Box Score THE BASICS
-Score: University of New Haven 34, Assumption College 33
-Records: Assumption (6-3, NE10 5-2), New Haven (6-3, NE10 5-2)
-Location: Worcester, Mass.
-The Lead: The Assumption College football team dropped a hard-fought battle to the Chargers of the University of New Haven at home on Saturday afternoon. The Hounds celebrated Senior Day and recognized 22 graduating players: Justin Assad, Egan Bachtell, Tighe Beck, Noah Brown, Khaleed Exum-Strong, CJ Finn, Jason Flanagan, Quentin Hall, Terrell Huff, Mitchell Kinney, Calvin Milliner, Mac-Brian Nkongchu, Elijah Riley, Thomas Schaper, Mason Spence, Shawn Springs, Hayden Stagnone, Keelan Thomas, Jared Vargus, Seamus Wallace, and Trenton Wright
HOW IT HAPPENED
-With 4:20 on the clock in the first quarter, junior Christian Lupoli caught a look at his teammate Ju'an Williams down field, his pass was nearly intercepted by Assumption senior Mac-Brian Nkongchu (Worcester, Mass. / St. John's), but the ball bounced up into the hands of Williams who finished the run into the endzone to give the Chargers the 7-0 lead.
-The Hounds ended a New Haven drive on downs and capitalized on the strong defense with an eight-yard carry from senior Khaleed Exum-Strong (Norwichtown, Conn. / Norwich Free Academy / Trinity Pawling) into the endzone for the tie score.
-The Greyhounds defense stepped up again when Jason Flanagan (North Kingstown, R.I. / North Kingstown) sacked Lupoli in the endzone for another two points on a safety with 1:30 to go before the half (9-7).
-McAfee completed three passes in Assumption's next drive for a gain of 35 yards. Exum-Strong carried the ball for 10 yards to the New Haven seven-yard line and McAfee finished off the drive with a seven-yard rushing touchdown to pull ahead 16-7.
-Junior Jacob Tondel (Webster, Mass. / Shepher Hill Regional) knocked down a 35-yard field goal before the half to give the Hounds the 19-7 advantage heading into the halftime break.
-The Chargers put up the lone score of the third quarter. Shamar Logan rushed for 17 yards to bring them to the Assumption 28-yard line. Lupoli connected with Williams again for a 28-yard passing touchdown as the visitors pulled within five heading into the final quarter.
-New Haven carried their offensive push into the fourth with an early touchdown. Lupoli found Jake Lareau for the score and the two-point conversion was good to Williams for the 22-19 lead.
-Assumption responded in their very next drive. McAfee went 5-for-5 in pass attempts in the drive to gain 68 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to first year Brevin Easton (Odenton, Md. / Archbishop Spalding). Freshman kicker Patrick May (Boylston, Mass. / Tahanto Regional) made the extra point as the Hounds pulled ahead 26-22 with 14:10 on the clock.
-Assumption extended their lead to 33-22 with a 17-yard carry into the endzone by McAfee.
-With just over two minutes to go Lupoli completed a 27-yard pass to Zhyaire Fernand who snagged the ball with a one-hand catch to give the Chargers the final 34-33 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-McAfee finished the day 19-for-37 with 213 passing yards and one passing touchdown. He added 39 rushing yards on 12 carriers and two more scores.
-Santos added 82 rushing yards on 20 carries while Exum-Strong added 61 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown.
-Easton grabbed six passes for a gain of 88 total yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Joseph Kellum (Mt. Laurel, N.J. / Lenape Regional) made another six catches for the Hounds for 45 yards.
-Seamus Wallace (Pawcatuck, Conn. / Stonington) punted 10 times for 351 total yards and pinned four in the opposing 20-yard line.
-Junior Isaiah Huff (Windsor, Conn. / Milford Academy) gained 111 yards on three kick-off returns.
-Lupoli finished 14-for-27 for New Haven. He gained 319 passing yards and threw five touchdown passes. Chris Liggio gained 42 yards on 16 carries.
-Williams made six catches, including two touchdown receptions, and gained 166 yards for New Haven.
-Junior Antoine Williams (Springfield, Mass. / Springfield Central) led the Assumption defense with nine tackles. Trenton Wright (Natick, Mass. / Natick / Bridgton Academy) added eight tackles including 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss of 22 yards. Flanagan added six tackles and one for a loss of five yards.
-Zach Cofrancesco added 12 tackles for the Chargers. Allaah Sessions finished with 11 tackles including two for a loss of five yards.
-The Hounds finished with 54 total tackles while New Haven combined for 74.
-New Haven gained 406 total yards of offense while Assumption finished with 396 total yards.
UP NEXT
-The Hounds travel to Saint Anselm on Saturday, November 16th. The game will be the second meeting of the two teams this season, this time being the Northeast-10 Conference match-up. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
