Football Bounces Bryant to Win Second Straight

November 6, 2021

Central Connecticut had a balanced offensive attack and opportunistic defense in a 30-15 win over Bryant at Arute Field. The Blue Devils scored 17 straight points in the second and third quarters to take control of the game.

CCSU had a well-balanced 329 yards of total offense. The Blue Devils collected 168 yards on the ground and 161 yards in the air. Sophomore Romelo Williams had a team-high 65 yards on the ground, while also going 15-of-21 for 168 yards passing. He threw for one score and one interception. Senior Tyshaun James had a team-high five catches for 58 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Blue Devils limited Bryant to 220 yards and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns. Junior Jahlil Brown and freshman Kaiyon Gunn each had six tackles. Senior Kelvin Apari had five tackles, a forced fumble and a sack.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Central Connecticut 30, Bryant 15
Records: CCSU (3-6, 3-2 NEC), BRY (5-4, 3-2 NEC)
Location: Arute Field | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

CCSU opened the scoring after returning an interception for a score on Bryant's first drive. Junior Ifeanyi Okorji recorded his first career interception and returned it 29 yards to make it 6-0 midway through the first quarter.
Bryant would take a lead in the second quarter after recording an interception it turned into a touchdown. Landon Ruggieri caught a nine-yard pass for the score to make it 7-6 at 9:25 in the second.
The Blue Devils would bounce back to take control of the game, scoring 17 unanswered points. A 9-play, 65-yard drive was capped with a 10-yard passing touchdown to James to make it 13-7 just before halftime.
Senior Nasir Smith would find paydirt with 4:24 left in the third quarter to make it 20-7 after a 8-play, 75-yard drive. Junior Joe Zoppi pushed the lead to 23-7 after his 25-yard field goal with 14:14 remaining.
After Ruggieri scored his second touchdown of the day and Bryant converted the two-point conversion to make it 23-15 with 5:30 to play the CCSU defense would clinch the win. The Bulldogs got the ball back with 0:41 to play, but Apari would hit Zevi Eckhaus in the endzone, knocking the ball loose. Senior Tre Jones would jump on it for the touchdown to make it 30-15 and seal the win.

NUMBER TO KNOW

3 - The Blue Devils have recorded three defensive touchdowns in the last two games, both wins. CCSU's defense did not have a score in the first seven games of the season.

GAME NOTES

CCSU has won four straight in the series and five of the last six meetings.
The win moves Central into a four-way tie for second place in the league standings.
Apari, who missed the previous two games, recorded 1.5 sacks. He has a team-high five sacks on the year.
CCSU held Bryant to just 114 passing yards. The Blue Devils have not allowed more than 257 passing yards in any of the last four games.
Smith (12 carries, 45 yards) and junior Aaron Dawson (10 carries, 37 yards) bolstered the CCSU running game.
Central matched a season-high with three sacks and has posted three sacks in each of the last three games.

UP NEXT
Central travels to Duquesne on Saturday for a 12 p.m. kickoff.