Game Notes as a PDF

A TEST OF WILLS AWAITS
The top two teams in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll will go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon when the Southern Connecticut State University football team travels to American International. The Owls were picked to win the league in the preseason poll, while the Yellow Jackets are the reigning league champs. The two squads met twice last year, with each winning on the road. AIC claimed a 13-12 win at Jess Dow Field, while Southern Connecticut captured a 27-17 win in the regular season finale. Game time is set for 1 p.m. Fans who can't make it can catch all of the audio live with Don Boyle on the call at www.sportingnewsct.com.

SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE
The Yellow Jackets rank first in the NE-10 in scoring (38.0) points per game, while the Owls rank second in points allowed (19.0 per contest).

BALANCE ON THE GROUND
The Owls had two 100-yard rushers last time out in the win over Pace. Sophomore Rashaad Slowley posted his first career effort with at least 100 yards after going for 122 in the game. Senior Jarom Freeman added 115 yards on the day. It marked the first time that two Owls had at least 100 yards on the ground since Freeman and John Wiechman did it against Stonehill in 2007.

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.

EPPS IS NOW ESTABLISHED
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Willie Epps hauled in six catches for 88 yards and one touchdown last time out 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.

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

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.

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.

AN IMPRESSIVE STREAK CONTINUES INTO 2009
Southern Connecticut has won its last 25 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.

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.

ALMOST TWO HUNDRED YARD RUSHERS
Jarom Freeman and John Wiechman were the last two Owls to both rush for 100 yards in a game. The duo almost did it again at Pace on Oct. 25. Wiechman finished with 120 yards on 22 carries. Freeman was up to 106 yards late in the fourth quarter before a late negative rush pushed him under the century mark.

NEW HAVEN SACK EXCHANGE
The Owls totaled 24 sacks in the last six games of 2008. After a nine sack effort in the win over Bentley, SCSU had four sacks in the win over St. Anselm and three more against Pace and Assumption. The Owls had three sacks against AIC in the regular season finale.

MAKING UP GROUND IN A HURRY
John Wiechman led the Northeast-10 in rushing touchdowns (13). 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 21-6 (.778) record at Jess Dow Field over the past six seasons.

ON DECK
The Owls return to action on Sept. 26 for a 1 p.m. road game at Assumption.