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Southern Connecticut State University Athletics

Scoreboard

Scoreboard

Keith Ridley
24
Southern Conn. St. SCS 1-2 , 0-1
34
Winner Bentley BEN 3-0 , 1-0
Southern Conn. St. SCS
1-2 , 0-1
24
Final
34
Bentley BEN
3-0 , 1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SCS Southern Conn. St. 7 7 3 7 24
BEN Bentley 6 21 0 7 34

Game Recap: Football |

SCSU Football's Comeback Falls Short At Bentley

WALTHAM, Mass. – Southern Connecticut football lost to Bentley, 34-24, in its 2024 Northeast-10 Conference opener in Waltham, Mass. With the loss, Southern dropped to 1-2 overall and open conference play at 0-1 while Bentley improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the NE10.

Keith Ridley was 20-for-32 for 170 yards while also rushing nine times for 74 yards as he totaled 244 total yards for the night. Ridley also had a nine-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard touchdown run. E'Lijah Gray had 24 carries for 74 yards and a six-yard touchdown as well as seven catches for 58 yards including a 24-yard reception for 132 total yards. James Griffiths also scored the on a nine-yard touchdown reception.

Defensively, Joe DiGello led the Owls defense with a crucial interception and another timely pass breakup at the line while also totaling eight tackles. Shane Kanterman led the Owls with nine tackles in the game while Kuhron Walker had six tackles and a pass breakup.



Southern's defense stood strong early, holding off a pair of Bentley drives and forced a pair of field goals that resulted in a 6-0 Falcons lead. Ridley had a 42-yard run off a read-option that set up a nine-yard strike to James Griffiths that gave Southern a 7-6 lead.

The bounced the wrong for the Owls to start the second quarter as Bentley used their starting defensive tackle to punch in a three-yard touchdown to take a 13-7 lead. On the ensuing kick-off, Southern fumbled the ball on the return resulting in another Bentley touchdown on the fumble recovery to give Bentley a 20-7 lead.

The Owls answered with an incredible 17-play, 90-yard drive that resulted in a six-yard touchdown run by E'Lijah Gray to cut Bentley's lead to 20-14. Bentley quickly pushed its lead back to two scores, 27-14, with an 18-yard touchdown catch at the end of the half.

Early in the third quarter, Bentley was driving again and seemed to be set-up for another touchdown, but a tipped pass was intercepted by Joe DiGello to get the Owls the ball back. The ensuing drive saw Ridley drive the team down the field again, but three missed attempts at the Falcons' endzone resulted in a 32-yard field goal by freshman Daniel Benzi to cut Bentley's lead to 27-17. The field goal was the first of Benzi's career.

The Owls defense continued to make a key stops against the Bentley offense, highlighted by another big stop by DiGello on fourth down that got the Owls the ball back. With 13 minutes to play, Ridley took off on a 23-yard scamper that saw him pull the Owls within three points, 27-24.

After burning two timeouts early in the half, Southern fell victim to the clock as Bentley ran off seven-plus minutes in the fourth before punching in their only score of the second half to take a 34-24 lead.

Southern is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 28 when it travels to Manchester, N.H. to take on Saint Anselm at 1 p.m. The Owls return home for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 5 when it hosts Assumption at 2 p.m. at Jess Dow Field.
 
 
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