Football Opens NEC Play With Win At Saint Francis

The Central Connecticut State University football team opened Northeast Conference play with a 27-20 win at Saint Francis University on Saturday afternoon in Loretto, PA. The Blue Devils have won consecutive games to improve to 2-1 on the year, while the Red Flash fall to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in league play.

Jayden Anderson knocked a ball away from DeMarcus McElroy and Kimal Clark scooped it up and returned it 10-yards for the score with 1:45 to play in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils defense allowed an SFU first down on the next drive, but stiffened, with a sack from Jalen Howard and a tackle for loss by Jayden Anderson to stymie any Red Flash comeback hopes.

For the second week in a row, the Blue Devils defense was impressive with four takeaways, including the game-winning touchdown. Howard had two sacks for the second consecutive game, as the Blue Devils finished with five for the game. The Central defense surpassed last week's effort by recording 16 tackles for loss from 11 players.

Aidan Clark tied an NEC record, and set a CCSU mark, with an 84-yard punt in the second quarter. The NEC mark was originally set by Sean Dennis (Monmouth) in November 1, 2003, against CCSU. It is the longest punt in FCS play since 2021.

The Blue Devils return to FBS play next weekend, traveling to UMass. Game time on September 21^st is 3:30 pm. The game will air on ESPN+

GAME INFORMATION

Score: CCSU 27, SFU 20

Records: CCSU (2-1; 1-0 NEC); SFU (1-2; 0-1 NEC)

Location: DeGol Field | Loretto, PA

KEY MOMENTS

• Facing 4^th and 2 on the opening drive, Elijah Howard went up the middle for three yards to keep the drive alive and set up a 39-yard Jack Barnum field goal
• The Blue Devils forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that Jayvis Rayside recovered to setup Barnum for a 40-yard field goal with 10:04 to play in the opening quarter
• The Red Flash's DeMario Crawford returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown and a 7-6 SFU lead
• Brady Olson went around the right side for a seven-yard touchdown run, with 12:39 to play in the first-half, to cap a 12-play, 80-yard drive and give CCSU a 13-7 advantage
• Aidan Clark boomed a school-record 84 yards punt that pinned SFU on its own three, but DeMarcus McElroy broke through on the first down run and rambled 97 yards for a 14-13 SFU lead
• The CCSU defense held SFU late in the second quarter and forced a punt that gave the Blue Devils the ball on their own 49 with 2:13 to play
• Olson found Plaskon in the back corner of the end zone for an 11-yard scoring pass that put CCSU in front 20-14, one play after Olson avoided a sack and advanced the ball 11 yards for a first down
• The Red Flash recovered a fumble in the endzone, but missed the PAT, tying the score 20-20 with 5:32 to play in the third quarter
• Both teams missed field goal attempts, the Blue Devils a 51-yard try late in the third quarter and the Red Flash a 43-yard attempt 96 ticks into the fourth quarter
• Davion Ames forced a fumble after an SFU completion that Deon McLeon recovered on the SFU 38, but the Blue Devils were short on a fourth-down pass completion and turned the ball over on downs
• SFU fumbled the snap on first down, and Davion Ames tackled Markell Holman for a loss on second down and the defense forced a three-and-out to get CCSU the ball back with 3:02 to play

NUMBER TO KNOW

84 – The length of the school record-breaking and NEC record-tying punt by Aidan Clark

NOTES

• Howard had 102 yards rushing on the afternoon, carrying the ball 23 times
• Olson was 21-42 with 163 yards passing and a touchdown throw, to go along with his rushing score
• Clark's 84-yard punt surpassed the 73-yard effort of Mike Kien versus Saint John's in 2002. The FCS record is 93 yards, on 9/8/2021 in the Northeastern versus Villanova game
• McElroy ran for 124 yards and a touchdown to pace the SFU offense
• Davone Walden, Jr. and Jack Stoll both finished with eight tackles and a TFL
• 11 defenders recorded a TFL on the afternoon for CCSU
• Plaskon had a team-best six catches and 53 yards receiving for Central and was one of nine Blue Devils to record a catch on the afternoon
• Clark punted six times on the afternoon and finished with a 50.3 yard per punt average, placing four inside the 20 and having two punts over 50 yards
• Jeff Hoenstine was 12-16 for 112 yards and an interception as the Red Flash QB