#19 Football Moves to 8-1 with a 27-13 Win at Wagner on Saturday

The 19th-ranked Central Connecticut football team used 14 second half points to move to 8-1 overall on the season with a 27-13 victory on the road at Wagner on Saturday.  The game was tied 13-13 at the half but a pair of second half scoring passes from senior Aaron Winchester paced the Blue Devils to the win.  CCSU is 4-0 in Northeast Conference play with thee victory.  The win is the fifth road victory of the season for the Blue Devils, the most in the country.  Central is 8-1 for the first time since the 1973 season.  Senior defensive lineman Brandon Puritt led the defense with a career-high three sacks in the win.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME COMMENTS

GAME INFORMATION
Score: #19 Central Connecticut 27, Wagner 13
Records: CCSU (8-1, 4-0 NEC), Wagner (1-8, 1-3 NEC)
Location: Hameline Field | Staten Island, NY

COACH QUOTE

 "We knew they offensively from our perspective that they were going to be a formidable defense," head coach Ryan McCarthy said. "They're very talented.  I thought we shot ourselves in the foot and had an opportunity in the first half to blow things open.  We struggled again to run the football between the tackles.  What allowed us to separate was the deep passing game and making some plays.  Defensively, it starts with the guys up front and that unit has been essential the last two weeks in each of those two wins."

KEY MOMENTS

• Winchester hit classmate Arthur Gilmore, Jr. with a 13-yard scoring pass in the 1st quarter to give CCSU a 6-3 lead with 10:25 on the clock.
• The Blue Devils scored their fifth defensive touchdown of the season to begin the second quarter.  Junior DJ Exilhomme blocked a punt and sophomore Alonzo Mitchell recovered it in the end zone for the score.
• Wagner scored the final 10 points of the second quarter and tied the game 13-13 before the break.
• Central broke a 13-13 tie with a 39-yard pass from Winchester to freshman Kyren Petteway, his third TD catch in the last three weeks.
• Winchester's third touchdown pass of the game came from 35 yards out and gave CCSU a 27-13 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.

NUMBER TO KNOW

15 - The total number of interceptions on the season by the Blue Devils through nine games.

NOTES

• The team's were meeting for the 32nd time in the history of the two programs.  The series is now tied 16-16.
• The road win is the fifth of the season for the Blue Devils, the most in the country.
• Central is 8-1 for the first time since the 1973 season.
• The Blue Devils held the Seahawks to -26 rushing yards in the game.
• The Blue Devils outgained Wagner 125 to -1 in the first quarter, but the Seahawks outgained CCSU 129-0 in the second quarter.
• Central recorded three more interceptions in the game, one from sophomore Foday Jalloh, one from senior Tajik Bagley, and one from sophomore Dexter Lawson, to up their number of interceptions to 15 on the season.
• Lawson's interception upped his team-lead to four interceptions on the year.

UP NEXT
Central returns home next Saturday at 12 p.m., hosting Saint Francis.