Football Clinches FCS Berth With 35-28 Thriller Over Mercyhurst

For the first time in program history, the Central Connecticut State football team earned back-to-back trips to the FCS Championship with a 35-28 win over Mercyhurst on Arute Field on Saturday. The championship is the Blue Devils' league-leading eight all-time and second in a row. 

The Blue Devils have won four of the last eight NEC Championships and are the league champions for the second time in three seasons under head coach Adam Lechtenberg. 

The Blue Devils defense came away with two red zone stops after taking the 35-28 lead on an Elijah Howard touchdown reception with 11:09 to play in the fourth quarter. 

Mercyhurst took that kickoff and in six plays got to the Blue Devils 20-yard line. The Blue Devils turned the Lakers away on third and fourth down to preserve the lead. CCSU drove on its next possession to the Mercyhurst seven-yard line and attempted a 27-yard field goal that went wide right with 1:49 to play. 

The Lakers quickly got the ball into CCSU territory and had 1stand 10 on the Blue Devils' 12-yard line. Derek Berlitz deflected the first down pass and then hurried Adam Urena into an incompletion on second down. Urena then overthrew receivers in the end zone on third and fourth down to secure the CCSU victory. 

GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE 

Score: CCSU 35, Mercyhurst 28 
Records: CCSU (8-4, 6-1 NEC), Mercyhurst (5-7, 4-3 NEC) 
Location: Arute Field | New Britain, CT 

KEY MOMENTS 

• The Blue Devils forced a punt on Mercyhurst's opening drive and Brayden Hall returned the punt 49 yards deep into Mercyhurst territory. On the first CCSU play from scrimmage, Elijah Howard took a run for 22 -yards into the endzone. 

• After the Central defense forced another punt, the kick was muffed and the Lakers recovered on the CCSU five yard line. Dylan Evan ran the first play around the right end and tied the game, 7-7, five minutes into the game. The Lakers would take the lead on their next possession, taking advantage of a pass interference to score from two yards out and make it 14-7. 

• Mercyhurst would regain the lead midway through the second quarter after forcing a Blue Devils punt. On second down, Brian Trobel would take a handoff to the right side and outrun the CCSU defense for a 63-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 at 7:30 in the second quarter. 

• CCSU would tie the game just before halftime on a 78-yard drive. Howard would go over 1,000 yards rushing on the season after gaining 26 yards on the first two plays of the drive before the Blue Devils went to the air. Brady Olson would complete eight passes on the drive and he connected with Michael Trovarelli for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 21-21 with 1:54 remaining in the half. 

• The first half ended with CCSU driving into Lakers territory before Chris Thompson picked off a pass and returned it for 51 yards to the Central 25-yard line. Mercyhurst would then line up for a 41-yard field goal that CCSU's Stylz Mitchell would block to end the first half. 

• CCSU opened the second half by going 75 yards in eight plays. Olson would cap the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Marcus to make it 28-21 just over three minutes into the half. 

• After the teams traded empty possessions, Mercyhurst took over following a failed CCSU fourth down. The Lakers would cap an eight-play drive with an 11-yard pass from Adam Urena to Taylor Wright-Rawls in the endzone to tie the game at 28-28 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter. 

• Following a punt into Mercyhurst territory, the CCSU defense forced a fumble on first down and recovered the ball at the Lakers' 12-yardline. It would take six plays, but Olson would connect with Howard for a eight-yard score to put Central ahead, 35-28.  

• CCSU would miss a 27-yard field goal with 1:49 to play and Mercyhurst took over at their own 20-yardline. The Lakers would drive to the doorstep at the Central 12 before the Blue Devils defense stopped the drive on fourth down to seal the win. 

NUMBER TO KNOW 

2 – The number of consecutive FCS Championship bids for the Blue Devils, accomplishing that feat for the first time in program history by winning back-to-back NEC Championships 

NOTES & NUMBERS 

• Howard posted his third straight 100-yard game and ran for 102 yards in the first half to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the season. It marked the 17th 1,000-yard campaign in school history and he became the 12th player to run for 1,000 yards in a season as a Blue Devil. 

• Olson's passing touchdown to Howard midway through the third quarter was the 40th of his CCSU career. It also gave him 50 passing touchdowns in his collegiate career. 

• Howard finished with 163 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, surpassing 3,000 yards at CCSU and finishing the day with 3,002 career yards 

• Eric Jackson and Jack Stoll both recorded 11 tackles Saturday, to lead both teams, with Stoll adding a TFL and a QB hurry and Jackson breaking up a pass and forcing a fumble 

• The Blue Devils broke up eight passes, with two from Dekavis Preston and had five QB hurries 

• Michael Trovarelli made a career-high six catches on Saturday leading the way with 73 receiving yards and a touchdown catch 

• Berlitz and Gavin Taylor combined for a sack in the victory 

• Olson was 22-35 for 221 yards passing, with completions to eight different receivers on Saturday and touchdown passes to three different teammates 

• Central was 7-of-14 (.500) on third down and 2-of-3 (.667) on fourth down conversions Mercyhurst was held to 6-of-14 (.429) on third down conversions, while going 1-of-4 on fourth down conversions 

• Central Connecticut clinched back-to-back bids to the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history.  

• The Blue Devils have won a record eight NEC titles, including back-to-back championships for the fourth time, while claiming the league title outright on four occasions. 

UP NEXT 

• The Blue Devils find out their FCS Championship opponent at noon Sunday when the selection show airs at 12:00 pm on ESPNU. First round games are held on November 29th