Football Wins 20-17 at Albany
Blue Devils back on the road next week at Rhode Island
Junior placekicker Steven Calitri kicked the game-winning 40-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play as the Central Connecticut football team won its first game of the season, 20-17, on the road at Albany on Saturday night.
With the win Central is now 1-3 overall on the season. Albany drops to 1-3.
The road win for the Blue Devils is the first since the final game of the 2011 season when they won at Bryant. It marks the first win over Albany since the 2010 season.
Junior running back Rob Hollomon rushed 20 times for 145 yards and a touchdown, including a season-long 59-yard run in the third quarter. He averaged 4.8 yards per rush on the night. He finished the game with 254 all-purpose yards, including 60 receiving.
Defensively, the Blue Devils held Albany to 276 total yards and sacked the Great Danes four times in the win. Senior Chuck Watson had a team-high 15 tackles, including a sack and three tackles for a loss. Albany had just 136 yards on the ground.
Calitri started the scoring with a 31-yard field goal on their first drive. The Great Danes scored 10 points off two CCSU turnovers in a two minute span to take a 10-3 lead to open the second quarter. Tom Riordan kicked a 39-yard field goal and then Omar Osbourne ran it in for the first touchdown of the game to give Albany its first lead.
The Blue Devils answered with a 13-play, 68-yard scoring drive to tie the game 10-10 with 8:01 left in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Andrew Clements hit junior Thomas Tarantino from one-yard out on a fourth-and-goal to tie the game. The touchdown pass was the second of the season for Clements, and the first scoring catch for Tarantino.
Albany took a 17-10 lead at the end of the third quarter. A long 15-play, 78-yard drive took 6:09 off the clock and the second rushing touchdown of the game for Osbourne gave the home team the seven point edge.
Hollomon answered quickly with a 59-yard touchdown run on the next possession for the Blue Devils, tying the score at 17-17 with 14:19 to play in the fourth quarter. The run was a season-long for Hollomon, and his sixth touchdown of the season.
After forcing an Albany punt the Blue Devils drove 13-plays and 57 yards leading to the Calitri game-winner. The drive took 4:36 off the clock and left Albany only 17 seconds to run two final plays.
Watson's 15 tackles led the Blue Devils. Sophomore Josh Celerin and senior Antwione Reese each added 10 tackles. Sophomore Mark Robinson had a pair of sacks.
Clements finished the game 13-for-22 for 140 yards and a touchdown. Junior Darius Lee added 42 yards on the ground as Central ran for 186 yards in the win.
The Blue Devils will return to action next Saturday at Rhode Island, kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Fans can listen online at iHeartRadio.com or FoxSportsRadio1410.com.
