Linares Earns NEC Weekly Honor
Sophomore posted his first interception of the season in Saturday's game at JMU
Sophomore defensive back Chris Linares named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Linares and the Blue Devils travelled to now-#13 James Madison on Saturday, dropping a narrow 14-9 decision.
The Blue Devils bottled up James Madison for much of Saturday night's game and Linares was a key piece in the effort. The sophomore cornerback spearheaded a pass defense that surrendered a measly 47 yards to the nationally-ranked Dukes, who managed 105 more yards through the air in their Week 1 setback at ACC member North Carolina.
Linares logged four tackles, an interception, and a pass break-up in the 14-9 loss before a record crowd of 25,102 fans at Bridgeforth Stadium. He recorded his first interception of the season on the game's opening drive.
The 5-foot-9 defensive back, who earned preseason all-NEC honors, picked off a potential scoring pass at CCSU's own 2-yard line. Linares later broke up a third-down pass to force a second-quarter punt. The Blue Devils limited JMU's pass attack to 4.3 yards per attempt.
Linares and the Blue Devils open the conference season on Saturday at Wagner beginning at 1 p.m. Fans can listen to free live audio beginning at 12:45 p.m. on CCSUBlueDevils.com.
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