Howard Named NEC Offensive Player Of The Week
Senior had 163 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns in the Blue Devils win over Mercyhurst
Elijah Howard was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week following his three-touchdown effort in the Central Connecticut State football triumph over Mercyhurst on Saturday. The Blue Devils' 35-28 victory secured a second consecutive FCS Playoff berth and gave the program its league-leading eighth NEC Championship.
Joining Howard as NEC Prime Performers were Eric Jackson, Brady Olson and Jack Stoll. Howard was an honorable mention National Player of the Week as well.
Howard had 188 all-purpose yards in the victory over Mercyhurst and scored three touchdowns. His last score, an eight-yard touchdown reception, proved to be the game-winning tally in the fourth quarter. Howard rushed for 163 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns on the ground in the victory.
The effort was Howard's third 100+ yard rushing game in a row and his fifth in the last seven games. Howard became the 12th player in program history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season and enters the FCS Playoff game with 1,078 this season. Howard also became the fourth Blue Devil in program history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards, finishing Saturday's game with 3,002 over his three years and 33 games in New Britain.
Jackson equaled a career-high with 11 tackles, in the win over Mercyhurst and has made 39 tackles in the past four games. He also had a forced fumble and a pass breakup in the win on Saturday.
Olson threw three touchdown passes, giving him 40 for his two seasons at Central, on Saturday. He is 12th in the nation in passing yardage this season, with 2,821 yards and is the fourth Blue Devil to surpass 5,000 career passing yards, with 5,060 in 25 games in New Britain. Olson is 113 yards shy of the school single-season passing yardage record of 2,934 held by Jacob Dolegala.
Stoll also had 11 tackles on Saturday for the Blue Devil defense and leads the team with 86 this season. He recorded a TFL on Saturday, giving him 15.5 for the season, which is the third most in the program this century.
The Blue devils, 8-4 overall and 6-1 in NEC play, will travel to URI on Saturday for the first round FCS Playoff. Game time is set for 12:00 pm at Meade Stadium.
