November 12, 2022
Smith Surpasses 1,000 Yards In Senior Day Effort
Senior becomes 16th player to rush for 1,000 yards in a single-season
Nasir Smith ran for 148 yards and become the 16th player in Central Connecticut football history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. The senior finished the day with 1,001 yards.
CCSU dropped its home finale, 20-14 to visiting Northeast Conference foe Merrimack Saturday afternoon. Both teams scored on their opening drives of the game and not again until the fourth quarter.
The Blue Devils close out the 2022 campaign at Stonehill on November 19.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Merrimack 20, CCSU 14
Records: CCSU (1-9; 1-5 NEC); Merrimack (8-2, 6-0 NEC)
Location: Arute Field | New Britain, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- Smith capped the Blue Devils game opening drive with a one-hard TD run, that capped a 17-play, 82-yard drive
- Maurice Nelson returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to give Merrimack the ball on the Central 18 for the first drive
- Gavin McCusker found Pat Conroy in the endzone six plays later, for a 10-yard score to tie the game
- The Blue Devils drove to the Merrimack 19 late in the second quarter before a Kyle Zajack pass was tipped and intercepted
- Merrimack attempted a 34-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half, but the Llliam Davis kick went wide left
- After a scoreless third quarter McCusker found Conroy in the endzone again, this time from four yards out, to give the Warriors a 14-7 lead
- Merrimack added six with 5:37 to play when McCusker and Conroy connected from 11-yards out for their third scoring connection of the game
- Zajack led an 11-play, 2:57 drive and scored from a yard out to bring CCSU within six, 20-14 with 20 seconds to play
- The Blue Devils tried an onside kick on the ensuing kick, but Merrimack recovered the effort to seal the victory
BY THE NUMBERS
- Smith carried 30 times in the game, rushing for 148 yards and finished with 172 all-purpose yards
- Zajack made his first career start at QB and finished 17-37 for 199 yards, while rushing for 14 net yards on 10 carries
- Erik Surratt and Kyren Petteway both made six catches on Saturday, Surratt for 84 yards and Petteway for 65
- Jonathan Cabral-Martin made a team-best nine stops, including 0.5 TFL
- Jahlil Brown and Chizi Umunakwe both recorded five tackles
- Noah Washington recorded a sack for the Blue Devils
- Aidan Clark averaged 37.5 yards per punt, with a long of 48, and placed two inside the Merrimack 20
NUMBER TO KNOW
1,001– Smith's yard total through 10 games, the 15th best single-season effort in program history
