Blue Devils. Central drops to 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in the NEC with the loss. They return to action at home next weekend hosting Monmouth at 12 p.m.

The loss snaps a six-game winning streak for CCSU, the longest since the 1973 season.

The Blue Devils took a 27-20 lead with 10:24 to play in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback Aubrey Norris to junior Josue Paul. The score capped a four-play, 71-yard drive that took only 2:05 off the clock, and answered a Wagner scoring drive that had tied the game at 20-20.

The Seahawks, however, answered with two touchdowns in the final 6:40 to cap the victory. The first came on a two-yard run from freshman quarterback Nick Doscher, that cut the lead to 27-26. Doscher could not handle the snap on the extra-point and the Blue Devil lead remained one.

Central was forced to punt on their next drive for the first time in the game. After just a five-yard punt, the Seahawks went 58-yards on seven plays in only 1:09 to claim the victory, their fourth straight. Doscher hit Lon Woods from 15-yards out for the winning score. They went for the two-point conversion, but were unsuccessful.

The Blue Devils could not make anything happen on their final drive of the game and Norris was sacked as the clock ran out in the Wagner win.

Norris had a tremendous day offensively, rushing for 51 yards and throwing for 201 and a touchdown in the loss. He was playing on his native Staten Island for the final time in his career.

Mallory rushed 27 times for 180 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 15 touchdowns on the season.

"The loss takes away all of the individual stuff," Mallory said after the game. "It doesn't mean anything if I have a great day but we can't come up with the victory. As a captain I am going to take it upon myself to make sure we are ready to play in the final two games of the regular season."

The loss puts Central at 5-1 in the NEC, tied with Wagner for first place. Albany lost to Robert Morris 13-10 on Saturday and now has two losses in the league. Albany and Wagner meet in two weeks on Staten Island.

Central finishes the regular season at home against Monmouth next week and then plays at St. Francis (PA) on Nov. 21 to finish the regular season.

Mallory's effort was his third-highest single-game rushing total of his career. He passed 1,000 yards for the season and stands just 19 yards shy of 3,000 career rushing yards. He has rushed for 384 yards in the last two games for Central.

"We didn't make the plays when we needed to today," Head Coach Jeff McInerney said. "Give them credit, they are a great offensive team. We need to take care of ourselves and did not do that today. We didn't play great, and we have to make plays in order to be a successful football team. We did not make plays today."

Mallory's day was highlighted by a 63-yard scoring run to open the second half. On the first play from scrimmage he took the handoff and went 63 yards untouched for his second score of the day. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry and finished the day with 27 touches.

Paul had eight catches for 73 yards and the touchdown. Senior Richie Martin caught five balls for 55 yards in the loss.

Norris completed 19-of-27 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. He also added 51 yards on the ground.

As a team Central rushed for 270 yards and had 471 yards of total offense on 71 offensive plays. They held the ball for almost 35 minutes in the loss.

"We have to keep playing and move forward from here," McInerney said. "We need to continue to compete in every game because our season is not over because of this loss. I'm proud of our guys for competing, but again, we just did not make plays when we needed to this afternoon."

The Blue Devils are back in action next Saturday hosting Monmouth beginning at 12 p.m. The team's 11 seniors will be honored prior to kickoff. Central will celebrate Military Appreciation Day on Saturday, a salute to the men and women in uniform who risk their lives each and every day to protect our freedoms. Several events will take place throughout the day to honor our nation's military.