October 18, 2018
CCSU Welcomes Sacred Heart to Arute Field on Homecoming
Blue Devils are playing at home for the first time in 35 days
It's been five weeks since the CCSU football team played at Arute Field. Since that time, a four-game road trip including the beginning of Northeast Conference play, the Blue Devils have posted a 3-1 record, and a 2-0 mark in league action. CCSU is now 4-3 overall and 2-0 in NEC action. Dating back to last season they have won eight straight league games, the longest NEC winning streak by any team in the league since Duquesne had an eight-game winning streak stopped by the Blue Devils a season ago. The last time an NEC team won nine-straight was Robert Morris from 2009-10 when they posted a conference winning streak of 12 games.
Today's Game • The Blue Devils return home for the first time since Sept. 15 this afternoon, hosting Sacred Heart for Homecoming at 1 p.m. The home game follows four straight games on the road for the Blue Devils. They were 3-1 in that stretch, including back-to-back NEC road wins at Robert Morris and Bryant. Today marks the beginning of three home games in the final five weeks of the season for CCSU. They have just one road game remaining, at St. Francis U on Nov. 10. CCSU also has a bye on Nov. 3.
Two Weeks in a Row • The Blue Devils followed up a record offensive win at Robert Morris with another stellar performance in the win at Bryant on Saturday. Central posted 667 yards of total offense vs. the Bulldogs, which would have been a school-record if not for the 699 yards they had the previous week at RMU. Central rushed for 442 yards in the win in Smithfield, which is the second-highest single-game total in school history.
DJG Again • Junior running back Drew Jean-Guillaume was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight week on Monday. DJG rushed 23 times for 203 yards and a touchdown, and had 20 receiving yards on the day. In the last two weeks he has 360 yards rushing and 102 yards receiving, accounting for 462 yards of all-purpose yards. He has six touchdowns on the season, four coming in the last two weeks.
Two for 100 • Jean-Guillaume (157 yards) and sophomore classmate Aaron Dawson (102) yards became the first CCSU teammates to rush for 100 yards in the same game since 2011 (Chris Tolbert and Brian Fowler vs. Bryant, 11/19/11) in the win at Robert Morris on Oct. 7. They almost did it again at Bryant, when Jean-Guillaume rushed for 203 and Dawson posted 99.
Dolegala's Last Two Weeks • Senior quarterback Jake Dolegala has had a solid two weeks for the Blue Devils, leading to a pair of NEC road wins. In the last two weeks Dolegala is 33-of-42 for 566 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 145 yards and four scores. He has five rushing touchdowns on the season, and has thrown for nine scores, while posting just two interceptions. Dolegala set a new school-record for total offense with 408 yards in the win over Robert Morris on Oct. 6. His 341 passing yards matched a career-high. With his 225 passing yards against Bryant, Dolegala moved to 7th all-time in NEC history with 7,432 career passing yards. Dalton Easton (Bryant) is 6th on the list at 7,468. Brian Boland (Monmouth) is 5th at 7,812.
Don't Forget About Rush • Senior Courtney Rush has also posted an impressive two-game stretch, catching 11 balls for 313 yards and three touchdowns, including 100+ yards in each game. He now has 1,476 career receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns. His yardage is good for a top-10 spot in school history.
A Record Day for the Offense • The Blue Devils set a new school and NEC record with 699 yards of total offense in the 56-35 win over Robert Morris two weeks ago. Central rushed for 358 yards and passed for another 341 in the victory and had 31 first downs.
Lots of Points • CCSU has scored 104 points in the last two games, the highest point total in a two game stretch since they had 135 in wins over St. Peter's and St. Francis U in 2006. The 104 points marks the highest back-to-back total in NEC games in school history.
Most Since 2006 • The 56 points in the NEC win over Robert Morris marked their most points in an NEC game since 2006, when they beat St. Francis U 62-21 in New Britain.
Into the Record Book • First-year kicker Francis Cole, a junior, kicked his way into the football record book in the road loss at Lafayette two weeks ago. Just before halftime Cole kicked a school-record 50-yard field goal to put the Blue Devils up 17-14. It was the first 50+ yard field goal in school history, topping the record of 49 set by Mike O'Sullivan vs. Springfield in 1984.
Blocked Punts • Sophomore DJ Exilhomme blocked a key punt just before halftime three weeks ago in the road win at Fordham, leading to a CCSU touchdown with under a minute to play before halftime. The blocked punt was the third of the year for the Blue Devils. Exilhomme was named the NEC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Bagley to the House • Junior defensive back Tajik Bagley became the first Blue Devil since 2003 to return a punt for a touchdown when he returned a Columbia kick 82 yards for a score in the first quarter on Sept. 15. The last Blue Devils to return a punt for a touchdown, prior to Bagley, was former defensive back Donnie Rose, who returned a punt 90 yards vs. Monmouth on Nov. 1, 2003.
Mushaw WAS the Match! • For the past four years, head football coach Pete Rossmando and the Blue Devil football program have teamed up with the Be The Match Program to add more than 750 CCSU students, faculty and staff to the national bone marrow registry. This past year they got word that one of the people they had signed up had been chosen as a match. Junior linebacker Mike Mushaw was recently selected as a match, and this summer he donated his marrow to help save the life of someone he has never met. CCSU football has joined the efforts of Villanova football head coach Andy Talley to raise awareness of the need for marrow donors and helping patients receive life-saving transplants. Talley and others have helped recruit thousands of potential donors to the registry by encouraging their football players, other students and their peers on other teams to sign up, along with friends, family and teachers. Last year alone, close to 10,000 people joined the Be The Match Registry through Get in the Game. Save A Life. donor registry drives.
Northeast Conference Champions • The Blue Devils won their fifth Northeast Conference title with an undefeated 6-0 league record in 2017. It was the first unbeaten conference season for an NEC team since 2008. The league title is the fifth for CCSU since the 2004 season, and their first since 2010.
Eight Straight Wins • Prior to last season's loss to New Hampshire in the FCS playoffs, the Blue Devils won eight straight games in a single season for the first time in school history. The last streak of nine or more straight wins came from 1954-55 when CCSU won nine straight games (all six games of 1954 and first three of 1955).
Rossomando Coach of the Year and Eddie Robinson Finalist Head coach Pete Rossomando was named the NEC Coach of the Year last season. He was also an Eddie Robinson Award finalist for the National Coach of the Year Award.
Interceptions for a Score • The Blue Devils have now returned eight interceptions for a touchdown in their last 29 games, dating back to 2016. Junior Grant Ibeh intercepted a pass and returned it 19 yards for a score in the 24-13 win over Fordham on Sept. 22, 2018. CCSU tied an NCAA record by returning an interception in four straight games from Sept. 23 through Oct. 14, 2017.
Overtime, Again • The Blue Devils played one of the most memorable games in school history in 2017 topping Wagner 51-45 in 4OT on Staten Island. The game is the longest in school history and the ninth-ever overtime game for CCSU. The Blue Devils are now 6-3 all-time in overtime. Central had previously played three double overtime games and was 1-2 in those games. They lost 23-17 at Robert Morris in 2006, won 49-48 at Monmouth in 2010 and lost 51-44 at Lehigh in 2013, all in double OT.
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 those games designated by the NEC to air on ESPN3/ESPN+.
Social Media • Follow the Blue Devils all season long on Social Media:
Twitter: @CCSUBlueDevils
In Game Twitter Updates: @KizerBlueDevil
Facebook: CCSUBlueDevils
Instagram: CCSUBlueDevils
SnapChat: CCSUBlueDevils
