38-20 Defeat of Wagner Gives CCSU Football Five-Game Winning Streak
By Brian Jennings
CCSU football kept its home game winning streak alive this weekend with a 38-20 win over the Wagner Seahawks.
The Blue Devils (6-2, 5-0 NEC) extended their home winning streak to 13, setting a new school record in the process. Not only has CCSU won 13 straight games at home, but the team is now riding a separate five-game winning streak.
The start of the game was a bit misleading to the outcome of the game. The opening kickoff was fumbled by senior Josue Paul, giving thought to an early hole that the Blue Devils might have dug them into. However, the CCSU defense had other plans.
The Blue Devil defense stepped up and was huge, keeping the Seahawks to only 193 total offensive yards. Senior Jeff Marino and junior Isaiah Boddie led the defense with nine tackles each. Junior Charles Williams helped out with six stops and 2.5 sacks resulting in a loss of 21 yards. Juniors Rich Royster and Dominic Giampietro each complemented the defense with 1.5 sacks.
Seahawks quarterback Nick Doscher was not protected very well by his offensive line and spent most of the day on the turf. Doscher was sacked six times by the CCSU defense. Although Doscher completed 10 passes on 19 attempts without a pick, seven different receivers were unable to help him out, contributing only 112 yards and a touchdown combined.
For the Seahawks the story was penalties and a lack of discipline. The Seahawks had a team high this season of 12 penalties worth 123 yards, compared to the Blue Devils six for 50 yards. Fumbles were also a nuisance for the Seahawks, as the team committed three, two of which forced a change in possession.
CCSU Coach Jeff McInerney and his coaching staff weren’t joking when they said they were going to put an emphasis on establishing the running game. The Blue Devils rushed for 197 yards against the Seahawks.
Wide receiver Chris Tolbert got the rushing party started by scoring first for the Blue Devils. The freshman ran the ball from six yards out midway through the first quarter, adding his third rushing touchdown on the year.
Running back Everette Benjamin added a second touchdown for CCSU just before the end of the first quarter with a 3-yard run of his own. During one of his runs, Benjamin displayed his athleticism by hurdling over a Wagner defender, almost as if he ran track and field.
Benjamin rushed for over 100 yards for the sixth straight time this season against Wagner. The senior transfer capped off his 100-plus-yard game with an 18-yard touchdown toward the end of the third quarter. Benjamin finished the day with 25 carries, 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“It feels great,” said Benjamin. “Coming from Hofstra, I never thought I would get this much because I was getting five carries a game there and it feels amazing. I just got the love from the line, the coaches believe in me and keep giving me the rock more than thirty times a game and I’m grateful for that.”
Benjamin found ways to stick with it and get into a flow, which helped in his performance.
“Today I was bothered by a groin injury, but I just kept pushing,” said Benjamin. “Once you get into the flow of the game, everything starts gelling; you start getting a little adrenaline rush.”
Benjamin had no problem with stepping in and taking the starting running back role for the injured Brian Fowler.
“It’s an honor because we probably would have been sharing reps and splitting it both ways if he was here,” said Benjamin. “But, he went down and I had to step in and that’s just part of the game. People go down and you have to step in and do your job.”
Wagner quarterback Doscher tried to keep the Seahawks in the game with a pair of rushing touchdowns, one from six yards out in the beginning of the second quarter and another from a yard out as time expired at the end of the third quarter.
Doscher finished with the most rushing yards for the Seahawks with 64 yards on the ground, beating out running back Eric Foxworth. Foxworth was held to only eight carries for eight yards without seeing the end zone against the Blue Devil defense.
CCSU quarterback Gunnar Jespersen completed 13 passes on 22 attempts for 143 yards and no touchdowns with a long pass of only 33 yards.
Numerous times throughout the game Jespersen tried the long ball for Paul, but was unable to hook up for the big play. All else seemed to be failing for Paul, especially after he dropped an uncontested 50-yard heave from Jespersen that could have gone the distance for an 80-yard touchdown. Paul was held to only four receptions for 37 yards at the end of the third quarter.
However, after fumbling the opening kickoff, Paul was able to redeem himself, taking the opening kickoff of the fourth quarter to the house for a 90-yard score.
The Blue Devils will travel to Moon Township, Penn. on Saturday, Nov. 6 to take on the Robert Morris Colonials at 12 p.m.