September 24, 2015
Football Travels to #21 New Hampshire on Saturday
Blue Devils coming off their first win of the season last week at home
CCSU FOOTBALL at NEW HAMPSHIRE - SATURDAY, SEPT. 26, 6 p.m.
Today's Game • The Central Connecticut football team travels to Durham for their final non-conference road game of the season. Central is 0-1 on the road in 2015, falling to Stony Brook in week two. Tonight they face New Hampshire for the first time since the 2012 season. New Hampshire also lost on the road at Stony Brook, falling 31-6 to the Seawolves last weekend. Following tonight's game Central will continue on the road, traveling to Pittsburgh for their conference opener at Duquesne at 12 p.m. Following the trip to Duquesne the Blue Devils will host Bryant on Homecoming on Oct. 10 at 1 p.m.
Last Week • The Blue Devils posted their first win of the 2015 campaign with a 21-14 home victory over Bowie State on Saturday night. Freshman quarterback Jacob Dolegala rushed for three touchdowns and the Blue Devils held the Bulldogs to four yards rushing on their way to the win.
Dolegala Honored • Freshman quarterback Jacob Dolegala was named the Northeast Conference Football Rookie of the Week on Monday. Dolegala became the second Blue Devil to win the award in the first three weeks of the season, joining teammate Tavion Pauldo who won it two weeks ago. Dolegala helped lead Central Connecticut to its first win of the season, rushing for all three of the team's touchdowns during a 21-14 victory over Bowie State. Making his second career start under center, the rookie accounted for 188 yards of total offense and scored on runs of 7, 2 and 4 yards. Dolegala went 16-for-31 passing for 168 yards and was credited with 20 net rush yards on 13 attempts. Dolegala gained 49 yards on 10 carries, but three quarterback sacks lowered his final output. With the game tied 14-14, Dolegala engineered a 15-play, 77-yard game-winning drive that he capped with a 4-yard scoring runt. He completed two passes for 36 yards on the final drive, including a 27-yard completion that allowed CCSU to convert a 3rd-and-20 situation.
Defense Numbers • Sophomore linebacker Randall LaGuerre leads the Blue Devils with 31 total tackles through the first three games of the season. Sixteen of those are unassisted, including four for a loss. Sophomore Najae Brown has 24 through two games, and is tied for the team lead with one interception. Senior Brandon Hollomon, who made the move back to the defensive side of the ball this season, is third on the team with 21 tackles. Junior captain Jevon Elmore has a team-high five pass break-ups to go along with 19 tackles, including 10 unassisted.
Rushing Yards • The Blue Devils allowed only four rushing yards in the win over Bowie State last weekend on Arute Field. The Bulldogs rushed 14 times for four total yards in the loss. Bowie State ran 82 offensive plays in the game, and threw the ball 68 times. It's the fewest yards allowed on the ground for the Blue Devils since Sept. 8, 2007 when they allowed -35 rushing yards (on 22 rushes) in a home win over Merrimack. CCSU won that game 45-7. The last time they allowed single digits was Oct. 3, 2009 when Sacred Heart rushed 35 times for 9 total yards, also in New Britain. CCSU won that game 24-12.
Next Up For the Blue Devils • Following tonight's game the Blue Devils will open Northeast Conference play with a trip to Duquesne next Saturday at 12 p.m. Duquesne has won two straight in the series and three out of the last four. They hold a 5-3 edge all-time in the series. The last CCSU win on the road in Pittsburgh came in 2009 when Central won 31-24.
Four at Night to Open the Year • The Blue Devils are playing their fourth straight night game to open the 2015 season. Tonight marks the final night game of the season for the Blue Devils.
Captains • Pete Rossomando announced that juniors Dan Hebert and Jevon Elmore and seniors Jake Pinho and Tyler Hurd have been named captains for the 2015 season. Pinho and Elmore represent the defensive side of the ball, while the offense is represented by Hebert and Hurd.
Receiving • Fourteen different Blue Devils have caught a pass through the first three games. Senior tight end Eric McGlone leads the team with six catches for 40 yards on the year. Junior captain Dan Hebert has five catches for a team-high 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had zero touchdown catches in his first two seasons with the Blue Devils.
Preseason NEC Coaches' Poll • The Central Connecticut football team was picked to finish sixth in the 2015 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Blue Devils are under the direction of second-year head coach Pete Rossomando. Three Blue Devils earned Preseason All-Conference honors. On offense senior offensive lineman Tyler Hurd was chosen as one of five members of the First Team on the offensive line. Hurd was a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2014. He helped lead the Blue Devils to over 4,000 yards of total offense last season, including 159.0 yard on the ground. Junior defensive lineman Asia Bolling and defensive back Jevon Elmore, also a junior, were named on the defensive side of the ball. Bolling was sixth on the team with 53 total tackles a year ago. He led the team with six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss, as well as forcing a team-high four fumbles. Elmore posted 42 tackles and had a team-best three interceptions as a sophomore. His 31 solo tackles were second on the team. Central was picked sixth in the preseason poll after finishing last season 3-9 overall and 1-5 in NEC action. Bryant was picked first and received four first place votes. Duquesne was picked second, followed by Sacred Heart, Wagner, St. Francis U, CCSU and Robert Morris.
Pauldo Earns NEC Honor • Redshirt freshman quarterback Tavion Pauldo was named the Northeast Conference Football Rookie of the Week after the game vs. Lehigh to open the season. Pauldo finished the game 12-of-21 passing for 116 yards. The dual threat also rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries and finished with a team-high 49 net rushing yards (after factoring in three quarterback sacks). Pauldo put CCSU on the scoreboard late in the first half, finding Joey Fields for a 32-yard touchdown pass that cut CCSU's deficit to 17-7 heading into the break.
Lytton Out For the Season • Junior running back Brenden Lytton will miss the 2015 season with an injury sustained in preseason camp.
Home Games • The Blue Devils will play six home games this season, including three non-conference games vs. Lehigh, Bowie State and Dartmouth. The 11-game schedule ends with a road game at Wagner on Nov. 14.
Since the beginning of 2004 • Since the beginning of the 2004 season CCSU posts a record of 67-58, including 39-18 at home.
25 or More • Almost Perfect • Since the start of 2004 the Blue Devils are 49-13 when scoring 25 or more points in a game. They are 59-26 when scoring at least 20.
News Radio 1410 • Every Central Connecticut football and men's basketball game will air live on radio. News Radio 1410 will carry the action with Bruce Biel and Marc Robbins on the call.
NEC Front Row • Thanks to a continued partnership between the Northeast Conference and the Pack Network, live webcasts of NEC sports will be available free of charge on NECFrontRow.com. The site will carry every NEC football game this season (Excluding games broadcast on ESPN3.com).
Social Media • Follow the Blue Devils all season long on Social Media:
Twitter: @CCSUBlueDevils
In Game Twitter Updates: @KizerBlueDevil
Facebook: CCSUBlueDevils
Instagram: CCSUBlueDevils
