WATERBURY, Conn. - Southern Connecticut State University football ran through the rain and over Post University on Saturday, beating the Eagles 50-7 at Municipal Stadium to open Northeast 10 Conference play at 1-0 while improving to 2-1 overall.
John Amaning rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass, Brandon Jorgensen threw three touchdown passes and the Owls pulled away with 44 unanswered points in the second half to improve to 2-1. Post fell to 0-3.
SCSU finished with 441 yards of total offense on 60 plays, averaging 7.4 yards per play, and went 8 of 14 on third down and 2 of 2 on fourth down. The Owls rushed for 248 yards at 5.6 per carry and held Post to 269 yards.
Amaning set the tone early. On Southern's opening drive, the senior back capped a 3-play, 54-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run just 1:26 into the game. Post answered with a 9-play, 50-yard drive finished by Tyler Phommachanh's 6-yard run and Nathan Hawkins' extra point to make it 7-6 Eagles, but it was all Owls from there.
Amaning's second score came through the air. With 10:30 left in the second quarter, Jorgensen found him for a 4-yard touchdown to finish a 15-play, 65-yard march that ate 6:28. Anthony Rudiman broke it open four minutes later with a 39-yard touchdown run that made it 20-7 at halftime. Rudiman finished with 66 yards on eight carries at 8.3 per rush.
On Post's first possession of the third quarter, SCSU forced a safety at the 13:50 mark to extend the lead to 22-7.
Jorgensen then went to work. The sophomore quarterback finished 10 of 15 for 136 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He hit Andres Perez for a 9-yard touchdown with 10:47 left in the third, Amaning for a 12-yard rushing touchdown with 5:56 left, and Jun Rivas for a 51-yard touchdown pass with 2:46 left in the third that made it 43-7.
Rivas led all receivers with three catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard score from Tevin Mazyck – on the backup QB's first career pass - with 5:29 left in the fourth. Mazyck finished 1 of 1 for 57 yards and a touchdown. Perez had three catches for 14 yards and a score, while Amaning added two catches for six yards and a receiving touchdown to go with his 26 carries.
SCSU's defense held Post to 3.7 yards per rush and recorded two sacks for 15 yards. Lucas Chang and Peter Dempsey each had a sack. Kelvin McKnight had the game's only interception, returning it 64 yards, and Jordan Eli led Southern with nine total tackles.
The Owls were penalized just twice for 12 yards while Post was flagged 12 times for 115 yards. Southern was perfect in the red zone at 4-for-4, while Post was 1-for-3.
SCSU continues NE10 play on Oct. 3 when it travels to Manchester, N.H. to take on Saint Anselm.
