Oct. 31, 2007

Sacred Heart vs. Central Connecticut Game Notes in PDF Format

Sacred Heart Pioneers (3-6, 0-4 NEC) vs. Central Conn. Blue Devils (5-3, 3-1 NEC)

Game #10 - Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007- 5:00 pm - New Britain, Conn. - Arute Field (3,000)

Radio - WICC 600 AM; SacredHeartPioneers.com

Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart Pioneers stay in state to take on Central Connecticut late Saturday afternoon in Northeast Conference action. The Pioneers are still looking for their first NEC win on the year as they try to rebound from a tough 35-30 loss at home to Saint Francis (PA) last weekend. SHU once again put up some big offensive number with Jason Payne rushing for 183 yards and Steve Tedesco catching three touchdowns with 184 yards receiving but special team miscues proved costly. The Pioneers gave up a blocked punt for a touchdown and lost a pair of fumbles on punt returns in the loss. The Blue Devils are looking to bounce back this week as well after suffering their first conference loss last Saturday, 51-36, to Monmouth. The loss snapped Central's 11-game home winning streak.

The SHU - CCSU Series... The Central Connecticut Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 5-4. The Blue Devils are riding a three game winning streak in the series heading into Saturday's game. Central won the first ever meeting in 1998, 38-31 at home and followed that with a 37-12 win at SHU in 1999. The Pioneers then ripped off four-straight in the series from 2000 to 2003. The Blue Devils posted a 27-6 win at home in 2004 and played the last two season's in Fairfield, winning 24-17 (2005) and 42-14 (2006). The Pioneers are 2-3 at home against CCSU and 2-2 on the road.

SHU in the NEC... The Pioneers are in their 10th season of competition in the Northeast Conference. SHU holds a 31-36 record in NEC competition since joining the league in 1998. The Pioneers won their only league championship during the 2001 campaign, finishing a perfect 8-0. SHU finished second to Robert Morris in 2000, going 7-1 in the league. The Pioneers last winning season in conference action was 2002, finishing tied with Stony Brook for second place at 5-2. SHU is coming off a 1-6 league record last fall. The Pioneers had one winless season in the NEC (0-7) during 1999.

Up Next... The Pioneers close out the 2007 season traveling to Robert Morris next Saturday for a 1:00 pm kickoff.

The Head Coaches... Sacred Heart head coach Paul Gorham (New Hampshire `84) is in his fourth season on the Pioneer sideline. Gorham was named the school's seventh head coach in June of 2004 and owns a 15-25 record in his four year career. Prior to becoming the Pioneer's head coach, Gorham had stops at UMass, Brown, New Haven and his alma mater New Hampshire. Central Connecticut head coach Jeff McInerney (Slippery Rock `88) became the program's 12 head coach and is in his second season at the head of the Blue Devil football program. McInerney led CCSU to a 8-3 mark in 2007 and the program's first-ever national ranking in his first season on the sidelines. He has had assistant coaching stops at Rhode Island, Tulsa, UNLV, Oregon State, Georgia Southern and Southern California.

Last Meeting with Central Connecticut... CCSU running back Justice Hairston piled up a game-high 168 yards rushing with a pair of scores and the Blue Devils took advantage of three Sacred Heart turnovers to runaway with a 42-14 win over the Pioneers last season. Hairston's performance set a new NEC single-season rushing record with 1,630 yards. Central took a 14-0 second quarter lead before SHU got on the board just before the half on a four-yard pass from Tyler Arciaga to Joey Henley. The PAT kick was missed and the Blue Devils took a 14-6 lead into the intermission but the Pioneers struck again just out of the break. Sacred Heart tied the score at 14-14 on an 11-yard strike from Arciaga to Steve Tedesco with 3:31 left in the third quarter and Arciaga found Henley in the back of the endzone for the two-point conversion. From there it was all Central, as they took the lead back on a perfectly-run reverse toss to wide receiver Nick Colagiovanni for a 20-yard touchdown and they followed with three more scores in the fourth quarter to post the 28-point win. Central ran up over 400 yards of total offense, including 296 on the ground. The Pioneers were held to 188 total yards on offense. Senior Jon Corto led the Pioneer defense with 12 tackles followed by Rolando Garcia who had 11.

Week Nine Highlights... Senior Jason Payne picked-up his second-straight 100-yard rushing game pounding out 183 yards on 22 carries. Payne ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run in the loss, the fifth longest touchdown run in SHU history...Sophomore wide receiver Steve Tedesco continued to pile up big numbers, hauling in nine catches for a career-high 184 yards. For the second-time this season, Tedesco caught three touchdowns, which ties the school record once again. His 184 yard day ranked fourth all-time for receiving yards in a game. Tedesco and Fink combined for three scores at Assumption and two scores last weekend against Marist. This was the third-straight week Tedesco has caught a touchdown...QB Dale Fink threw for three more touchdowns in Saturday's loss, raising his season total to 17 on the year. Fink did throw a pair of interceptions; both to Matt Parker who returned the second 61-yards for a touchdown...The Pioneers continued to struggle on special teams, allowing their third blocked punt on the year, second for a touchdown. SHU also mishandled two punts that led to turnovers...The SHU offense piled up 460 yards and 21 first downs on the day...Junior Ed Gurrieri has settled into his new role of returning kickoff, bringing back all five for a total of 148 yards. His 54 yard return in the fourth quarter helped setup a SHU touchdown...Senior John Wilson led the team in tackles for the sixth straight week making seven stops...Seniors Robert Occhiuzzi and Bill Hayden each recorded a sack...After giving up over 500 yards of offense each of the previous three weeks, the Pioneer defense allowed just 248 yards, an average of just 3.9 yards per play.

Payne, SHU's Top-Rusher... Senior Jason Payne recorded his second straight 100-yard rushing game last weekend and is closing in on 1,000 yards rushing for the year. Payne has carried the ball 123 times for 890 yards, a 7.2 yards per carry average. He also has 16 receptions for 134 yards (8.4 yds per catch). Payne had his finest day in a Pioneer uniform with 207 yards on 31 carries, both career highs, and two touchdowns against Marist. Payne is the first Pioneer to rush for 200 yards in a game since Ed Priccolo ran for 232 against St. Francis (PA) in 2005. Payne is creeping up the career rushing yards list at 1,989, good for fifth place.

Tedesco - League Leading Receiver... Sophomore Wide Receiver Steve Tedesco has stepped into the starting lineup with the loss of Joey Henley (torn ACL) and is leading the team and NEC in receiving. In the past two weeks he has caught five touchdowns and is coming off a nine catch, 184 yard, three score day last Saturday. He has three games this year with multiple touchdown catches. He leads all NEC receivers with receptions (48), yards (621) and touchdown catches (9). He is first in catches per game (5.33) and yards per game (69.0). He is second in the league to Monmouth's David Sinisi (16) in touchdowns scored on the year He came up one reception shy of setting a new school record at Wagner earlier in the year, catching 11 passes for 143 yards. His 184 yard day ranked fourth all-time for receiving yards in a game. His 48 catches is one shy of the school record for receptions in a season (49 - DeVeren Johnson - 2001) and his 621 yards ranks third right now for receiving yards in a season. His nine TD grabs is ranked second right now for a season and he has moved into third place all-time for career touchdown catches (15).

Fink a Three-Time NEC Rookie of the Week... Redshirt Freshman Dale Fink has three Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week awards this season. Fink is leading the NEC in passing efficiency (182.4) completing 115 of 174 passes for 1,277 yards. His 17 touchdown passes is tops in the league as well as his 66.1 completion percentage. He ranks third in the NEC in passing yards per game averaging 182.4. Fink has taken home the award after wins over Marist, Assumption and La Salle.

Bundy Ready to Break Records... Senior wide receiver Corey Bundy is on the cusp of breaking a few Sacred Heart school records. Bundy is two catches away from the career receptions mark with 110 (112 - Chris Wilkinson 1997-00). Bundy is also second on the career receiving yards list with 1,648, 100 yards behind DeVeren Johnson (2000-01). His 16 career touchdown catches is tied with teammate Joey Henley and three behind Johnson's record of 19.

John Wilson - SHU's Defensive Leader... Senior safety John Wilson has recorded double digit tackles in each five of the last six games and is leading the team with 90 stops. Wilson picked-up two-straight NEC Defensive Player of the Week awards this year and is currently fourth in the league in tackles per game at 10.0. Wilson's 16 tackles at Wagner were the most in a game for a Pioneer since safety Justin Mucci had 18 tackles (12 solo/6 assists) against Monmouth at home in 2003. On the season, Wilson leads the Pioneers with 46 solo tackles. He also has an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 3.0 tackles for loss on the year.

SHU in the NEC & NCAA Rankings... The Pioneers rank in several categories in both the Northeast Conference and NCAA statistical rankings. On offense, the Pioneers rank first in the league in first downs (180), and 3rd down conversions (44.7%). The SHU offense is ranked third in scoring (25.4) and fourth in rushing offense (162.6), passing offense (194.1) and total offense (356.7). The Pioneers are ranked third in red-zone offense (21-for-27). The Pioneers rank first in the NEC and second in the NCAA rankings in punt return average (16.8 yards per game). They are ninth in the nation in third down efficiency, converting 51 of 114 opportunities.

Pioneers in the Stat Rankings... Wide Receiver Steve Tedesco ranks first in catches per game at 5.33 per outing. Tedesco ranks second in the NEC at 69.0 yards per game and leads all receivers with nine touchdown catches. Quarterback Dale Fink ranks first in the NEC in passing efficiency (182.4) and first in touchdown passes (17). He is the conference's leader in competition percentage at 66.1% and third in yards per game (182.4). Fink's passer rating has him 14th in the NCAA rankings. Senior running back Jason Payne is third in the league in rushing with 98.9 yards per game and first in yards per carry at 7.2. He ranks third in the league in all-purpose yardage at 134.9 per game. Defensively, senior John Wilson is fourth in the conference and 21st in the nation averaging 10.0 tackles per game.

Bundy a Preseason All-NEC Pick... Sacred Heart senior wide receiver Corey Bundy was named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference football team, voted on by the league's seven head coaches. Bundy is coming off a junior season where he made 35 receptions for 493 yards. Bundy, who averaged 14.1 yards per catch, reeled in six scoring strikes on the year.

Preseason NEC Polling... The 2007 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll was announced with the Pioneers picked to finish sixth, tied with Saint Francis (PA). Albany was tabbed as the preseason favorite with the Great Danes edging out defending champion Monmouth for top-billing in the poll. Robert Morris pulled in one first-place vote and finished tied for third in the poll with CCSU. Wagner landed in fifth with Sacred Heart and Saint Francis rounding out the poll in a tie for sixth.

Former LB Signs with the Buffalo Bills... Former Sacred Heart linebacker Jon Corto has been signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad for the 2007 NFL season. Corto, an Orchard Park, NY native, signed with the Bill's as an undrafted free agent after attending the team's rookie mini-camp in May. Corto played for the Pioneers from 2003-06 and finished as the program's second all-time leading tackler with 300 stops. The former collegiate linebacker has made the transition to safety in the NFL. Corto is the second Pioneer to make his way onto an NFL roster. Former wide receiver DeVeren Johnson (2001) was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2001 NFL Draft and spent that season on the team's practice squad.

History of Sacred Heart Football... This is the 17th football season at Sacred Heart University. The program is 73-98 (.427) all-time and 53-43 (.552) since joining the Northeast Conference (NEC) and Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) in 1998. The program has had seven head coaches starting with Gary Reho (1991-96) who led the team to a 5-4 record in their inaugural season. Jim Fleming led the Pioneers to a 21-1 mark in his two seasons as head coach (2000-01) including the 11-0 2001 campaign that delivered the university and NEC title. 2001 also saw the Pioneers lone post season appearance, beating Duquesne in the ECAC Bowl, 31-15, laying claim to the Division I-AA Mid-Major National Championship.