Football Hosts Bryant on Homecoming on Saturday
Blue Devils playing their first home NEC game of the season
The Central Connecticut football team returns home on Saturday after a pair of road games in the last two weeks. The Blue Devils will host Bryant on Homecoming on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Arute Field.
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Today's Game • The Central Connecticut football team returns home for the third time this season hosting Bryant at 1 p.m. on Homecoming in New Britain. The Blue Devils, who have played three road games this season, will play four of their final six games at home, including next week vs. Dartmouth in the final non-conference game of the season. Central will not leave the state of Connecticut until the final week of the regular season when they travel to Wagner on Nov. 14. Sandwiched in between four home games is a trip to Sacred Heart on Oct. 24. Today's game will kick off at 1 p.m. The final three home games of the year will kick off at 12 noon.
Last Week • The Blue Devils traveled to Pittsburgh to open conference play on the road at Duquesne, falling 27-10 to the Dukes. The loss is the third straight for the Blue Devils on the road at Duquesne. The Blue Devils trailed 14-0 before scoring 10 unanswered points before halftime to cut the lead to 14-10. The Dukes outscored the Blue Devils 13-0 in the second half, in large part because they kept the CCSU offense off the field. Duquesne held a 37:53-22:07 advantage in time of possession and forced four Blue Devils turnovers without giving up the ball at all during the game. The four turn-overs led to 10 Duquesne points. Duquesne held the ball for 21:01 of the second half, allowing the Blue Devils to run just 22 offensive plays after the break. Duquesne, on the other hand, ran 50 plays after halftime.
vs. Bryant • The Blue Devils and Bulldogs are meeting for the eighth time all-time in the series, and for the eighth season in a row. Central won the first four meetings in the series, beginning in 2008, but the Bulldogs have won the last three, including twice in New Britain. The last Blue Devil win in the series came in 2011, a 42-21 road win in Smithfield, RI.
Defense Numbers • Sophomores Najae Brown and Randall LaGuerre lead the Blue Devils in tackles through the first five games of the season with 43 and 42 respectively. Junior captain Jevon Elmore is right behind with 37 tackles and leads the team with seven pass break-ups. Senior Brandon Hollomon has 35 tackles and five pass break-ups from his corner-back position. Junior Asia Bolling has a team-high eight tackles for a loss on the season to go along with his 20 tackles.
Dolegala in the Air • Freshman quarterback Jacob Dolegala connected on his first eight pass attempts in Saturday's loss at Duquesne on Saturday and finished 8-of-13 for 148 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His touchdown came on a career-long pass to classmate Courtney Rush from 58 yards that was the only touchdown of the game for CCSU vs. the Dukes. The 148 yards is the second-highest total of Dolegala's career. He passed for 168 yards in the home win vs. Bowie State on Sept. 19. After starting his career 6-of-20 vs. Stony Brook, Dolegala is now 40 for his last 69 (57.9%), good for 427 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in his last three games.
Rushing Yards • The Blue Devils allowed only four rushing yards in the win over Bowie State three weeks ago on Arute Field. The Bulldogs rushed 14 times for four yards in the loss. Bowie State ran 82 offensive plays, 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 rush-ing 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.
