The Blue Devil football team traveled down to New Haven on Saturday to take on Yale University for the first time in program history. Even though it was a non-conference match up and had seemingly no implications, it was still a very entertaining, close contest that saw CCSU lose 23-22, dropping the Blue Devils to 2-3 on the season.
Offensively, they accrued 458 yards, with Brady Olson throwing for 288 yards, and two touchdowns. However, he also threw two interceptions, which were both huge turning points in the game.
Elijah Howard also had himself a day, as he rushed for 108 yards on 25 carries.
Defensively, they weren’t the powerhouse fans have grown accustomed to seeing, but they still held Yale to 6-15 on third down conversions and 16/31 on pass attempts. However, they had trouble containing Yale’s mobile, dual-threat quarterback as he recorded 51 yards on the ground.
Central kicked off in the first half, and in the first 5 minutes, Yale drove down the field and completed a touchdown pass, however, it was called back due to offensive pass interference. A tackle on third down from linebacker Jack Stoll helped the Devils held the Bulldogs to a field goal. The offense came on the field and a pair of Howard third down runs, and a 21-yard completion to Delvin Attafah brought Central into striking range, but an incomplete pass on 3rd & 10 forced the Devils to settle for a Jack Barnum field goal. Yale then finished the first quarter with a rushing touchdown to take a 10-3 lead.
The Blue Devils took advantage of a few Yale penalties, and a 17-yard sweep from Michael Plaskon. Then, Olsen launched a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jamir Robertson to even the score at 10 a piece. The defense came back on the turf and stopped Yale at mid-field. The offense came storming back, and Olsen took a shot at the endzone, but Yale intercepted it at their own 1-yard line. Two minutes before the half, Yale ripped of a 64-yard touchdown which left the score at 17-10 in Yale’s favor going into half time.
CCSU opened the second half with the ball, and another Yale penalty brought the Devils past mid field, but the drive stalled out. Instead of punting however, Central decided to do a fake punt and try to go for the first down on 4th&2. Yale’s defense stood strong however and it was an incomplete pass. Yale got the ball and a huge scramble from the quarterback got them in striking range, but Central’s defense came up with a huge tackle for loss, and Yale missed the field goal attempt wide left. Olsen then completed another huge 54-yard pass to Plaskon, but a face mask penalty killed the drive as they settled for another Barnum field goal. The defense forced Yale to go 3-and-out, and after another solid drive on offense led to a 42-yard Barnum field goal which made the score 17-16, still in Yale’s favor.
Yale had the ball going into the fourth quarter, but thanks to a Sharod Watkins tackle for loss, and an incomplete pass on 3rd&11 led to a Yale punt. A few carries from Howard helped Central get into the redzone, and Olsen connected with Isaac Boston for a 19-yard touchdown which gave central the lead, 22-17 with 11:25 left in the game. Yale went 3-and-out again, but Olsen threw another pick, and Yale scored again a minute later. They went for a two-point conversion and the defense came up clutch with a huge stop. Both teams went back and forth all the way to the final moments as with less than two minutes left, the defense stopped Yale on 3rd&1, giving the offense one last chance to win. All hope was lost until Olsen connected with Howard for a huge 41-yard reception, but instead of bringing out the all-conference bound kicker for a 50+-yard potentially game winning field goal, they diced to go for it on 4th&2 and it resulted in an incomplete pass, leaving the final at 23-22, Yale.
The football team comes back to Arute Field next Saturday as they look to recover at home against Mercyhurst at noon.
