Despite being picked last in the preseason Northeast Conference Coaches Poll, the Central Connecticut State University football team won their seventh NEC championship after defeating the 19th-ranked Duquesne University Dukes 21-14 at Arute Field on Nov. 23.
“Nobody believed in us but us,” said Christopher Jean, a defensive back for Central.
Duquesne, which entered the championship game as the NEC’s top scoring offense, averaging 31 points per game, were held to only 14 points by the Blue Devils. Central’s defense forced eight turnovers: seven of them coming from interceptions.
“We got the best defense in the nation, hands down,” said Elijah Howard, a running back for the Blue Devils. “Every guy on that football field, on that defensive side, they put the work in. I’m not surprised by nothing that happened.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Blue Devils put the first points on the board early in the second when a 47-yard field goal by kicker Jack Barnum put Central up 3-0. The Dukes would respond minutes later with the first touchdown of the game, giving them a 7-3 lead.
Central didn’t stay behind for long, as wide receiver Paul Marsh Jr. caught a 49-yard pass from quarterback Brady Olson, bringing them to Duquesne’s 4-yard line. From there, Howard would run through the Dukes defense and score a touchdown, giving Central a 10-7 lead.
With a little over a minute left in the first half, Jean intercepted a pass from the Dukes, giving possession back to the Blue Devils. Barnum then made a 24-yard field goal to give Central a 13-7 lead heading into halftime.
The Dukes would take the lead for the last time in the game when they scored on the first play of the second half, giving them a 14-13 lead.
The Blue Devils wouldn’t respond until the beginning of the fourth quarter when another interception by Jean eventually led to Howard’s second touchdown of the game. Howard would then catch the two-point conversion to give the Blue Devils a 21-14 lead.
With a little less than four minutes left in the game, the Dukes had an opportunity to score, but a misplaced pass to the endzone was intercepted by Central defensive back Davone Walden Jr.
Duquesne would have another opportunity with a little over a minute left, but defensive back Deon McLean would make Central’s seventh and final interception, sealing the game and the NEC championship for the Blue Devils.
Central intercepted the ball seven times during the game, with three of those interceptions coming from Jean. He credited his ability to make key plays to the trust he has in his teammates.
“My ability to make plays comes from me having the ability to trust in my teammates to know they’re going to be in the right places for me to just come and do what I do,” Jean said.
Central Head Coach Adam Lechtenberg said that he hopes Jean’s performance in the game gives him confidence going forward.
“He’s a good player,” Lechtenberg said. “He can run, he’s physical, he’s not very big, but he’s just a good instinctive player, and he just made plays today. He’s capable of doing that all the time. So we hope it builds his confidence.”
Lechtenberg said that the team’s resilience helped them overcome their struggles earlier in the season.
“It just shows that we’re resilient,” Lechtenberg said. “We talk about the adversity you have to face in your life is always going to be different, and the only thing you can do is get up every day, compete and overcome it. And our kids did that.”
Howard, who ran 110 yards and finished the game with two touchdowns, said that the team used their preseason ranking as motivation to go out and win the championship.
“Since day one, all odds were against us,” Howard said. “Voted last in the NEC. Coach Lech and everybody in the locker room, we were the only ones that believed. Every day we came out, we just kept competing, kept trying to get better. And look at the scoreboard, 21-14. We’re the champions.”
With the victory, the Blue Devils earned an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs and will learn their next opponent when the selections are revealed on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
