Football Falls 24-21 At LIU

The Central Connecticut State football team came up inches short on a fourth-down reception in the waning seconds and fell 24-21 to Northeast Conference host LIU on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Devils trailed 17-7 at the intermission but took scored on two of its first three drives in the second-half to take a 21-17 lead with 10:34 to play. The Sharks responded on the next drive, retaking the lead on its third touchdown pass of the game with 7:58 to play and held on for the victory.

GAME INFORMATION

Score: LIU 24, CCSU 21

Records: CCSU (3-5; 1-1 NEC); LIU (2-7;  2-2)

Location: Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium | Old Westbury, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• CCSU struck first, with a six-play, 34-yard drive that Jadon Turner ended with a seven-yard touchdown run on the Blue Devils first drive of the game
• LIU drove to the one-yard line on the next drive, but the Blue Devils defense held and forced a Michael Coney 23-yard field goal with 1:14 to play in the opening period
• The Sharks took the lead early in the second quarter with Ethan Greenwood finding Cory Nichols in the end zone for a 10-7 advantage
• On the final drive of the first-half, Greenwood hit Pat Bowen for a 24-yard touchdown, sending the Sharks to the half with a 17-7 advantage
• Olson capped a 17-play, 75-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Boston, his second of the season to bring CCSU within three-points, 17-14 with 7:39 to play
• The CCSU defense forced LIU into a 3-and-out on the next possession, getting the offense the ball back 83 seconds after the touchdown
• The Blue Devils went for it on fourth-and-one, but were pushed back and denied with 13:45 to play in the game
• Again the defense forced a 3-and-out, and the Blue Devils offense took over on the LIU 27 yard line
• The offense took advantage, with Olson capping the five-play drive with an eight-yard touchdown run giving CCSU a 21-17 edge with 10:34 to play
• The Sharks answered quickly, with a 2:36 drive that finished with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Luca Stanzani to Greenwood and LIU in front 24-21
• CCSU had two drives in the final 2:14 of the game, but were unable to get into field goal range on either

NUMBER TO KNOW

7 – Career-high reception total for Cameron Alves

NOTES

• Olson had 20 completions, his second game as a Blue Devil with 20 or more
• Kimal Clark led the defense with eight tackles and 0.5 TFL
• CCSU had 6.0 TFL in the game and three sacks
• Ricky Ortega completed his first pass of the year, a 16-yard completion
• The Blue Devils had possession of the ball for 21:23 in the second-half, including two drives of more than 7:00 each and finished with 33:12 possession in the game
• CCSU did not allow a sack for the second straight game, and the fifth time this season
• The Blue Devils outgained LIU 335-297 and ran 21 more plays (73-52)
• Neither team committed a turnover in the contest
• Michael Plaskon led the team with 67 receiving yards on six catches
• The Blue Devils had eight receivers catch a pass on Saturday

UP NEXT

• The Blue Devils return home on November 2^nd to host Wagner for the Homecoming Game. Game times is set for