Complete Game Notes as a PDF
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Coming off a convincing 61-0 win over Pace last time out, the Southern Connecticut State University football team will look for its fourth straight win on Saturday when the Owls travel to Assumption in a 1 p.m. start. Fans can follow all of the action with live audio with Don Boyle on the call at www.sportingnewsct.com. Live stats and Twitter updates will also be available through www.southernctowls.com.
NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE
The 61 point margin of victory in the shutout over Pace was the largest margin in any Owls' shutout in school history. SCSU defeated Geneva, 60-0, in 1961, for the old mark.
PITCHING ANOTHER SHUTOUT
Friday's shutout was the 86th in program history, but the first since 2008 for the Owls, when they blanked St. Anselm. In all, SCSU had gone 27 games between shutouts.
HAZELTON MATCHES, SETS CAREER HIGHS
Senior placekicker
Christopher Hazelton matched a career-high with 13 points in Friday's win over Pace. He hit on 7-of-8 extra points and field goals of 33 and 44 yards. The 44-yarder was a career-high, easily outdistancing the old mark of 37 yards. He also scored 13 points against Pace last year.
OWLS FARE WELL IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Owls were well-represented in last week's NCAA statistical rankings. As a team, the Owls ranked No. 13 nationally in rushing defense (67.7 yards per game) and 25th in scoring offense (35.67 points/game). Both of those figures will improve after the defense merited just 60 yards on the ground and the offense put up 61 points against Pace.
Rashaad Slowley led all of Division II in scoring with an average of 18 points per game. Slowley has now totaled 12 touchdowns for the Owls this season. He also ranked No. 13 in rushing yards per game (123.0) and tallied 113 yards against Pace.
Andre Privott was tied for 16th with an average of 7.33 receptions per contest and hauled in eight catches against Pace. Junior
Steven Teague was tied for 19th in interceptions per game with .67 and also picked off a pass against Pace.
QUARTERBACKS EFFICIENT AGAINST PACE
The quarterback duo of
Kevin Lynch and
Jacob Jablonski were effective in the Owls' win over Pace. Lynch completed 13-of-15 passes for 213 yards and a season-best four touchdowns, while Jablonski set new career-highs in completions, attempts and yards after a 5-for-9, 79 yard effort.
SLOWLEY STANDS ALONE
Senior running back
Rashaad Slowley etched his name in the SCSU record book with a school single-game record six touchdowns in the win at St. Anselm. He scored on runs of 11, 7, 4, 12, 5 and 3 yards. Five different individuals - Larry Kane, Rashaan Dumas (twice), Darrin Davis, Brandon Toles and Jarom Freeman - had all previously scored five times in a game. Slowley finished with 205 yards on a career-high 35 carries.
SACK IT TO ME
The Owls recorded five sacks in the win over Pace.
MAGEE MAKES AN IMPACT
Sophomore running back
Vaughn Magee set a new career-high with 110 yards on just six carries in the win over Pace. He also scored two touchdowns in the contest.
TWO TALLY FIRST COLLEGIATE CARRIES
Redshirt freshmen
Jack Mallis and
Brian Wilcox each made the most of their first collegiate career carries against Pace. Mallis totaled four rushes for 20 yards, while Wilcox had three carries for 20 yards. Mallis also posted three special teams tackles in the game.
A TOTAL DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Twelve players have already recorded double digit tackles on the season for the Owls.
Jack Petion leads the way with 25 stops, while
Davel Campbell and
Sam-uel Johnson each have 22 tackles.
THAT TIME OF YEAR
SCSU has posted a 32-4 mark in its last 36 regular season games that take place on or after Oct. 1.
WILLIAMS DOES IT AGAIN
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Zach Williams tallied his second interception in the last three games in the contest against Pace.
WEEKLY HONORS FOR SLOWLEY
As a result of his effort against St. Anselm, Slowley was named the Northeast-10 Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
OWLS NAMED DIVISION II DEFENSE OF THE WEEK
SCSU was recognized as the 'Defense of the Week' by the Beyond College Sports Network after forcing eight turnovers in the 27-19 win at West Liberty.
PRIVOTT HEATING UP
Wide receiver
Andre Privott set new career-highs with 10 receptions and 155 receiving yards in the win against St. Anselm. His effort against the Hawks marked the first time that an Owls' wide receiver had double digit receptions since Marcus Ganthier hauled in 11 passes against Bryant in 2006. He followed that up with an eight-catch, 136 yard effort in the win over Pace that included a touchdown.
AND FOR HIS EFFORTS...
Privott was named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Sept. 19..
WE LIKE IKE
Ikponmwosa Igbinosun recorded a team-high seven tackles, including 2.5 for loss, along with a sack, in the win at St. Anselm.
PICK 'EM
Southern Connecticut has already recorded 11 interceptions in the first four games of the 2011 season, which matches the team's total from all of last year.
Steven Teague has three interceptions to lead the way, while
Michael Escobar has recorded two interceptions thus far.
THE PICK SIX TREND
The Owls have returned an interception for a touchdown twice in the last seven games dating back to last season.
Steven Teague did the honors against West Liberty.
Josh McWilliams accomplished the feat against Stonehill on Oct. 30, 2010. Prior to that, however, SCSU had not returned an interception for a touchdown since the 2007 season.
WEST VIRGINIA'S GOOD FOR WINS
Southern Connecticut has ventured to West Virginia twice in the last four years and has returned with wins on both occasions. In 2008, the Owls defeated West Virginia Wesleyan, while this year, SCSU defeated West Liberty.
A GREAT SHOWING, BUT NOT THE RECORD
It may be hard to believe, but the Owls six interceptions against West Liberty did not set a new school record. SCSU has twice tallied eight interceptions in a game - against Brooklyn in 1951 and Fordham in 1980. Four of those interceptions in the 1980 Fordham game were recorded by Steve Bush, currently a member of the Miami Dolphins coaching staff.
ALL-TIME AGAINST ASSUMPTION
Southern Connecticut leads the all-time series with Assumption by a 9-0 margin.
THE LAST GAME AGAINST ASSUMPTION
Rashaad Slowley finished with 202 yards on 16 carries to pace the offense in a 23-17 win for the Owls over Assumption on Oct. 1, 2010 at Jess Dow Field.
Michael Escobar had 11 tackles to lead the defense in that department.
Sam-uel Johnson added eight stops and a sack.
SLOWLEY ECLIPSES 2,000 YARD MARK
Thanks to his effort against West Liberty, senior tailback
Rashaad Slowley went over the 2,000 yard mark for his career. He now has 2,358 yards heading into this weekend.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Eight different receivers tallied receptions in the win at West Liberty, including the first collegiate catch for
Vito Fornarelli. Seven different receivers caught passes in the opener at CCSU. The Owls also had seven different players record a catch against St. Anselm and Pace.
ZACH ATTACK
Redshirt freshman
Zachary Williams made a key impact in the win at West Liberty. He tallied both his first collegiate sack and first collegiate interception in the contest.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Graduate studente
Dy'onne Crudup made his presence felt in his Owls' debut against West Liberty. He totaled 77 yards on returns as well as one catch for 15 yards. Crudup, a New Haven native, played his first three years at Temple.
HAZELTON CLOSING IN ON THE TOP SPOT
Senior
Christopher Hazelton needs just four PAT's to become the school's all-time leader in that department. Last time out, he moved into second place, passing Dale Goodknight, and now has 111 PAT's. Paul Boulanger is the all-time leader with 114.
HOLT STEPPING UP
Wide receiver
Jayson Holt is currently third on the club with nine receptions so far this year.
EPPS CONTINUES TO DO THE JOB
Willie Epps has moved into the second spot on the team in receptions. He's currently hauled in 14 passes for 235 yards and five touchdowns, which ranks tops among wideouts.
PRIVOTT CONSISTENT THUS FAR
Senior
Andre Privott posted nearly identical performances in the first two games of the 2011 season. He had six catches for 61 yards in the opener at CCSU and followed that up with six catches for 63 yards against West Liberty. The reception and yardage figures were team-highs in both contests. Privott leads the Owls with 30 receptions and 415 receiving yards so far this year.
SLOWLEY SETS TWO NEW HIGHS IN OPENER
Senior tailback
Rashaad Slowley set a new career-high with 27 carries in the season opener. His old best was 22 carries against New Haven last year. Slowley also matched a career-high with 34 receiving yards in the game.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Sophomore defensive back
Mustaqiim Plair recorded his first collegiate interception in the opener at CCSU.
IN SEASON OPENERS
The Owls are now 35-28-1 all-time in season openers. The 2011 season opener was the 64th in program history.
SCSU PICKED SECOND IN NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were selected second in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll, one point out of the top spot. SCSU had been picked as the preseason favorite in each of the previous four seasons.
A PRESENCE IN THE AFCA POLL AGAIN
Southern Connecticut received 14 votes in the first American Football Coaches Association poll of 2011.
ALL-AMERICA HONORS COMING ALREADY
Two Owls - senior
Kevin Lynch and junior
Willie Epps - were named preseason All-Americans by various media organizations. Both took home honors from Consensus Draft Services, while Lynch was also recognized by www.d2football.com.
FIVE OWLS NAMED ALL-ECAC
The Owls had five student-athletes -
William Chaffin,
Willie Epps,
Sam-uel Johnson,
Richard Kirkland and
John Wiechman - recognized with year-end honors from the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference as Division II Football All-Stars in 2010.
SEVEN NAMED ALL-CONFERENCE; FOUR RETURN
Seven members of the Southern Connecticut State University football team -
Daniel Allen,
William Chaffin,
Willie Epps,
Sam-uel Johnson,
Richard Kirkland,
Andre Privott and
John Wiechman - were tabbed for the All-Northeast-10 Conference team at the conclusion of the season.
OWLS FINISH STRONG
The Owls won their final three games of the 2010 season and scored at least 45 points in each of the three contests.
CHARETTE TABBED FOR ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
Junior offensive lineman
Spencer Charette was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Football All-Academic Team for his work in the classroom. It was the second year in a row that he earned the honor.
OWLS FARE WELL IN THE CLASSROOM
Twenty-five student-athletes were named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for their work in the classroom during the fall, 2010 semester.
LYNCH BACK UNDER CENTER
Kevin Lynch fared well in his first full season under center in the fall. As a junior in 2010, he threw for 2,468 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 59.7 percent of his passes.
NOTHING BULLISH ABOUT THIS DEFENDER
Sam-uel Johnson enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2010 that saw him earn All-ECAC and All-Conference honors. He led the club with 76 tackles (40 solo), while also posting three sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
YOU THROW IT...THEY'LL CATCH IT
The Owls have their top five receivers, and six of the top seven from a year ago, coming back for 2011.
Willie Epps was second in the league in receiving yards (970) and touchdown receptions (nine) and led the league with an average of 26.9 yards per catch.
Andre Privott tallied 35 catches for 561 yards.
Jerome Cunningham,
Nick Mandich and Sean Donelly all had at least 14 receptions last year.
SLOW (LEY) AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
Tailback
Rashaad Slowley has led the Owls in rushing in each of the past two seasons. An All-Conference pick in 2009, Slowley finished with 871 yards in 2010. He entered the 2011 season with 1,876 career rushing yards.
A RECORD SETTING DAY AGAINST MERRIMACK
The Owls' record book underwent a bit of a transformation on Nov. 6 thanks to several outstanding individual efforts against Merrimack. Junior quarterback
Kevin Lynch threw for a school record 443 yards and matched a school mark with six touchdowns. Steve Armstrong had held the mark of 436 yards, set back in 2005 against Bryant. Armstrong and Mike Abate both also previously tossed six touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver
Willie Epps tallied 254 receiving yards in the contest as well, which broke the old mark of 241 yards set by Jeff Cupe in 2003. The duo also hooked up on a 97-yard touchdown reception, which broke the old mark of 92 yards set earlier this year.
OH SO CLOSE
Prior to the 23-22 loss to New Haven on Oct. 9, the last time that the Owls dropped a one-point decision was in 2008, a 13-12 loss to AIC. The last time that the Owls won a one-point decision was in 1995 when they had three such wins - consecutive wins over Montclair State (15-14) and Rowan (21-20) followed by a 24-23 win over C.W. Post later in the year.
AERIAL ASSAULT BY LYNCH
Junior quarterback
Kevin Lynch etched his name in the Owls' record books against West Liberty. He set a new Southern Connecticut single-game record with 30 completions in the game. Lynch finished the day with 376 passing yards and three touchdowns on the day. Steve Armstrong held the old mark of 28 completions, set against Merrimack in 2007.
A DYNAMIC DUO
Wide receivers
Andre Privott and
Willie Epps both reached the 100-yard plateau against West Liberty last year. 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.
ON DECK
The Owls return to action on Oct. 7 when they host New Haven.