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BRIGHT LIGHTS DESCEND ON JESS DOW FIELD
The bright lights of national television and the CBS College Sports Network venture to Jess Dow Field on Thursday night at 8 p.m. as the Southern Connecticut State University football team hosts American International in a key Northeast-10 Conference contest. Both teams are coming off wins in their league openers. Fans in greater New Haven can tune into the game on Comcast channel 274, Cox channel 135 or Cablevision channel 143. There will also be an array of promotions for fans making the trip to the game, including giveaways courtesy of Powerade, Clear Channel Communications (ESPN Radio 1300 and WELI 960 AM), Subway (1315 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden) and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The first 200 fans in attendance will also receive 'Blue Crew' t-shirts courtesy of the SCSU athletic department. All of the action can also be heard live with Don Boyle on the call at www.sportingnewsct.com

IN THE WIN COLUMN WITH A VENGEANCE
The Owls picked up their first win of 2010 on Saturday with a convincing 55-12 win at Pace. Five different players scored touchdowns for SCSU, who led 28-0 after one quarter and 42-6 at halftime.

A LONG TIME COMING
The longest touchdown pass in Southern Connecticut history had stood for 48 years, but that all changed on Saturday when Jacob Jablonski connected with Carlton Staggars on a 92-yard scoring reception. Ironically, it was the first career completion for Jablonski and the first career reception for Staggers. The old mark of 87 yards - set on a scoring strike from Bob Griffin to Roger Milici came in a 28-21 win over Geneva during the 1962 season.

LIKE CRIS CARTER, ALL HE DOES IS CATCH TOUCHDOWNS
Let's just say that senior wide receiver Brian Tourtelott has a knack for finding the end zone. For his career, he has 10 receptions and five touchdowns. He hauled in the fifth of his career on Saturday in the win over Pace.

MAGEE IMPRESSES AGAINST THE SETTERS
Redshirt freshman Vaughn Magee, seeing his first collegiate action as a running back, led the Owls with 95 yards on 15 carries in the win over Pace.

LYNCH HEATING UP LATELY
Junior quarterback Kevin Lynch has been impressive over the course of the last two outings, as he has completed 42-of-62 (67.7%) of his passes. During that stretch, he has thrown for 608 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception.

WE'RE LIVING HERE IN ALLEN-TOWN
Senior captain Daniel Allen had a stellar effort in the win over Pace on Saturday. He registered five tackles, two sacks and forced two fumbles in the game.

JOHNSON OFF TO A STRONG START
Junior linebacker Samuel Johnson has paced the defensive unit with 25 tackles in the first three games. He's also led the club in that department in each contest. He had nine tackles - including six solo stops - in the season opener against Indiana (Pa.) and followed that up with 11 tackles and a sack against West Liberty. Last time out, Johnson registered five stops and also tallied an interception and two fumble recoveries against Pace.

HAZELTON DIALS LONG DISTANCE
Junior kicker Chris Hazelton connected on a career-long 37 yard field goal in the win over Pace on Saturday. His previous best of 32 yards coincidentally also came against Pace last year.

A VERY FAMILIAR FOE
Southern Connecticut has faced AIC more than any other opponent in program history. The Owls hold a 29-21-3 advantage in the all-time series. Thursday's game will be the 54th all-time meeting. Central Connecticut (52 meetings) is the only other team that SCSU has faced more than 50 times.

HITTING ALL THE TARGETS
Southern Connecticut quarterbacks completed passes to 11 different receivers against Pace. Even quarterback Kevin Lynch managed to complete a pass to himself after it was batted down at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter. Redshirt freshman Carlton Staggars and sophomore Robert Moores also both registered their first collegiate catches in the game.

MAKING THE MOST OF IT
Wide receiver Willie Epps has registered only six catches through the first three games of the year. However, four of them have gone for touchdowns. Among the regulars, Epps also leads the team with 89.7 receiving yards per game.

AERIAL ASSAULT BY LYNCH
Junior quarterback Kevin Lynch etched his name in the Owls' record books against West Liberty. He set new Southern Connecticut single-game records with 30 completions and 46 attempts in the game. Lynch finished the day with 376 passing yards and three touchdowns on the day. The old mark of 45 attempts was set by Len Maiocco against Springfield in 1987. Steve Armstrong held the old mark of 28 completions, set against Merrimack in 2007.

AND AS A RESULT...
Lynch was named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Sept. 13.

A DYNAMIC DUO
Wide receivers Andre Privott and Willie Epps both reached the 100-yard plateau against West Liberty. Epps had four catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Privott hauled in seven passes for 100 yards. It marked the first time that two Owls' receivers hit the 100 yard mark in the same game since Chris Bergeski and Privott did it against West Chester in a 2008 first round NCAA playoff game.

TRIFECTA
Epps became the first Owl to secure three touchdown passes in the same game since Jim Lukowiak did so against Pace during the 2004 season.

HOLT BACK IN THE FOLD
Jayson Holt, who missed most of last season due to injury, returned to the Owls' lineup against West Liberty and had two catches for 14 yards. He followed that up with a catch for 25 yards in the win at Pace.

UTILIZING THE BACKS
Tailbacks John Wiechman and Rashaad Slowley both set new career-highs for receptions in a game against West Liberty, as both hauled in four passes in the game. Coincidentally, the previous career high for each was two catches.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS
The Owls had success with their punt and kickoff return units against West Liberty. Andre Privott had four punt returns for 82 yards, while true freshman J.W. Forte finished with five kick returns for 107 yards in his Owls' debut.

NEWCOMERS MAKE A QUICK IMPACT
Junior linebacker Gavin Nelson registered eight tackles, including two for loss, in his debut with the Owls against IUP. He also forced a fumble in the game. Fellow linebacker Chevar Rankins had six stops for the Owls in his SCSU debut. Kamal Magaresh tallied an interception and broke up three passes against West Liberty.

STOPPING A STREAK
The Owls' defense prevented West Liberty quarterback Zach Amedro from extending a NCAA record streak of 300-yard passing games. The run ended at 14 when the Owls kept him to 242 yards through the air.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Quarterback Kevin Lynch completed passes to eight different receivers in the season opener against IUP.

DONNELLY JUMPS RIGHT INTO THE FRAY
Sophomore wide receiver Sean Donnelly registered his first four catches as an Owl against IUP. Donnelly led the Owls in that category and totaled 28 receiving yards.

SCSU PICKED FIRST IN NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were selected first in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll for the fourth consecutive year in a vote of the league's coaches.

A PRESENCE IN THE AFCA POLL AGAIN
Southern Connecticut received six votes in the first American Football Coaches Association poll of 2010.

ALL-AMERICA HONORS COMING ALREADY
Two Owls - seniors James Economou and John Wiechman - were named preseason All-Americans by various media organizations. Wiechman was selected by www.d2proday.com, while Economou took home honors from Consensus Draft Services.

THE CAPTAINS
Seniors Daniel Allen, Richard Kirkland and John Russell, along with junior Kevin Lynch, will serve as team captains for the Owls this fall.

THIRTEEN OWLS RECOGNIZED WITH NE-10 HONORS
Thirteen members of the SCSU football program were honored by the Northeast-10 Conference in its year end laurels. Four players earned First-Team All-Conference honors - Jarom Freeman (RB), Greg Tuba (OL), Eric Holter (DL) and Martin Manson (CB). Seven players were named to the Second-Team - Jeff Querusio (OL), Daniel Allen (DE), Richard Kirkland (CB), John Wiechman (RB), Rashaad Slowley (RB) and Pete DiGangi (TE). In addition, wide receiver Willie Epps was named to the All-Rookie Team.
• In terms of major awards, Tuba was chosen as the Offensive Lineman of the Year.

OWLS TO FACE AIC ON CBS COLLEGE SPORTS
Southern Connecticut has been selected to play AIC on the CBS College Sports Network in a nationally televised game on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. as part of the network's national Division II football package.

TUBA NAMED ALL REGION, ALL-NEW ENGLAND
Senior offensive lineman Greg Tuba was named an All-Region performer by Don Hansen's Football Gazette in 2009. In addition, he was also named as an All-New England honoree.

ALL-ECAC HONORS PREVALENT AGAIN FOR SCSU
Four student-athletes - Jarom Freeman, Martin Manson, Greg Tuba and Christopher Hazelton - were recognized as All-ECAC picks last fall.

SCORING APLENTY AGAINST SAINT ANSELM
Southern Connecticut scored 71 points in its regular season finale against Saint Anselm, the third highest single-game total in school history.

OWLS FARE WELL IN THE CLASSROOM
Thirty-two members of the football squad were honored as Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll selections during the 2009-10 academic year.

CHARETTE COLLECTS ACADEMIC LAURELS
Spencer Charette was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Football All-Academic Team for his efforts in the classroom and on the playing field in 2009.

SLOWLEY NEARLY SETS A MARK
Sophomore running back Rashaad Slowley finished the year with a yards/carry average of 7.9, the second highest single-season total in school history. Tom Sacramone, who rushed for 8.2 yards/carry in 1955, still holds the mark.

OFFENSE CLICKED LATE IN THE YEAR
The Owls scored at least 42 points in five of their last six games in 2009.

CONGRATS TO COACH CAV
Head coach Rich Cavanaugh recorded win No. 150 with the Owls in the 42-14 victory over Stonehill. At the conclusion of the year, he ranked tied for 11th among active Division II coaches and was also 41st all-time in wins.

POST-SEASON SHOWCASES FOR THE OWLS
Seniors Jerome Pinckney, Martin Manson and Jarom Freeman were all tabbed to play in the East Coast Bowl following the conclusion of the year. In addition, Manson and Freeman were selected for the Cactus Bowl.

OWLS FINISH RANKED NO. 9 IN ECAC RANKINGS
The Owls finished the year ranked No. 9 in the ECAC Lambert Meadowlands Division II poll. To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the East or play half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania, while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if half of their schedule features eligible teams.

THE WINS KEEP ON COMING
With the win over Stonehill, the Owls extended their streak to 16 consecutive seasons with a record at or above .500. The last time that SCSU posted a season with a losing record was back in 1993. In addition, the Owls also posted their ninth consecutive winning campaign.

MANSON GETS THE JOB DONE
Senior Martin Manson became just the second player in Owls history to collect Northeast-10 Conference honors in each of his four seasons. He joined Sir Snowden, who reached that feat from 2001-04. Manson signed a contract with the Hamilton TigerCats of the Canadian Football League following the season.

FREEMAN JOINS ELITE COMPANY
Senior tailback Jarom Freeman became just the 10th player in Northeast-10 Conference history to record at least 3,000 rushing yards for his career. He finished the year ranked seventh on the all-time list for 3,360 yards.

CAPTAIN KIRK (LAND)
Richard Kirkland tallied three interceptions in the last four games of 2009 for the Owls, including a pair against Bentley.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
SCSU has posted a 23-8 (.742) record at Jess Dow Field over the past six seasons.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
Southern Connecticut saw its streak of 26 regular season wins on or after Oct. 1 come to an end against Bentley. Prior to that, 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 had been in the NCAA playoffs.

THE ELM CITY TROPHY STAYS IN NEW HAVEN
The Owls claimed the Elm City trophy against New Haven on Oct. 2 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 occurrence of two Owls rush for 100 yards in the same game over 17 games, the duo of Jarom Freeman and Rashaad Slowley accomplished that feat twice in four games from Sept. 11-Oct. 2. The pair both broke the century mark in the games against Pace and New Haven.

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. Coincidentally, Richard Kirkland also picked off two passes in the game against Bentley in the next outing.

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN
In 2009, Southern Connecticut outscored its opponents by a 109-49 margin in the first quarter and a 220-100 tally in the first half.

DEFENSE HOLDING THE FORT DOWN
SCSU merited only 14.3 points per contest in its six wins in 2009.

ON DECK
The Owls host Assumption on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at Jess Dow Field.