Central Connecticut football, ranked #20 in the Football Championship Subdivision, traveled to Wagner College for their sixth away game of the season and won handily thanks to the number one ranked total defense in the division.

The Blue Devils held Wagner to negative rushing yards, maintained a big-play offense that found life in the second half and secured a key special teams play.

Central rolled past their conference opponent 27-13 to move to 8-1 on the season, 4-0 in the Northeast Conference. Central is 8-1 for the first time since the 1973 season and they have done it by winning on the road. The Blue Devils’ five away victories are the most in the country up to this point of the season.

The team moved up to #17 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll this week. the highest ranking for the Blue Devils in history.

On a day where the defense held Wagner to only 182 total yards, including -26 NET rushing yards, they secured seven total sacks, 12 tackles for loss and caught three interceptions. The defense was led by the NEC Defensive Player of the Week, senior defensive linemen Brandon Puritt, who made 2.5 total sacks on the day to go along with his four total tackles.

This was a career game for Puritt as his previous season-high in sacks was 2.5 during his redshirt freshman and sophomore campaigns. As a fifth-year senior, he has 4.5 sacks on the year with three games remaining on the schedule.

Sophomore linebacker Foday Jalloh was another standout defensive playmaker for the Blue Devils. He led the team in tackles on the day, made a tackle for loss and caught his first career interception at the collegiate level.

With the interception, Jalloh became the ninth different Blue Devil to intercept a pass this season. He is also now tied for the team lead in tackles at 50 with safety D.J. Exilhomme.

Central’s starting cornerbacks also got in on the interception fun. Senior Tajik Bagley caught his second of the season while sophomore Dexter Lawson Jr. secured his team-leading and conference-leading fourth interception.

Central’s leading sack artist, linebacker Tre Jones, secured another on Saturday to put him at 8 total for the season. He is ranked third in the NEC for sacks.

Linebackers Frederick Allen (1 – 8), Mike Mushaw (1 – 1), linemen Justin Kennedy (1 – 5) and Luquay Washington (.5 – 4) also registered sacks against their conference opponent.

Offensively, Central seemed to struggle in the first half as they went into halftime tied with the Seahawks at 13. The Blue Devils scored an offensive touchdown in the first quarter but otherwise struggled. The second touchdown of the half came via special teams.

Exilhomme blocked a punt in the second quarter and fellow safety Alonzo Mitchell scooped a scored his first collegiate touchdown. Exilhomme earned NEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his effort.

“We knew that they were going to be a formidable defense,” head coach Ryan McCarthy said to CCSU Athletics. “They’re very talented.  I thought we shot ourselves in the foot and had an opportunity in the first half to blow things open.”

Quarterback Aaron Winchester opened the second half by finding freshman receiver Kyren Petteway for a 39-yard touchdown then later finding senior receiver Tyshaun James for a 35-yard score.

Winchester finished the game 13/19 passing for 213 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He rushed the ball seven times for -1 yards.

Petteway earner his second NEC Rookie of the Week honor and finished the game as the leading receiver for Central with four catches for 90 yards followed by James, who caught four balls for 77 yards.

Petteway is the second leading receiver on the team behind James with 210 yards, despite only registering eight catches through three games this season. He’s averaging 26.3 yards per catch and is proving to be Centrals deep threat.

Senior tight end Arthur Gilmore Jr. caught three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

On the ground, the Blue Devils got Aaron Dawson back from injury for the first time this season. Dawson missed the first eight games with a foot injury. He was expected to start this season after a breakout campaign a year ago.

Dawson led the team in carries and yards in his first game back, rushing 12 times for 33 yards.

“We struggled again to run the football between the tackles,” McCarthy said. “What allowed us to separate was the deep passing game and making some plays.”

Despite the unusually slow start to the game against Wagner, Central was able to win with a dominating defense, explosive offense and key special teams play. A total team effort.

The Blue Devils return home to face the Saint Francis University Red Flash on Saturday. SFU has a 4-5 overall record with a 2-3 conference record so far this season.

Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.