Sept. 4, 2004

NEW BRITAIN, CT - Sophomore running back Cory Harge chalked up 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a little over a quarter and a half to lead the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils to a 27-6 win over Sacred Heart in the football season opener for both schools Saturday. Sacred Heart failed to take advantage of a pair of Central CT turnovers in the first quarter. Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Corto intercepted a pass by CCSU senior QB Scott Dolch at the Central 38 with 10:13 to play in the quarter. Sophomore QB Dan Ammel connected with rookie wideout Joey Henley on the first play for 16 yards to the Central 22. Ammel hit freshman running back Jason Payne on a third-and-eight pass to the Central three, but an illegal blocking call negated the gain and pushed the Pioneers back to the 26. Ammel's next pass attempt was incomplete and a 43-yard field goal attempt by freshman kicker Lars Anderson was wide left. On Central's next possession, Dolch fumbled a snap at the SHU 27, after driving his team down the field from his own 26. Junior college transfer LB Scott Smiley fell on the loose ball for the Pioneers, but the SHU offense was unable to move the ball at all and punted it away after three ineffective plays. CCSU scored with 12:28 left in the first half on a one-yard plunge by Harge. The score was set up by a 39-yard strike from Dolch to junior Steve Bergeski to the SHU 16. The Blue Devils made it 14-0 with 8:37 to go when Harge sprinted 87 yards down the right side, after the entire SHU defense had over pursued to the left. Dolch would hit Marquis Morrison with 3:11 to play in the half with a 21-yard pass to give CCSU a 21-0 advantage. The Pioneers got on the board with just 28 seconds to go in the half when Ammel found Henley for a 27-yard score down the right side. The extra point attempt sailed wide left, giving Central a 21-6 lead at the intermission. After Harge's second touchdown he left the game with dehydration cramps and ran just one play the rest of the game. Consequently, the Central offense was fairly quiet for the remainder of the game. The Blue Devils managed 29 and 37 yard field goals by kicker Derek Pearson. For their part, the Pioneers were able to move the ball a little better in the second half thanks in large measure to the running of junior Ed Pricolo. Pricolo, who was lost for the season in week four of 2003 with a severe hip injury, ran well in the half and finished with 127 yards on just 15 carries. That total included a 59-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that took the ball to the CCSU 25. The Pioneers would get inside the Central 25 three times in the second half but were unable to come away with any points. Because of the deficit on the scoreboard, on each drive SHU elected not to try a field goal and went on fourth down in an effort to get a touchdown. "We lost this game as a team," said SHU coach Paul Gorham, who will have to wait one more week for his first win as a collegiate head coach. "We did do some positive things today and we'll work this week on fixing the things we didn't do well and build on the positive things."