New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
In the win column
Huskies down CCSU for first victory under Mora
EAST HARTFORD — In Jim Mora’s first home game at the helm the UConn football team defeated Central Connecticut State 28-3 in front of a crowd of 22,442 at Rentschler Field on Saturday.
UConn improved to .500 for the first time since the 2019 season, overcoming a lackluster start.
“Coaching my first game at the Rent, not really knowing what to expect, the people that were there, we felt them,” Mora said. “We do feed off the energy, there is such a thing as home field advantage, it is not a myth, it is real.”
It was hardly a pretty victory. Central Connecticut took a 3-0 lead in the second quarter, but the mission was accomplished in what was a must-win game for the Huskies.
UConn led CCSU 7-3 after the first half before the offense clicked to outscore the Blue Devils 21-0 in the latter half.
Nate Carter paced the offense, rushing for a game-high 123 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. UConn totaled 274 yards on the ground .
“When you have a young quarterback that is growing into the position, in order to make him feel comfortable you have to be able to run the football,” Mora said. “We have been able to do that now two weeks in a row.”
Freshman starting quarterback Zion Turner completed 14 of 22 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, an interception, and a fumble. Turner also rushed for 24 yards on nine carries.
“Overall, we could have done way better, we came out slow and had to get adjusted to things,” Turner said. “I like how we played in the second half, we regrouped as a team. We all came together. We had a plan, and we executed our plan.”
Two players scored their first career touchdowns as sophomore wide receiver Jacob Flynn and freshman Victor Rosa both found
the end zone.
Flynn, a walk-on Southington high school product who was surprised with a scholarship towards the end of fall camp, scored on a 10-yard reception.
“That ball (Turner) threw to me was perfect, couldn’t have been any better,” Flynn said.
Rosa, the 2021 Connecticut Gatorade Player of the year and true freshman from Bristol Central, recorded his first collegiate touchdown in the final minute on an 11-yard rush.
In the locker room following the game, both were mobbed by their jubilant teammates.
“They brought Sweet Feet Jacob Flynn into the middle and jumped all over him,” Mora said. “They brought Victor (Rosa) in and jumped all over him. That’s what a team does, they recognize the contributors, the walk-on, the freshman who came in and played a big part of their win and celebrate.”
“Connecticut kids, homegrown,” Flynn said. “That was special. They were just mobbing us.”
Sophomore wide receiver Aaron Turner led the Huskies with 57 receiving yards on two catches as nine different receivers registered at least one reception.
Central Connecticut State took a 3-0 lead in the second quarter on former All-State kicker Cristiano Rosa’s (Shelton) 28-yard field goal.
UConn responded with a 11-yard touchdown pass from Turner to Niemenski for a 7-3 lead.
In the final minute of the first half, a UConn red zone chance was squandered when Turner threw an interception.
“We have to be able to close in the red zone,” Mora said. “Certainly, the interception in the first half when we had a chance to go up 10-3 with some momentum going into the locker room, and Zion forced it in. The positive thing about him is that he will learn from that.”
Despite the deflating finish and just a four-point lead, the Huskies showed up in the second half.
Central Connecticut received the kickoff and marched into the Red Zone on the opening drive.
With the Blue Devils threatening to take the lead, defensive lineman Dalmont Gourdine disrupted the momentum with a sack for a nine-yard loss.
“They had a big play before that to put them down there, but we play every six seconds,” Gourdine said. “Every six seconds is a new mindset. The last play doesn’t matter. We needed a big play, go get it, no scores.”
Gourdine’s sack was arguably the play of the game and was a definitive marker of a momentum shift.
“(That play was) huge. Huge. Huge,” Mora said. “Because they took the ball right down the field on us and if they go up 10-7, I don’t know how we react…That sack was a really big play for us.”
Central Connecticut was forced to attempt a field goal, which banged off the post to keep the score 7-3.
“I think there could have been a tendency to panic a little bit and tighten up,” Mora said. “But I thought our guys came into half time and made some adjustments. We corrected some of the errors we were making, and we had a pretty good second half.”
The UConn lead was padded with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter on a 17-yard touchdown rush by Carter, his first touchdown of the season.
Turner’s second touchdown pass came on the first UConn drive of the fourth quarter when he hit Flynn in the end zone from the 10-yard line.
With less than a minute to play, Rosa found the endzone on an 11-yard carry to extend the UConn lead to 28-3.
“There are certain things that coach Barthel looks for in our running backs, a certain mentality and (Rosa) has that,” Mora said. “It has been hard for him in the first two weeks to find a lot of playing time… but he got a chance today and we saw on that last touchdown what he is capable. I assume standing here today we will see more and more of Victor Rosa.”
None of UConn’s three turnovers resulted in points for the Blue Devils, but the turnover ratio will be a focus moving forward.
“Offensively we have to take care of the football, we cannot turn the ball over three times and expect to win many games,” Mora said.
The UConn defense held Central Connecticut to just three third down conversions in 12 chances, surrendering a total of 242 yards.
Central junior quarterback Romelo Williams was 16-29 in the air for 164 yards.
Sophomore running back Malik Thomas (Danbury) led the Blue Devils with 63 rushing yards on five carries while junior Kyren Petteway (Waterbury) led the field with 61 receiving yards on six catches.
UConn will host Syracuse next Saturday with a chance to claim the first winning record for the program since game three of the 2016 season.
“A lot of good, a lot we can grow from and a lot of teachable moments in there,” Mora said. “These guys will celebrate for 24 hours and then we will set our jaw and get ready for the next one.”