Game Notes as a PDF

SURGING AHEAD IN ANOTHER MUST-WIN
The road towards a fifth straight NCAA Playoff berth runs through Waltham, Mass. this week when the Southern Connecticut State University football team faces Bentley on Friday night. The Owls currently sit atop the Northeast-10 Conference standings with a 4-0 mark (4-2 overall), but Bentley is lurking right behind with a 3-1 mark (5-1 overall). Fans who can't make it live can check out the live audio with Don Boyle at www.sportingnewsct.com

A FAMILIAR FACE IS MISSING
When the first regional rankings were released this week - tallies that are used to determine selection to the NCAA Playoffs - the Owls were surprisingly not ranked among the top 10 teams in Super Region One. Despite being unbeaten in league play, SCSU had two fellow league teams (Bentley at No. 6 and Merrimack at No. 10) ahead of them in the rankings.

CAVANAUGH GOING FOR A MILESTONE
Head coach Rich Cavanaugh will post career win No. 150 with his next victory. He is currently ranked tied for 11th among active Division II coaches and 41st all-time in wins with 149.

AN IMPRESSIVE STREAK IS STILL ALIVE
Southern Connecticut has won its last 26 regular season games on or after Oct. 1. The last loss took place on Oct. 15, 2004, a 14-7 loss to C.W. Post. Otherwise, the only four losses for the Owls after Oct. 1 the last four years have been in the NCAA playoffs.

THE ELM CITY TROPHY STAYS IN NEW HAVEN
The Owls claimed the Elm City trophy last time out against New Haven with a convincing 54-26 win. It was the first meeting between the two schools since 2000 and the first win for the Owls since 1998.

CENTURY CLUB GAINING MEMBERS
After not having an occurence of two Owls rush for 100 yards in the same game over 17 games, the duo of Jarom Freeman and Rashaad Slowley have now accomplished that feat twice in the last four games. Last time out, Slowley went for 128 yards and Freeman 111 in the win over New Haven.

SCORING 50 BECOMING COMMONPLACE
The Owls put up a season-high 54 points last time out against UNH and have scored 99 points over the last two games. Thanks to its output against the Chargers, SCSU has now scored at least 50 points in a game at least once in each of the past six seasons.

THREE OWLS TABBED FOR WEEKLY HONORS
Thanks to a five catch, 104 yard performance against New Haven, wide receiver Willie Epps was selected as the Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. In addition, seniors Jarom Freeman and Martin Manson were tabbed for the weekly honor roll.

BATTLING OUT OF THE CORNER
Martin Manson became the first Owl in over a year to record a two interception game in the win over UNH. The stretch actually spanned 15 games dating back to the 2008 season opener, when Kyle Sandberg picked off three passes in the win over West Virginia Wesleyan.

POINTS AT A PREMIUM
The two top defenses in the Northeast-10 will be on display on Friday night. Bentley leads the league allowing just 13.2 points per game. The Owls rank second meriting 17.5 points a contest.

IN A HURRY
The Owls tallied seven quarterback hurries last time out in the win over New Haven.

FIRST THING'S FIRST
Sophomore Rashaad Slowley and freshman Patrick Collins both tallied their first collegiate touchdowns in the game against Assumption.

ROBERTS NAMED TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Senior quarterback Chris Roberts was tabbed the Northeast-10 weekly honor roll on Sept. 28. He went 16-of-23 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Assumption.

A LOT OF VARIETY
Six different Owls scored touchdowns in the win over Assumption. 

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN
Southern Connecticut has outscored its opponents by a 48-25 margin in the first quarter and a 114-48 tally in the first half.

DEFENSE HOLDING THE FORT DOWN
SCSU has merited only 14.5 points per contest in its four wins so far this year.

PINCKNEY TAKES HOME LEAGUE HONORS
Reigning Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year Jerome Pinckney finished with 10 tackles, one interception and broke up a pass in the win over AIC. For his efforts, he was named Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

SACK IT TO ME
After going without a sack in the first two games of the year, the Southern Connecticut defense recorded eight sacks in the win over Pace. Jerome Pinckney and Daniel Allen each recorded two in the contest. The Owls followed that up with three more sacks in the win over AIC.

EPPS IS NOW ESTABLISHED
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Willie Epps hauled in six catches for 88 yards and one touchdown against Pace to capture Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

PRATT GETS THE JOB DONE
Senior linebacker Andrew Pratt tallied 12 tackles, one sack, one quarterback hurry and broke up a pass in the win over Pace. For his efforts, he was named both Northeast-10 Conference and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week. The week prior, he made 15 tackles (14 solo) and forced two fumbles against Bryant to earn a selection to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll.

'L-IKE' WHAT YOU'RE SEEING?
Sophomore Ike Igbinosun posted a career-high 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the win over Pace.

ROBERTS SPREADING IT AROUND
Senior quarterback Chris Roberts completed passes to 11 different receivers in the game at Bryant.

NEW TARGETS ACCLIMATING THEMSELVES
Redshirt freshman Willie Epps (four catches, 57 yards) and freshman Nick Mandich (two catches, 16 yards) were among the top targets for quarterback Chris Roberts in the season opener. In addition, redshirt freshmen Tim Wells and Jayson Holt each had one catch. The receptions were the first as collegians for each of the four Owls. Jerome Cunningham also tallied his first two collegiate receptions in the game against Bryant.

A COMPLETE RETURN MAN
Senior Ramon Johnson, seeing his first significant action as a kickoff returner for the Owls, returned five kicks for 117 yards (23.4 average) against IUP.

BARBER BACK AND LOOKING STRONG
Senior Ramon Barber, who missed most of the stretch run last year due to injury, led the Owls with nine tackles against IUP.

GETTING INTO THE MIX
Redshirt freshman Josh McWilliams blocked a punt in his Owls' debut against IUP in the opener.

DYNAMIC DUO PICKS UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
Senior linebackers Jerome Pinckney and Andrew Pratt both had seven tackles - including two for loss - in the season opener.

A DIVERSE GROUND GAME
The Owls had four players - Jarom Freeman (69 yards), John Wiechman (38 yards), Chris Roberts (32 yards) and Rashaad Slowley (31 yards) - rush for at least 30 yards against IUP.

SCSU PICKED FIRST IN NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were selected first in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll for the third consecutive year earlier this month. SCSU edged out American International by four total votes. The Owls had five first-place votes compared to four for AIC.

A PRESENCE IN THE AFCA POLL AGAIN
Southern Connecticut received 49 votes in the first American Football Coaches Association poll of 2009. The Owls finished just two spots out of the top 25.

ALL-AMERICA HONORS COMING ALREADY
Three Owls - senior Jarom Freeman and juniors James Economou and John Wiechman - were named preseason All-Americans by various media organizations. Freeman was selected by www.d2football.com, while Economou and Wiechman took home honors from Consensus Draft Services.

KEEP IT COMING
Four Owls were recognized with preseason All-Northeast-10 Conference laurels by www.d2football.com. Jarom Freeman was named as the Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, while James Economou, Martin Manson and Landon Osborn were also lauded.

STRONG AT THE TOP
Southern Connecticut returns the reigning Northeast-10 Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in junior running back John Wiechman and senior linebacker Jerome Pinckney.

THE CAPTAINS
Seniors Jarom Freeman, Martin Manson, Kyle Sandberg and Greg Tuba will serve as team captains for the Owls this fall.

ANOTHER BANNER YEAR FOR THE OWLS
Thanks to seven straight wins to close the regular season, the Southern Connecticut State University football team qualified for the NCAA Playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The Owls finished the campaign with an 8-3 mark.

NOT THE FIRST RODEO FOR THE OWLS
With four straight trips to the NCAA Playoffs, the Owls are tied for the third longest streak in Division II.

OWLS RECEIVE VOTES IN FINAL AFCA POLL
The Southern Connecticut State University Owls football team received votes in the final American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches' poll of 2008. It was the third straight year that the Owls received votes in the final poll of the year.

QUARTET COLLECTS ALL REGION LAURELS
Four Owls - Ed Peters, James Economou, Jerome Pinckney and John Wiechman - were named All-Region performers by Don Hansen's Football Gazette in 2008.

ALL-ECAC HONORS PREVALENT AGAIN FOR SCSU
The Owls doubled up on All-ECAC selections from 2007 to 2008. Four student-athletes - Ed Peters, Martin Manson, Jerome Pinckney and John Wiechman - were recognized as All-ECAC picks in the fall.

FIFTEEN OWLS RECOGNIZED WITH NE-10 HONORS
Fifteen members of the SCSU football program were honored by the Northeast-10 Conference in its year end laurels. Seven players earned First-Team All-Conference honors - John Wiechman (RB), Tom Cerny (TE), James Economou (OT), Ed Peters (C), Jaliem Cuttino (DL), Jerome Pinckney (LB) and Martin Manson (CB). Five players were named to the Second-Team - Chris Roberts (QB), Jarom Freeman (RB), Ty Marshall (WR), Carlos Agosto (OG) and Eric Holter (DL). In addition, Jeff Querusio (OL) and Dan Lamberton (DL) were named to the All-Rookie Team.
• In terms of major awards, the Owls were also well-recognized. Wiechman was named Offensive Player of the Year. Pinckney took home Defensive Player of the Year laurels, while Peters was chosen as the Offensive Lineman of the Year. Lastly, head coach Rich Cavanaugh was tabbed as Co-Coach of the Year.

SEVENTH HEAVEN
The Owls put together a seven-game winning streak for the second consecutive year in 2008. It's also the third time in the last four years that SCSU has won seven straight games in a year.

OWLS CLINCH ANOTHER WINNING SEASON
Thanks to the win over Pace on Oct. 25, the Owls clinched a winning season once again. It was the eighth straight winning campaign for SCSU and 13th in the last 14 seasons.

CAVANAUGH STANDS ALONE FOR WINNING SEASONS
SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh has moved past the legendary Jess Dow as the program's all-time leader in winning seasons. The win over Pace on Oct. 25 clinched another winning campaign. Cavanaugh now has 16 winning seasons in his 24 seasons as head coach. Dow posted 15 winning seasons in his career at SCSU that spanned from 1948-65.

ROBERTS HAD A NICE RUN
Chris Roberts received weekly honors from the Northeast-10 Conference in six of the eight weeks that he served as the team's starting quarterback. Included in that mix are his Conference and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week laurels on the week of Oct. 27.

WIECHMAN TALLIED A GRAND
Tailback John Wiechman finished the year with 1,047 yards on the ground. 

ROBERTS TAKES HOME HARRY JACUNSKI AWARD
Quarterback Chris Roberts won the 2008 Harry Jacunski Award, given annually to the top area offensive standout by the New Haven Gridiron Club. Roberts closed the year with 2,125 passing yards and 20 touchdown tosses to go along with a completion rate of 61.7.

DEFENSE HELD DOWN THE FORT
The SCSU defense allowed the fewest points of any Northeast-10 Conference team during league play - a mere 96 (13.7 per game).

STEPPING UP FROM 2007
The Owls allowed just 20.5 points per game in 2008, which was more than five points better than the year prior. SCSU merited 25.6 points per game in 2007.

MAKING UP GROUND IN A HURRY
John Wiechman led the Northeast-10 in rushing touchdowns (13) in 2008. He was also second in rushing yards/game and total rushing yards.

RUNNING WILD
John Wiechman became the first Owl in two years to record at least 40 carries in a game when he was handed the ball 43 times against Merrimack. Brandon Toles was the last to hit the 40 carry mark in a game, as he had 41 against Central Connecticut in 2006.

SLOW STARTS, STRONG FINISHES
In each of the past four seasons, the Owls have had to rally late in order to qualify for the post-season. SCSU started the 2005 season with a 1-2 mark before rolling off seven straight wins. In 2006, the Owls were 2-3 before winning the final five games of the regular season. Last year, the Owls were also 2-3 before winning the final six games of the regular season. This season, the Owls were 1-2 before winning their final seven games of the regular season.

A VERY RARE OCCURRENCE
The back-to-back losses early in 2008 marked just the second time in program history that the Owls have lost consecutive games by three points or less. The other occurrence took place back in 1969, when SCSU dropped back-to-back games to Bridgeport (17-16) and Glassboro State (19-17).
 
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
SCSU has posted a 22-6 (.786) record at Jess Dow Field over the past six seasons.

ON DECK
The Owls host Stonehill for their Homecoming game on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m.