Win Streak Snapped as Blue Devils Fall on the Road at Robert Morris

The Central Connecticut football team had its five-game winning streak snapped and dropped a Northeast Conference game for the first time this season with a 42-24 loss on the road at Robert Morris on Saturday. The loss drops Central to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in league action. The win by RMU gives them at least a share of the NEC title this season and they will represent the NEC in the FCS playoffs this season.

"We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game and that this was a very good football team," head coach Jeff McInerney said following the loss. "But we didn't make plays and we turned the ball over leading to some easy scores for them. We had to play a clean football game this afternoon and we didn't. I'm proud of our team for not giving up, we played hard and fought until the end."

Robert Morris struck first with a quick touchdown drive to begin the game. They needed only five plays to take a 7-0 lead after a scoring pass to T.J. Green.

Central answered with an 11-play drive that resulted in a 29-yard field goal from senior Joe Izzo, his 12th field goal of the season.

The Colonials needed only two plays to build the lead to 14-3. Quarterback Jeff Sinclair hit Shadrae King from 14-yards out for the second score of the game for the home team and the 11-point lead with 7:52 left in the first quarter.

Junior quarterback Gunnar Jespersen hit freshman running back Chris Tolbert with an eight-yard scoring pass to cut the RMU lead to 14-10 with 5:14 left in the quarter. Following a Blue Devil turnover Jeff Link scored for RMU and made it 21-10 to end the first quarter.

Senior Raphael Johnson scored the two yardline for the fourth touchdown of the first half for RMU, giving them a 28-10 lead.

The Blue Devils answered quickly with a 60-yard scoring strike to senior Josue Paul from Jespersen and it made it 28-17 before halftime. The score was the ninth in the career of Paul that went for at least 60 yards. He finished the day with 156 receiving yards, a career-high.

Robert Morris put the game away in the second half by posting the first two scores of the half and making it 42-17. Running back Myles Russ, the leading rusher in the NEC, scored from 44-yards out and then Link's second score of the game gave RMU the 25-point lead. He finished the game with 177 yards on the ground.

Jespersen posted his third rushing touchdown of the season to cut the lead to 42-24 with 11:01 left in the game, but the Blue Devils were not able to get any closer and RMU clinched the NEC's first-ever playoff berth.

Jespersen finished the game 14-for-22 for a career-high 283 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior running back Everette Benjamin rushed 19 times for 76 yards in the loss.

Paul ended the game with five catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. He had a long of 60 on the second quarter score.

CCSU takes to the road next week at Monmouth beginning at 12 noon.