All in the FamilyTrickery

It took four weeks of football before the coaches started to empty their bag of trickery and dig deep into their playbooks. Some of them used them to jump start their team while other used them strategically during the game.

Southern Connecticut started their game at Merrimack with an onsides kick. They recovered it but were not able to score on the opening drive. Later in the same game, Merrimack ran a fake punt as they gained the first down and it helped them to beat Southern Connecticut.

New Haven ran a fake field goal early in the second quarter but St. Anselm was all over it, taking over on downs after making the tackle.

One Play

During the New Haven/St. Anselm game on Saturday, one play made a big difference between a team that is 4-0 and one that is 0-4. The Hawks were driving in the third quarter when a turnover sealed the deal for the Chargers.

St. Anselm had started their drive at their own 39 and moved the ball down to the New Haven 14. Keith Charles took the hand-off and got the ball inside of the 10 yard line. He fumbled the ball and it was recovered by New Haven.

Two plays later, Victor Jones took the hand-off and went 87 yards to give New Haven a 31-0 lead. That was a potential 14 point swing as if St. Anselm had scored, the score would have been 24-7 but instead, the game changed the other way for a 31-0 deficit.

That one play showed why New Haven is 4-0 and why St. Anselm is struggling at 0-4.

Top Target

Merrimack Isaiah Voegeli has been the main target of the Merrimack quarterbacks since his arrival on campus a couple of years ago. One of the reasons is his speed and ability to make defenders miss in the open field.

He is currently leading the league with 39 receptions in the first four weeks of the season. He is second in receiving yards to Bentley's Jeff Hill with 469 and also has three touchdowns.

Two weeks ago against AIC, Voegeli took a good hit across the middle of the field from Yellow Jacket safety Markell Rice. He popped up after the play but sat out the next offensive series as his left shoulder was taped up. He returned later in the game to make a 51 yard touchdown catch and run as he outran the AIC secondary for the score.

He did more of the same last weekend against Southern Connecticut. His 33 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter again showcased his speed and ability to separate from his defender. He also grabbed another touchdown pass in the third quarter in the Merrimack victory.

Voegeli is a headache for defensive coordinators in the league. It is tough for them to simulate his speed during their walk throughs and it shows in the games. Most of the defenders are chasing him as he is heading towards the end zone.

League Standings

In looking at the standings as we head towards the end of September, there are a lot of surprises thus far and we still have seven weeks of football to be played.

There are four teams that are undefeated in league play right now. New Haven, AIC, Bentley and Stonehill are perfect in league play and that will change this weekend as the Falcons and Skyhawks square off this Friday night. New Haven has a bye so their perfect record will not be challenged until October.

There are three teams that are winless in the league and Southern Connecticut is one of them. They are 0-2 in the league and 0-4 overall for the time in a long time. St. Anselm and Pace are the other winless teams as both have struggled in the opening part of the season. The Owls and Hawks are facing each other on Saturday so one of the teams will get their first victory of the season.

So the race to play in the first ever NE-10 championship game is still as clear as mud. Teams are doing their best to stay in position to secure one of the top two spots in the league to play in that game. With plenty of football still to be played, we will all see who will emerge from this logjam.

Bye Week

New Haven is 4-0 after a convincing 45-0 victory over St. Anselm last Saturday. They were able to take care of business and will now enjoy a weekend off to rest up for the rest of the season.

Ronnie Nelson has stepped in nicely for the injured Ryan Osiecki and kept the Chargers moving the ball up and down the field. Per the New Haven Register, Osiecki threw the ball before the game and appears to be ready to return in two weeks.

His presence will be welcome as the Chargers will have a tough stretch in the month of October. They will have to play three games in 12 days following the bye week. They will host Assumption on October 6th before hitting the road to Bentley the following Saturday afternoon. They will then play on Thursday night at Stonehill in a nationally televised game.

New Haven will certainly enjoy their time away from football this weekend before they will play a lot of football in a short period of time.

Unusual Territory

Southern Connecticut has struggled in the first four weeks of the season. They scored just 20 points in their first three games of the season. They seemed to turn things around on Saturday when they scored 20 points in the first half at Merrimack.

But a tough second half dropped them to 0-4 on the season for the first time since 1990. Most of the players on the current roster were not born yet when the team opened the season with four straight losses 22 years ago. Back in 1990, they stopped the losing streak by defeating AIC in week five.

It will be a battle of winless teams this weekend as they will host St. Anselm and they are hoping to end one of the toughest stretches in program history.