Blue Devils Return Home to Host Harmony Classic on Saturday
CCSU and Bowie State are meeting for the second straight season
The Central Connecticut football team team returns to Arute Field on Saturday at 3 p.m. hosting Bowie State in the NAACP Harmony Classic. CCSU, 0-2 on the season, and the Bulldogs, 1-1, will meet for the second straight season. The Blue Devils came away with a 21-14 win at Arute Field last season, and hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series.
Today's Game • The Blue Devils host Bowie State for the third Harmony Classic today at Arute Field, and for the second straight season. CCSU, now 0-2 on the season after a loss at #12 James Madison last week, is home for the second of five home games this year. This is the last non-conference home game of the season for the Blue Devils. Last year the Blue Devils topped the Bulldogs 21-14 behind three rushing touchdowns by quarterback Jacob Dolegala. The win was the first of the season for the Blue Devils. The game was tied 14-14 late in the fourth quarter before Dolegala ran it in from four-yards out to secure the win. The Bulldogs had success in the air in the loss, passing for 373 yards, but the Blue Devils defense held strong on the ground and limited Bowie to just four net rushing yards. Bowie comes into today's game with a 1-1 record, including a loss to Seton Hill (50-48) and a win over Johnson C. Smith (52-0).
Last Week • The Central Connecticut football team dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 56-21 loss at #12 James Madison on Saturday night at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, VA. The Blue Devils fall to 0-3 all-time vs. the Dukes, with all three meetings coming since the 2011 season. The Dukes scored on all five first half possessions and took a 35-7 lead at the break. Junior quarterback Bryan Schor completed 15 of 16 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense. JMU racked up 359 total yards in the half and held the Blue Devils to just 109. The Dukes led 21-0 before the Blue Devils scored their lone points of the half. Sophomore quarterback Jacob Dolegala hit classmate K.J. Smith for a four-yard score to cut the lead to 21-7 with 12:41 left in the second half. The Blue Devil scoring drive went eight plays for 84 yards and took just 3:38 as Central got on the board for the first time. Dolegala was 9-of-14 for 88 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Central ran for just 21 yards on the ground, led by 18 from senior Brenden Lytton. James Madison ran for 178 yards on 21 rushes in the half and Schor threw for 181 and three scores. JMU returned a punt for a touchdown to make it 42-7 to open the second half before the Blue Devils put together a solid offensive drive to cut the lead to 42-14. Dolegala hit junior Joey Field for a 17-yard touchdown strike to cap an 80-yard drive. It was his second scoring pass of the game. The Blue Devils cut the lead to 42-21 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter when junior Najae Brown intercepted a Schor pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. JMU answered with a quick scoring drive to make it 49-21 with 13:58 to play. Dolegala finished the game 19-of-31 for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Smith led the receivers with four catches for 65 yards. Nash also had four catches. Lytton rushed for 33 yards to lead the rushing attack. Schor finished the game 17-of-21 for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Cardon Johnson rushed for 121 yards and two scores while Khalid Abdullah had 113 yards and a score. Defensively the Blue Devils were led by Brown who had 10 tackles and the interception for the score. Junior Randall LaGuerre added eight stops. Senior Joel Maddock had a sack.
Improvement From Week One • Despite the loss on the road at James Madison last week, the Blue Devils saw improvement in several areas, namely turnovers. Central turned the ball over five times in the seasonopening loss to Lafayette, including the first four possessions of the game. On Saturday, the Blue Devils did not record a turnover, and forced two from the Dukes. Junior Najae Brown returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter, and the Blue Devils also forced and recovered a fumble in the second half.
Dolegala Shaking Off a Rough Start • Sophomore quarter Jacob Dolegala had a rough start to 2016 when he threw two interceptions in his first 11 attempts in the first quarter against Lafayette. Since the second interception Dolegala has thrown 59 passes without an interception.
Offensive Line • The Blue Devils did not allow a sack in the loss to James Madison and on the season have allowed just three total sacks.
Receiving Core • Senior Dan Hebert leads the team in receptions this season with nine, good for a team-high 84 yards. Sophomore tight end K.J. Smith, who led the team in receiving yardage a year ago, is second in yardage this season with 77 yards. Running back Cam Nash has nine catches for 65 yards.
NEC Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference • The Central Connecticut football team was tabbed fifth in the 2016 Northeast Conference Football Preseason Coaches' Poll. Additionally, the Blue Devils had senior Asia Bolling, junior Cameron Nash and junior Randall Laguerre named to the Preseason AllNEC Team. Leading the returnees on defense will be Bolling who was named to the Preseason All-NEC Team for the second consecutive season. Bolling earned All-NEC First Team honors on the defensive line as a junior after compiling 64 total tackles in 11 games. He led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He added a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Nash burst onto the scene in his first season with the Blue Devils to earn All-NEC Second Team honors at running back. He led the Central rushing attack with three touchdowns on 676 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. He added 218 receiving yards on 18 catches, including an 84-yard touchdown against Bryant. Laguerre played in all 11 games as a sophomore in Central's linebacker corps and led the Blue Devils' defense with 92 total tackles, including 55 solo efforts. He recorded one sack at Wagner and had 11.5 tackles for loss.
Captains • Third-year head coach Pete Rossomando announced that two players from each side of the ball will lead the Blue Devils this season as captains. Rossomando has announced that seniors Dan Hebert and Brenden Lytton and juniors Najae Brown and Randall Laguerre will be the four captains for the upcoming season. "These four players were picked because they embody what it means to play football at Central Connecticut," Rossomando said. "Each has proven to have what it takes to be successful at this level, and leads by example each and every day. During their careers they have performed both on the field and in the classroom. During preseason camp they have led this team from day one. That showed, and that's why each was chosen." The four captains were chosen by a vote of the players and the coaching staff. "We chose four captains, but I have been tremendously impressed with the leadership of the entire team during the last three weeks, and really since we finished the 2015 season," Rossomando added.
Brown's Returns • Junior Najae Brown, who became a dangerous return man towards the end of the 2015 season, showed that again early this season. He returned an interception for a score against JMU, and returned a punt for a touchdown against Lafayette but had it called back because of a holding penalty on the other side of the field. He finished the game with three punt returns for 76 total yards, an average of over 25 yards per return. He also had one kickoff return for 30 yards in the game.
Shutout • The shutout vs. Robert Morris last season was the first for the Blue Devils since Nov. 8, 2008 when they shutout St. Francis U 36-0, also at home.
Size • The Blue Devils have gotten bigger up front on the offensive side of the ball. The starting five, as listed in the two deep, are 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, 6-5 and 6-5, and average 290 pounds. The entire two deep doesn't have a lineman below 6-1, and all 10 listed average 296 pounds.
Turnovers • The Blue Devils caused six turnovers and had five interceptions in the win over RMU last season. It was the most turnovers (6) and interceptions (5) in a game since Nov. 8, 2008 in the win over St. Francis.
10 Points in 2 Games • The Blue Devils allowed only 10 points in a two-game span vs. SHU and Robert Morris last season, the fewest points allowed in a two-game stretch in their FCS history and the fewest in a two-game stretch since 1987 when they allowed three points in a two-game stretch to Springfield and Western Connecticut.
25 or More Almost Perfect • Since the start of 2004 the Blue Devils are 52-13 when scoring 25 or more points in a game. They are 62-27 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. Fans can also listen to every game online at www.iHeartRadio.com or with the iHeartRadio app.
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 CCSU NEC football game this season (Excluding the two games broadcast on ESPN3.com this se
