The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Chargers’ season ends with loss in playoffs
SLIPPERY ROCK 59 NEW HAVEN 20
WEST HAVEN — His team trailing by 39 points with under 1 minute left, Ajee Patterson left the field for the final time as a college football player.
The New Haven senior walked to the sideline as fans cheered and teammates congregated. His coach approached.
“I cried,” UNH coach Chris Pincince said. “We invest a tremendous amount in these kids and they invest a tremendous amount in us. And to watch a young man like Aj ... to say goodbye to them one last time. We said [Friday] night, we weren’t ready to say goodbye.”
The Chargers’ season ended with a thud Saturday at DellaCamera Stadium — a 59-20 loss to Slippery Rock in the second round of the Division II playoffs — but there was much to celebrate. UNH finished 9-3 in a season marked by injuries and improvement from underclass players.
But it was also a season defined by Patterson, who leaves West Haven as one of the great players in program history. His 10,128 career passing yards is most in UNH history, and he’s the first quarterback in program history and just the third in Northeast-10 Conference history to surpass 10,000 yards.
Patterson also has the most completions (774) in UNH history and is second on the touchdown list (80, trailing only Ryan Osiecki’s 91). His senior tally: 216 of 33 for 2,878 yards, all done while battling a shoulder injury, a broken pinky finger and a recent foot injury.
“He’s a tough kid, he really really is,” Pincince said. “He loves football, he loves these kids. We’re going to miss him,”
Patterson is one of just eight seniors on a roster heavy with juniors (25). That’s why optimism is high after a playoff run.
“We have a tremendous group of [seniors] who fought through a lot, a lot of different stories,” Pincince said. “I’m happy that they made it all the way through ...Hopefully it’s a learning [experience] for some of the other guys.”
Patterson, the conference MVP, has his eyes fixed on a professional career. Pincince, who has been coaching since 1995, calls him the best quarterback he’s ever been around, praise based on Patterson’s throwing and running abilities along with his high character.
“A great kid,” Pincince said.
On Saturday, there was another aspiring professional on the field. Slippery Rock senior running back Wes Hills (188 yards rushing, three touchdowns) was impossible to contain and was singlehandedly the difference as he fueled an offense that produced 526 yards, and scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and points on nine of its 10 possessions.
Hills was a productive runner the University of Delaware, but he was declared academically ineligible last year and he dropped to Division II this year — he considered New Haven before settling on Slippery Rock.
Hills has 1,579 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games, missing two games with an injury. At 6 foot 2, 218 pounds, he is a punishing runner who simply stands out at the Division II level.
“When [Hills] gets going, he’s hard to stop,” Slippery Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “He don’t belong at this level. He’s an NFL prospect.”
With Hills and quarterback Roland Rivers III (18 of 24, 249 yards) powering the offense, the Rock (11-2) rolled. And UNH was playing from behind all game, forcing Patterson (20 of 1, 271 yards) to continually drop back.
It was 21-10 in the second quarter when Slippery Rock scored two touchdowns in the final 1:35, putting the game out of reach before the intermission.
Hills scored the first of the final two scores and had 102 yards at the half.
“Big kid,” Pincince said. “He’s a handful. Long, powerful kid. Certainly not afraid to put his shoulder pads down and run you over. … But he’s also got a little bit of elusiveness to him, and some speed.”
With a Giants scout watching from the press box, Hills and Patterson made their professional pitches. Patterson — despite his injuries — plans to participate in the National Bowl Game, an allstar game for Division II, III and NAIA players.
Hills, who is a captain, will continue his quest for a national title as Slippery Rock, the seventh seed, moves to the Division II quarterfinals. Next up is Notre Dame (Ohio) and Slippery Rock will travel to the Cleveland-area school with a spring in its step.
“We came out with great energy [against UNH],” Hills said. “I played a full, complete game. We haven’t done that in a few weeks. Finally something clicked. You can see how well play when you’re playing our best, playing our game.”