Football Drops 25-21 Decision vs. Wagner on Homecoming on Saturday

The Central Connecticut football team fell to Wagner, 25-21, on Homecoming at Arute Field on Saturday afternoon.  The Blue Devils led 21-10 at the half, but the Seahawks scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to remain unbeaten in Northeast Conference place.  

With the loss the Blue Devils fall to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in NEC play.  Wagner improves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the league with the victory.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Dolegala finished the game 18-of-36 for 243 and a pair of touchdowns.  He also threw two interceptions.  

Junior Cameron Nash rushed 13 times for 97 yards and a touchdown in the loss.  Junior Joey Fields finished the game with four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.  Sophomore Jose Garcia had four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown, all career-highs.

Junior captain Randall LaGuerre led the defense with 14 total tackles in the game.  Junior Jarrod Cann, senior Carlton Nash and sophomore Kenneth Keen all had 11 stops in the game.  Freshman Tajik Bagley posted his first career interception for the Blue Devils.

Wagner scored first on a 70-yard run from Denzel Knight near the end of the first quarter.  Knight surpassed 120 yards on his first four carries in the first quarter and gave the visitors the 7-0 lead.

The Blue Devils answered with a 10-play, 83-yard drive that ended on the first play of the second quarter, a two-yard touchdown run by junior Cameron Nash.  Nash's score, his second of the season, tied the score with 14:56 left in the second.

Wagner took a 10-7 lead on a 37-yard field goal from James Cooper with 12:39 to play in the quarter.

Central took its first lead of the game on a 74-yard scoring strike from Dolegala to Fields.  The play was the only play of the drive, and the longest play from scrimmage for the Blue Devils this season.  It made the score 14-10.

The Blue Devils increased the lead 21-10 on a 25-yard throw and catch to Garcia with 9:53 left before the half.  The scoring catch was the first of Garcia's career and the second touchdown pass of the game for Dolegala.

Cooper's second field goal of the game, this time from 30 yards, cut the Blue Devil lead to 21-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Following a failed fake field goal attempt by the Blue Devils, Wagner drove the length of the field for another score.  Alex Thomson hit Brandon Peoples from five yards out to cut the Blue Devil lead to 21-19.  The score capped a 13-play, 90-yard drive.  The two point conversion attempt came up short and the Blue Devils kept the two point lead.

The Blue Devils could not pick up a first down on their next drive and were forced to punt.  Wagner used a nine-play, 54-yard drive to score the game-winning touchdown and make it 25-21.  Matthias McKinnon ran it in from one yard out for the score and the lead.  The two point conversion was no good.

The Blue Devils moved the ball to midfield with less than a minute to play but a last attempt at the end zone was intercepted and the game was over.

The Blue Devils will complete the non-conference portion of their schedule next weekend on the road at Coastal Carolina.  The Blue Devils and nationally-ranked Chanticleers will kickoff at 2 p.m.