Chargers play for share of 1st in NE-10

WEST HAVEN — When the University of New Haven football team takes the field at Assumption on Saturday, it will be playing for a share of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference.

The Chargers are certain they can win every game, no matter the opponent. That confidence stems from an unwavering trust in the coaching staff and in each other.

So the team’s first-half success isn’t surprising to Chris Pincince. What’s impressed New Haven’s fourth-year coach is the number of different players who’ve stepped up and contributed.

Injuries have wreaked havoc on the roster, new names being added to the injury report on a weekly basis. On a team with 47 firstyear players, it often means replacing inexperience with more inexperience.

Still, the Chargers (5-1, 4-1) haven’t missed a beat. They’ve pulled out a pair of one-point victories in the last three games, and are a short missed field goal away from being undefeated.

“We knew we had some talented guys at certain positions, they just hadn’t played a lot of football,” Pincince said. “To see people who six or eight weeks ago were just stepping on a college campus have that kind of success and impact, is something we did not expect. We know they’re good athletes, but sometimes with true freshmen or transfers, you never know what you’re going to get.”

True freshmen McPrecia Remy, a linebacker now out for season with injury, and defensive back Javeon Ensley have both won the league’s rookie of the week. In last weekend’s 23-22 victory over Stonehill, defensive back Jordan Francklin, a junior college transfer, made 17 tackles. Chris Rodgers, a converted defensive back, and Justin White, another JC transfer, have been two of the team’s top receivers.

Running back Ryan McCarthy is a sophomore who played sparingly behind New Haven’s multifaceted star Andre Anderson last season. With Anderson graduated, and injuries at the position taking a bite out of the depth chart, McCarthy’s emerged as a workhorse in the backfield.

The past two games have resulted in his most productive performances of the season. McCarthy rushed for a season-high 140 yards and a touchdown in a win at Southern Connecticut State on Sept. 29, and followed that with 103 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown run, in the win over Stonehill.

It’s a remarkable turn of affairs considering Pincince was certain he’d lost McCarthy for several weeks after an ankle injury in the Pace win on Sept. 23. McCarthy not only made a full recovery, he’s running harder and more effectively since the injury.

“It was only a twisted ankle, nothing too crazy,” McCarthy said. “I just needed to be smart with it. They did a tape job on it and I felt good. But learning the offense, and how it feels to be in tight games, that’s really how you get better, through experience.”

Experience has been valuable for McCarthy. As a high school player in Montclair, New Jersey, he split carries with two other backs. Last year he was behind seniors Anderson and Lemar Thomas on the depth chart before a shoulder injury cut his season short in week five.

Pincince says McCarthy is markedly improved since the season began in early September as he’s learned subtle nuances like not hitting the hole too quickly.

“I love how hard he runs but at times we’ve had to slow him down to let things happen in front of him so he can read things a little better,” Pincince said. “But considering the limited number of reps he had as a true freshman, to be able to jump in and carry the ball 35 times the last two weeks, he’s done a nice job adjusting to being a full-time starter.”

Assumption (6-0, 5-0) combines the league’s best offense with the league’s stingiest defense. The Greyhounds average 46 points per game through a balanced attack that includes an equally proficient dangerous special teams unit. Against league opponents, they’ve surrendered more than 10 points only once.

New Haven, as has become an unintended custom, will start new faces on defense and the offensive line to compensate for injured starters.

“We’ve done a good job concentrating on the week-to-week,” Pincince said. “To these guys, it is a big game. We have something to prove against a very good team and it’s important for us to take the next step and stop doing some things that have prevented us from winning by more points than we should have.”