Football Drops Home Opener
The Central Connecticut football team fell to Lehigh, 35-14.
The Central Connecticut football team fell to Lehigh, 35-14, on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Rob Hollomon, playing his first game at Arute Field, led the Blue Devil offense with 111 rushing yards.
Watch Hollomon's Touchdown Run
The Blue Devil (0-2) offense struggled to gain yards and maintain possession early in the first quarter. Lehigh (2-0) forced a punt on CCSU's opening drive and the Blue Devils followed with fumbles on their next two drives, while Lehigh scored touchdowns on their first two possessions.
On Lehigh's third possession, the Mountain Hawks appeared to be headed for a third touchdown when junior Chris Linares intercepted Michael Colvin's pass deep in CCSU territory.
The Blue Devils were unable to capitalize offensively in the first half, despite interceptions by Linares and junior Patrick Atkinson.
Lehigh then extend its lead to 21-0 on a one yard touchdown run by Keith Sherman late in the second quarter.
CCSU opened the second half by forcing Lehigh to punt and followed with a 14-play, 72-yard touchdown drive. Holloman capped the drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown, but the biggest play came earlier on the drive when junior quarterback Andrew Clements rushed for a seven-yard gain and a first down on fourth and two at the Blue Devils' own 47-yard line.
The touchdown was the first as a Blue Devil for Hollomon. He finished with 111 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts.
Lehigh responded with a touchdown to open the fourth quarter. Colvin scored on a three yard run.
After forcing the Blue Devils to punt, Lehigh scored again to increase its lead to 35-7. This time the Mountain Hawks scored on a screen pass to tight end Max Anderson.
On the ensuing possession, senior Nate Pagan broke a 40-yard run down the right sideline to set the Blue Devils up deep in Lehigh territory. Seven plays later Clements hit Jones along the sideline in the end zone for the touchdown. Senior Juan Duque connected on the extra point to make it a 35-14 game.
The touchdown pass was the first of Clements career. Jones finished the game with six catches for 57 yards and the touchdown. The 6-6 Jones, used his height to catch passes above the Lehigh defensive backs throughout the game.
The Blue Devils fumbled five times, losing three of them to the Mountain Hawks, including two in the first quarter.
Clements finished 10-of-17 passing for 87 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 13 times for 34 yards.
In addition to his interception, Atkinson recorded a team-high 12 tackles. Senior D.J. Radich matched Atkinson's five solo-tackles and forced a fumble on a sack. He finished with nine total tackles.
The Blue Devils will return to action next Saturday at New Hampshire. The Wildcats entered today ranked 12th in the FCS Coaches Poll.
