In front of more than 5,000 Blue Devil fans, Central Connecticut football returned home for the first time in over a month, dominating Northeast Conference opponent Bryant University from start to finish, winning the game 52-14.

“It’s phenomenal, it’s great to come out here after we’ve been on the road for a long time,” graduate transfer quarterback Aaron Winchester said. “It’s great to show our fans what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been improving. I think we put on a pretty good show for them.”

The Blue Devils did put on a show, putting up 50 plus points for the first time this season and the first time since Oct. 6 of last year against Robert Morris University.

Central, who is now ranked #23 in the STATS FCS Top-25 Poll, is 6-1 this season overall with a 2-0 NEC record.

“I thought our offense was grooving pretty well today,” head coach Ryan McCarthy said. “Balanced in terms of run-pass, Aaron [Winchester] was running the football really well, we were doing a really good job up front blocking and we were getting the ball down the field, which was critical.”

The Blue Devils put up 555 total yards on offense including 312 on the ground and 243 through the air.

The offense stretched the field with freshman receiver Kyren Petteway, who recorded the first two catches of his collegiate career on Saturday and scored touchdowns both times from 34 and 41 yards away respectively.

Petteway is the first Blue Devil to have two 30 plus yard touchdowns in a game since 2011. He finished the game with two catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns on his way to being named NEC Offensive Rookie of The Week.

“We see it in practice every day so it’s no surprise for us,” Winchester said. “As a freshman, sometimes you have those jitters and obviously he didn’t. As far as the CCSU program, you see that we have guys like Tyshaun [James] but we also have some young guys who are out there making plays.”

Being able to play three-wide sets speaks to the depth and production from young guys that Central has been getting and it’s critically important for more than just the passing game, McCarthy said.

“That makes us a lot more difficult to defend when you can use other guys and other guys are making plays,” McCarthy said. “Sometimes you’ve got to widen people out to run the football, you can’t line up in heavy all the time and just pound your head against the wall so the ability to run the ball out of the spread is important.”

The running game was led by Winchester, who rushed the ball 10 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns. The scores came from 42 and 56 yards away.

“Our playcalling was phenomenal and our execution was phenomenal today,” Winchester said.

Winchester finished the game with 389 total yards (228 passing, 161 rushing) and four total touchdowns (two throwing, two running).

He was named Offensive Player of The Week in the NEC Conference for the third week in a row in addition to being named an Impact Performer.

Danley Exilhomme was the leading rusher in terms of attempts as he had 14 for 84 yards (6.0 avg) and one touchdown.

Exilhomme was also named an Impact Performer this week.

He now leads the team in rushing touchdowns with five.

The Blue Devils lost a little momentum in the second quarter when the Bulldogs came out offensively with new looks that Central was not prepared for heading into the game.

“In the first half, they came out with something we hadn’t practiced all week,” Exilhome said. “But after we went in there, [adjusted], and we shut them down.”

“They got the ball out quick, they were taking advantage of our second-level defenders,” McCarthy said. “I think they were probably a  little concerned about the defensive line [getting there] so they got it out quick.”

To adjust to Bryant’s offense, Central switched from man coverage into more of a cover two look with five defenders underneath, according to Exilhomme and McCarthy.

Defensively, the Blue Devils were led by sophomore linebacker Foday Jalloh who registered 11 tackles.

Fellow linebacker Tre Jones recorded two sacks and four total tackles, including two for loss.

The dominant performance on Saturday is no surprise for either side of the ball, who feel that practicing against each other is definitely helping their performance against opponents week in and week out.

“From camp until now, we still can’t score on them [during practice] but we come out here and we roll [against other teams],” Winchester said. “Playing against our defense every day, we feel like we’re playing against the best guys that we’re going to play and that gives us confidence on Saturdays.”

Central is ranked as the number one total offense and defense in the NEC through seven games, averaging 454.1 yards per game while only allowing 295.1 yards per game.

In a week filled with good news, McCarthy and his players know to keep their focus.

“Honestly, it was just another week, there was a lot of external things going on outside and I talked to the team about maintaining the focus,” McCarthy said.

“It’s all great to be ranked Top-25 and to have the record that we have, we’ve earned it, but it’s about keeping our focus,” Winchester said. “Having coach McCarthy as our head man, we won’t lose that focus.”

Central returns to Arute Field for another conference game against Long Island University, kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.

“I think we’ve got a food football team. I think we need to make improvements but we’re on the right track and I think they’re playing with a lot of confidence, which is important,” McCarthy said.