Sept. 2, 2006
Final Stats
New Britain, CT - Redshirt sophomore Jo Jo Freeman rushed for three touchdowns as the Central Connecticut football team won for the 10th time in 11 games at home since 2004, topping Marist 34-6 on Saturday night. The Blue Devils rushed for 288 yards on the ground and held Marist to 234 yards of total offense in the victory.
The Blue Devils opened the scoring with 9:46 left in the first quarter when Freeman rushed for the first of his three scores. Capping an eight-play, 40-yard drive, Freeman scored on a fake field goal attempt for the Blue Devils after taking a pitch from holder Chris Rose. On the Red Foxes' first possession, a bad snap on a punt attempt on fourth down gave CCSU the ball at the Red Fox 14-yardline. Three plays later Freeman ran in from eight-yards out to give the Blue Devils the 13-0 lead (the extra point was missed).
In the second quarter, senior transfer Justise Hairston posted his first rushing touchdown in a Blue Devil uniform, scoring on a 12-yard run to give CCSU the 20-0 lead. The play capped a 15-play, 74-yard drive and took almost seven minutes off of the clock.
The Blue Devils led 20-0 at the half and allowed only 68 yards of offense for Marist in the first half. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils posted 152 total yards, including 122 on the ground. The Red Foxes were just 2-of-8 on third down conversions in the half and 0-for-2 on fourth downs.
In the second half, the Blue Devils scored quickly as Freeman ran for 27 yards for his third score of the game. The drive took seven plays and 60 yards, and the touchdown gave CCSU the 27-0 advantage. At the end of the third quarter, redshirt junior Cory Harge, returning to the lineup after missing the 2005 season, rushed for his first touchdown of the season from 22 yards out to give the Blue Devils a 34-0 cushion.
Marist got on the board with 14:16 left in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard pass from junior quarterback Stephen McGrath (Manasquan, N.J.) to senior wideout Prince Prempeh (Hamilton, N.J). The Marist drive took eight plays and went 78 yards, cutting the Blue Devil lead to 34-6.
For the Blue Devils, Harge led the way with 76 rushing yards and a score, averaging 5.8 yards per carry on the night. Hairston had 72 yards and a score, and Freeman had 57 yards and three scores. As a team, the Blue Devils rushed for 288 yards and five touchdowns in the game. Sophomore quarterback Aubrey Norris was 5-for-7 for 47 yards and also rushed four times for 25 yards in the victory. Junior quarterback Ryan Holmes rushed four times for 24 yards in one and a half quarters of action for the Blue Devils.
McGrath finished 16-of-27 for 133 yards and a touchdown. Marist junior running back Obozua Ehikioya (West Hempstead, N.Y.) rushed 17 times for 74 yards, and McGrath had 25 yards rushing for the Red Foxes.
The Marist defensive attack was powered by junior linebacker Dan Smith's (Reston, Va.) game-high 17 tackles, which included a tackle for loss. The 17 stops ties John Healy's I-AA school record for tackles in a game, which was set at Lafayette on Sept. 6, 2003.
