NEW HAVEN — Jack Mallis admitted he was a bit on edge heading into Southern Connecticut State’s annual spring football game.
Each of the past two seasons, Mallis, a junior running back, had limped off the field unable to finish the contest.
“I told my friends I felt a little weird about the game,” Mallis said. “My first year I played I pulled my hamstring. And last year I tore my PCL and my meniscus.”

Jack Mallis

But Mallis came out of Saturday’s contest injury free and hopes it’s an omen for a big season.
“It felt great to come out of this game healthy,” he said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Mallis and the Owls hope to improve on last season’s disappointing campaign when injuries and youth derailed the team’s season. There were games that Southern went as deep as its fourth-string quarterback to finish off contests.
The end result was a 3-8 mark in which the Owls were outscored 334-190.
“That’s not the type of team we are,” Mallis said. “It all starts in the summer. We have to use the offseason to get in the weight room, to come back stronger and then we’ll have a serious chance to contend.”
Mallis rushed for 15 yards on five carries as the defense dominated in Southern’s William “Sully” Sullivan game.
“The scrimmages are kind of interesting,” Mallis said. “You really don’t want one unit to dominate, because if they do then it might be a sign the other side isn’t that good. I think the defense played really well. Offensively we were a little undisciplined, but I think we’ll be fine.”
Mallis figures to be more involved in the offense this year. Last season he rushed for 39 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown while recovering from the major spring injury.
“I’m happy to be right in the mix,” Mallis said. “I think I can add power in the backfield and be the guy who runs between the tackles. I think I can be the short-yardage back and on the goal-line situations I’m positive I can get into the end zone.”
SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh thinks the backfield, which also features speedsters Vaughn Magee (217 carries, 1,141 yards last season), Dequane June (66-264) and shifty John Moscatel (25-101) is one of the strengths of the team.
“We have a lot of depth there and that’s a strong point,” Cavanaugh said. “And I thought Jack Mallis looked good.”
Cavanaugh expects the defense, which ranked sixth in the conference last season, to be strong.
“It’s not worrisome (that the defense dominated at times),” Cavanaugh said. “They should be ahead of the offense now and I expect them to be pretty good. They played well. They were aggressive and they played with confidence.
“Offensively we’re still trying to find the pieces. There’s a lot of youth and inexperience on the line.”
SCSU scores the spring contest on which unit wins each play. At halftime the defense led 37-12 and the contest was over. The defense finished with five forced turnovers and 10 sacks in the game and limited starting quarterback Jacob Jablonski to 47 yards on 6-of-19 passing. Jablonski, who missed the end of the last season with an ankle injury, threw one scoring pass and was picked off three times.
But Cavanaugh isn’t worried about his veteran signal-caller.
“I thought J.J. kept his poise,” Cavanaugh said. “He was under a lot of pressure. Most of the problem was timing and he could have lost his cool, but he never did. That’s a sign of maturity. J.J. had a good spring.”
Lewis Edney led the receiving corps with five catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Vito Fornarelli had four catches for 40 yards and caught a scoring pass from Michael Eckrote. Fornarelli and Edney will pair with Carlton Staggers and Gary Williams to help fill the void left by graduates Willie Epps and Jayson Holt.
Cavanaugh also was pleased with the performance from punter/kicker Jeff Groth, a sophomore from Shelton.
But the defense clearly stole the show.
“We were doing a lot of things out there and they looked good,” Cavanaugh said. “With Mwamba Williams and Antonio Williams we’re going to be strong.”
And Cavanaugh is eager to see how linebacker Brian Wilcox progresses. At 6 feet 5, 250 pounds, Cavanaugh feels he could have a breakout season.
“He can be the real deal,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s real big, but the way he plays you wouldn’t know it. He runs like a deer. The light bulb went on for him and he’s really ready.”
The Owls, who open the season on Sept. 7 at home against Indiana (Pa.), got interceptions from Michael Dunkley and Jordan Teague early in the contest. And they even played without one of their stars, junior lineman Carlif Taylor, who sat out the game as a precaution after undergoing knee surgery last November.
“I’ve been practicing and I’ve been playing. I just gave it a little break for the game,” Taylor said. “I’ll be ready to go. I’ve been going 110 percent since I got back.”
Taylor said chemistry is a huge key to getting the Owls back at the top of the Northeast-10 standings.
“We worked on what we needed to in the offseason, but one thing we really needed to work on was the chemistry,” Taylor said. “We came together a little closer. We’ve worked harder to reach our goal. Last year wasn’t a good feeling at all.
“Nobody likes to lose, but we’re going to take it a day at a time. We have to fix the mistakes we made last year. As a whole we’ve been improving and the communication from coach to player and from player to player has been great.”
Taylor also feels the defense is poised for a big season, but he’s not worried about the offense.
“Defensively, the younger guys are improving and the upperclassmen are ready to take that next step. Over time we’ll have success. With (Jablonski) and the running backs and the receivers, I’ve got more than 110 percent faith in those guys. We didn’t work hard for nothing and you’ll see it pay off in the upcoming season.”

Here is Andrew Anastasio's preview of Saturday's SCSU Spring football game

NEW HAVEN — Coming off a 3-8 campaign, the Southern Connecticut State football team practiced last Wednesday in preparation for today’s spring game.
“We had a very good offseason,” head coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “Our guys have worked hard in the offseason strength and conditioning program, and I think the attitude has been good. From a spring practices perspective, the effort has been there along with the focus. We are doing the things we need to do to get better.”

JJ Jablonski is back under center for the Owls

Going into the 2013 campaign, the Owls will be without starting wide receivers Willie Epps and Jayson Holt. The team will also be without starting tight end Jerome Cunningham, who recently was selected to participate in the NFL Super Regional Combine held at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Despite losing several offensive starters, Cavanaugh said he expects players like Lewis Edney, C.J. Staggers, Gary Williams, and Vito Fornarelli to make an immediate impact. Southern will play the annual William “Sully” Sullivan Spring Game today at Jess Dow Field at 10:30 a.m.
“All those guys are working very hard,” Cavanaugh said. “They have shown quite a bit of improvement and I think they all could be quality receivers. I think we have skill guys who are going to be quality players this season.”
The Owls return starting running back Vaughn Magee, who rushed for 1,141 yards and eight touchdowns in 2012. The team will also welcome back starting senior quarterback Jacob Jablonski, who in 2012 threw for 1,675 yards and 10 touchdowns before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against New Haven.
Jablonski said the teams’ focus this spring is building confidence.
“Coming into this spring, a key focus for us is to believe in ourselves and focus on what is being
See SCSU, C3
 taught,” Jablonski said. “Coach strongly emphasizes that, and I think if we can focus on that and do what we are supposed to do, it’s really going to make things happen. If we believe that, then we can do anything.”
Last season, the Owls offense ranked eighth (second-to-last) in the Northeast-10 Conference. Collectively, they averaged 318.5 yards per game. The passing game also saw an eighth place finish with 195.5 yards per game. However, they did finish sixth in rushing with 122.9 yards per game.
“As a quarterback, I don’t think a lot needs to be done,” Jablonski said. “What I do think is important is we have to focus as an offense. Coach pointed out the other day saying ‘it is different from defense where one guy can make a play and maybe the rest of the defense can make a mistake or miss an assignment.’ On offense, it is important that if one guy does their job, the other 10 guys need to do the same. If we can do that, then we will be successful.”
Jablonski said he’s going to miss Epps, who led the team in receiving in 2012 with 655 yards and four touchdowns.
“I’m going to miss throwing the ball to him,” Jablonski said. “It was fun, and having him out there was a pleasure. I am definitely going to miss him.”
For the remainder of the spring preparations, Cavanaugh said he’s looking for his team to improve in all areas of the game.
“I think we need to focus on all phases of our game,” Cavanaugh said. “I can not pin point one area that needs the most improvement. We all need to collectively continue to improve our game.”

By Bill Cloutier
NEW HAVEN — Trailing Saint Anselm by double digits in the fourth quarter, the Southern Connecticut State football team was staring at 0-5.

That’s about the time SCSU running back Vaughn Magee said enough is enough.

Vaughn Magee scored 4 TDs on Saturday

Magee gained 187 of his career-high 297 yards in the fourth quarter as SCSU rallied for a 45-34 victory in a Northeast-10 Conference game at Jess Dow Field Saturday. The total was an NCAA Division II record for the most yards in a quarter.

“I thought Vaughn really carried us,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “When we needed the big play, Vaughn was the guy to make the play.”

Magee scored three of his four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help Southern (1-4, 1-2 NE-10) reverse a 34-23 deficit in the final 11 minutes. He scored on runs of 25, 44 and 26 yards in the final quarter and also had Southern’s first TD of the game, an 11-yard run in the first.

“We didn’t give up,” Magee said. “We were down double digits, but we talked at the half that we’ve been in bad situations like this before. We have to keep our heads up. I just wanted to win so badly. I wasn’t giving up.”

Magee said he told the coaching staff to give him the ball down the stretch.

“I told them I believe in this line, let’s keep running,” Magee said. “The guys were telling me, ‘Come my way.’ The receivers were saying the same thing.”

Said Cavanaugh: “We figured he had the hot hand so we’d stay with him, and we really needed him in the fourth quarter. And the defense finally dug in. They were put in a hard situation, but they shut them down and got the ball back for us. Then we were able to get settled down offensively and came up with a win.”

The first half was full of miscues typical of 0-4 teams. There were dropped passes, numerous penalties, a missed field goal and a safety. Just when it looked as though the Owls would take a lead into the break after getting a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Jablonski to Jayson Holt with 1:41 left, the Hawks drove the length of the field and Shea Cerio booted a 25-yard field goal to give Saint Anselm (0-5, 0-3) 17-16 advantage.

Jablonski opened the second half with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Willie Epps to give the Owls a 23-17 lead, but the game changed drastically soon after.

Making his first collegiate start, Saint Anselm freshman quarterback Andrew Murphy threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bernard as Bernard broke away from a pair of SCSU defenders before midfield. Jablonski then immediately threw an interception and Murphy responded with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Ahkeem Williams.

Murphy finished 29 of 43 for 405 yards, just three yards short of the school record. Bernard grabbed 13 passes for a school-record 226 yards. Cerio then made it 17 straight points for the Hawks with a 29-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter.

But Southern didn’t quit, and the Hawks didn’t score again.

“It was a good lesson for the guys,” Cavanaugh said. “We always tell them you have to keep playing the game, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Said Magee: “When you’re down you can’t start pointing fingers at one another. I was telling them that we’ve been in this predicament before. We can’t get this loss.”

Jablonski finished 21-for-36 for 292 yards and two touchdowns for SCSU, which visits Pace next weekend.

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NEW HAVEN — The last time the Southern Connecticut State football team started a season 0-3 was in 1990. The Owls actually went 0-4 that season before rebounding to finish the season 5-5.

SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh probably wouldn’t sign for that finish now, but if things don’t turn around soon, this could be a forgettable season. Saint Augustine’s scored 30 unanswered points to knock off Southern 30-14, sending the Owls to their worst start since George H.W. Bush was president, before 3,007 in their home opener Saturday.

JJ Jablonski is tackled by a Saint Augustine defender

SCSU led 14-0 in the first quarter, but never scored again.

“We had the momentum at that point, but it wasn’t like we were fired up about it,” Cavanaugh said. “We have to learn to play for four quarters. We’re not there yet.”

The day began superbly for the Owls, who entered the game having scored a total of six points in their previous two setbacks. The Owls raced out to a two-touchdown lead as junior running back Vaughn Magee scored from a yard out and Jake Jablonski capped another impressive drive with a 6-yard pass to Jayson Holt, his first career touchdown.

But as promising as it began, that’s how quickly it deteriorated. For the third straight week, the Owls fizzled on both sides of the ball. And Saint Augustine’s pounced. The Falcons, who lost a gritty 24-21 decision to New Haven last week, scored 16 points before the half was over and never looked back.

“I just felt that we got into a rhythm in the first quarter and things were clicking, and then it was like they scored a touchdown and kind of packed our bags,” Jablonski said. “I’m not sure why. We just didn’t show up as a team. We didn’t show up in the second half. It’s shocking we didn’t score again.”

Quarterback Teddy Bacote got the Falcons’ offense going, connecting with Tyron Laughinghouse on a 57-yard score. Laughinghouse slipped through a missed tackle at the SCSU 40 and raced untouched the rest of the way for the score.

The Falcons then used a couple of big plays to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Roderick Davenport, but they missed the extra point and still trailed 14-13. Undaunted, Saint Augustine capitalized on Jablonski’s second interception to take a 16-14 lead into the half on a 30-yard field goal by Michael Lima.

The Falcons’ defense then totally shut down Jablonski and company forcing three straight punts, and Saint Augustine’s finally capitalized on a 24-yard scoring pass from Bacote to Laughinghouse on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 23-14.

SCSU had chances to reverse its fate, but consecutive drives ended deep in the red zone and in utter frustration.

After a 43-yard pass from Jablonski to Vito Fornarelli, Southern was set up with a first-and-goal on the Falcon 3-yard line. After two runs by Magee failed, Jablonski completed a pass to Jerome Cunningham, but the tight end slipped just before the goal line. Southern was stuck at the 1, and Jablonski was stuffed on the ensuing fourth-down keeper.

“That’s disappointing,” Cavanaugh said. “The ball’s inside the 1-yard line and we can’t get in.”

The Owls forced the Falcons to punt and again moved the ball into the red zone. But like last week, in a 13-0 loss at Stonehill, Southern again was denied for the second time in the game from inside the 10. Jablonski appeared to have a sure touchdown with a pass to Willie Epps in the corner of the end zone, but the ball hit Epps in the facemask after the talented wide receiver lost the ball in the sun.

“The game should have never come down to those plays,” Jablonski said. “You can’t blame Willie. You can’t blame the call. You can’t blame anything. We had opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage.

“There’s just a lot of other situations where we don’t have to punch it in from the 1 to stay in the game. If we make the plays, we could have been up three touchdowns.”

Southern was perhaps caught trying to force a fumble in the game’s final minute when Davenport broke through the middle of the SCSU defense for a 54-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.

Jablonski, who missed last week’s game due to a upper chest injury, finished 20-34 for 249 yards, but he started off 10-for-11. Magee went over the century mark for the second straight game, gaining 104 yards on 27 carries.

Bacote was 20 for 32 passing for 225 yards for the Falcons (2-1). Davenport finished with 87 yards on 12 carries.

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EASTON, Mass. — A day of frustration could be summed up on what appeared to be the Southern Connecticut State football team’s most promising drive.

SCSU moved the ball to the Stonehill 4-yard line with 5 minutes to play, threatening to cut into a 13-0 deficit. But once there, the Owls’ normally potent offense imploded. SCSU committed two penalties and quarterback Bobby Lippincott was sacked, leaving the Owls facing a 4th-and-21.

SCSU QB Jake Jablonski (above)
missed the game with an upper chest injury.

The drive, and Southern’s comeback hopes, ended with an incomplete pass to tight end Jerome Cunningham in the end zone, sealing Southern’s fate in a 13-0 loss to Stonehill in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Coughlin Field.

It was a day of firsts for the Owls, and none proved positive. Stonehill posted its first win in 16 contests against Southern. It was also the first time SCSU was shut out since Sept. 9, 2000, a span of 128 games.

“I’m not shocked we got shut out,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “It all comes down to execution and making plays. At times we did, and at times we didn’t.

“At times we ran the ball well and at times we threw the ball well. Stonehill played well. They had a good defensive plan against us, and the turnovers were a factor.”

Lippincott threw three interceptions for Southern in his first collegiate start. Lippincott was subbing for Jake Jablonski, who did not make the trip after suffering a chest injury in the Owls’ season opener a week ago.

“It’s easy to put the blame on the quarterback, but we have access to the film, and I’m sure we’re going to see other reasons other than him,” Cavanaugh said. “Maybe he’s hurried. There are a lot of other reasons. It’s also his first start and his second game.”

Lippincott, a redshirt freshman from Barkhamsted, finished 15 of 33 for 163 yards. He was also sacked six times. Vaughn Magee was the lone offensive bright spot for SCSU, rushing for a career-high 151 yards on 31 carries.

Southern scored just six points in its season-opening loss at Indiana (Pa.) last week. The Owls, who typically feature a high-octane offensive unit, have been shut down due to youth and inexperience.

“This was a learning experience,” SCSU linebacker Jack Cooper said. “We played hard on both sides of the ball. We win as a team and lose as a team. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

Stonehill took the lead on a 37-yard field goal by Stephen Grzywacz with 3 seconds to play in the first half. The drive began on the SCSU 38 following Lippincott’s second interception of the half. The staunch Southern defense got a big sack from A.J. Marsiglia, his second of the game, but Grzywacz, who hit the crossbar on a 38-yard attempt in the first quarter, knocked it through. It proved to be all the offense the Skyhawks (1-1, 1-0 NE-10) needed.

Grzywacz missed a 28-yard attempt to the left with five minutes to play in the third quarter as Southern’s defense stood tough. But turnovers continued to haunt the Owls, and when they marched to the Stonehill 18-yard line in the third quarter, Lippincott was again picked off to end the threat.

That proved to be the backbreaker as Stonehill marched 80 yards on six plays on the ensuing drive for the game’s only touchdown. The scoring march was highlighted by a 39-yard pass to John Gomes, who set the Stonehill record for career receptions on the play (126).

“We had some breakdowns schematically in the fourth quarter,” Cavanaugh said. ”The difference between last week and this week is that we showed up, we were excited and we played hard. We made mistakes that were costly, but everything we did wrong today could be corrected.”

Gomes then finished the drive by snaring a 5-yard touchdown pass from Logan Meyer to make it 10-0.

Grzywacz added a 25-yard field goal with seven minutes left in the game. Meyer finished 9 of 22 for 141 yards.

“I never felt we were out of the game,” Cooper said. “We all kept playing hard. We’re a young team who’s definitely going to learn from this. In previous years we’ve started 0-2 and we’ve ran the table. We open up at home next week and we’ve got to come out and get a win.”

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NEW HAVEN — Southern Connecticut State linebacker Jack Cooper hopes the end of his collegiate football career will be in dramatic contrast to how high high school career ended.

Five years ago, Cooper’s Berlin High team was trailing Ledyard 21-14 with 10 seconds to play. Berlin had the ball on the Ledyard 1-yard line as Cooper lined up at halfback. The play call was to hand off to the fullback. The ball was snapped and Cooper set off on his blocking assignment.
That’s when disaster struck.
“It was like right out of a movie,” Cooper said. “The handoff went to the fullback, but he never really got it. He fumbled the ball and that was it. It cost us the Class M title.”
Now a graduate-student, Cooper has one more chance at a championship. After red-shirting his freshman season, Cooper has been a fixture at linebacker for the Owls and enters the 2012 season as the team’s leading returning tackler and its undisputed leader.
At practice his teammates check with him to see where they should line up. After the session is over, coaches get his take on the day’s work.
“He knows what everybody’s doing out there,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “When he’s out there, we’re definitely getting lined up right. He knows the D-line, he knows the linebackers, he knows the secondary. He knows everything.
“He’s exceptional, really. I know when he’s out there that everybody’s going to be in the right place.”
In his 28th season on the SCSU sideline, Cavanaugh hands out kudos about as often as political campaign ads. But Cavanaugh practically gushes when he talks about Cooper.
“He’s just a good person,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s a great student. He’s one of those kids that gets involved in community service. He’s the whole package. You don’t really know the type of person you’re getting when you recruit them. Who comes across bad when you recruit them? But with Jack, the type of person I saw when we recruited him was real.”
While Cooper knows his playing days are numbered, both he and Cavanaugh know there will be plenty more football to follow.
“He wants to be a coach and he’ll be good at it,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s a student of the game and you’re seeing that even more this year. He prepares week in and week out and he’s going to play his very best. He’s a good player and a smart kid.”
Cooper’s role on defense is even more important this season considering the Owls (7-3 in 2011) have to replace seven starters. Cooper played all 10 games last year making 48 tackles, good for eighth on the club.
“We’ve got a young defense,” Cooper said. “We lost a lot of guys from last year, but we’ve got guys who were really ready to play last year and they’re still learning.”
While Cooper has plenty of experience, his partner at linebacker, Nate Tyler, returns from a season-ending injury he suffered in the season opener last year. Cooper said Tyler will be a major force.
“He’s doing good and he’s healthy,” Cooper said. “Nate would have played a lot last year. The linebackers last year were really good. The guys this year are young, but they’re learning and they can run. Our linebackers need to be the focal point of the defense and we’ve got a good corps who are looking forward to doing it.”
The rest of the defense is a bit untested. The secondary picked off 18 passes last season and Steven Teague, a senior from Hamden, will return to the defensive backfield and his ball-hawking ways. He had three interceptions in 2011.
“Things aren’t going to change,” Cooper said. “We have the same blueprint, same philosophy. We’re still going after the ball. Teague’s very good back there and we have (highly touted defensive back Dion) O’Joe and the entire secondary is fast, so we’ll be going for the ball. As long as we follow our assignments we’ll be alright. Since I’ve been here, speed’s been the best thing about our defense. We’re good up front and everybody’s doing their job.”
Southern was picked second in the preseason Northeast-10 Conference poll, trailing only city rival New Haven. Cooper feels the Owls can win the title.
“If we do what we’re supposed to do, study film and practice hard, we definitely can win it,” he said. “We need to say healthy and have some things go our way in games. We’ve got the makings of a really good team.”
And that would give Cooper some pleasant lasting memories.
“It’s funny because (SCSU quarterback Jake Jablonski) was on Ledyard that year,” Cooper said of the 2007 title game. “He still rubs it in. It was a tough one. And it still hurts.”

NEW HAVEN — Every season it seems like the Southern Connecticut State feature running back gets better and better.

Running back Rashaad Slowley may have been the best of the lot. Slowley gained 1,624 yards on 274 carries last season, scoring a school-record 27 touchdowns. He followed the likes of Jarom Freeman, who set the national record with 418 yards rushing in a single game and was one of five different backs to rush for at least 1,500 yards in a season in the past decade.

Vaughn Magee will be the No. 1
back at SCSU this season

Next up is Vaughn Magee. Talk about some big shoes to fill.

Magee is a junior from Mastic Beach, N.Y., who’s seen limited action in his first two years with the club. He has, however, made the most of his opportunities. As a sophomore Magee played in three games, finishing with 18 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard touchdown run.

Magee’s most extensive playing time in his first two seasons has come against Pace. Serving as a replacement in a pair of Owls’ routs, Magee looked explosive. He will team with J.W. Forte in SCSU’s new-look backfield.

“Magee and Forte are two solid backs,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “They both work hard and they understand the offense. They have speed and can run and catch the ball. They’re just solid players.”

Magee knows this is his opportunity.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this chance,” Magee said. “I’m not thinking about it as being the feature back. I don’t care about the numbers or all the hype. I just want to win.

“I haven’t played in a lot of games, but I’ve been working out real hard. I’m looking to come out strong and I think (as a team) we can really do it this year. I think every one is sleeping on us, but I think we’re going to shock some people. The whole team is out here to try and make things happen.”

Magee took a realistic approach to prepare for his new role.

“Honestly, what I did was eat a lot,” he said. “I came in at 175 pounds my first year and now I’m 203. I’ve done a lot of lifting and running. I watched how much pounding that (Slowley) took and he was around 210 or 215.

Magee maintained his quickness by attending speed classes three times a week. He said the last time he was timed he ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash, and thinks he’s even quicker now.

Jack Mallis is also in the mix in the backfield. Mallis returned from offseason knee surgery necessitated by an injury he suffered in the spring game. Mallis looks to be the No. 3 back behind Magee and Forte. Mallis tore ligaments in his knee, but looked powerful at Monday’s scrimmage.

SCSU opens the schedule on Sept. 1 at Indiana (Pa.). The Owls were picked second in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll.

“I believe we can win it,” Magee said. “We just have to work hard and start fast.”

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Southern stumbled out of the gate in Saturday's William "Sully" Sullivan spring game at Jess Dow Stadium. It took eight possessions for the Owls' offense to score a point.
But when it did it exploded as JJ Jablonski threw three touchdown passes and backup Zach Thomas threw one.

Here are the details followed by some highlights of the game.
Jerome Cunningham is shown catching a touchdown pass in the first highlight. He was the star of the day catching six passes.



Here's Steven Teague on Saturday's game:

NEW HAVEN – For all the talk about playoffs and their confusing scenarios, the Southern Connecticut State football team knew that the entirety of the discussion was moot if the Owls couldn’t beat Merrimack in its season finale on Saturday.
And for the majority of the game Southern seemed to be taking care of business at hand until they just wore out.
Merrimack’s high-octane offense ran an astounding 100 offensive plays to rally past Southern 28-27 in a Northeast-10 Conference game at Jess Dow Field Saturday. There is no need to check the playoff pairings when they’re announced today. The Owls, who entered the weekend ranked eighth in the Division II Super Regional 1 poll, won’t be among the field of six.
“It’s really tough. We had goals of making the playoffs but we just didn’t finish,” SCSU running back Rashaad Slowley said.
Southern appeared to have taken control of things early in the second half. They led 24-14 at the break and following a 33-yard field goal by Chris Hazelton the bulge was 27-14. But surprisingly Southern never scored again.
“We really couldn’t sustain any drives in the second half,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “Because of that we wore down a bit on defense. That was a big problem. We weren’t really able to control the tempo of the game and keep their offense off the field.
“That was something that I thought we needed to do to be successful.”
Slowley, who finished the year with a school-record 29 touchdowns, scored on runs of 45 and 63 yards in the first half. He finished with 219 yards rushing on 27 carries. (He ended with 1,584 yards rushing for the season). Southern also got a 16-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Kyle Mgaresh to open the scoring.
“I’m more of team guy,” Slowley said. “My goals are to stay safe, win the game and then comes any individual goals. I’m safe but we didn’t win the game and that’s what matters.”
The Owls (7-3, 6-2 NE-10) kept moving the ball and piling up the yardage until Merrimack seemed to figure things out defensively. And when Southern receivers dropped a couple of passes in the second half things went south in a hurry.
Merrimack (6-4, 5-3) entered the game the conference’s leading scoring team averaging over 41 points a game. The Chargers, who thought they’d be in the playoff chase themselves before suffering a couple of late-season losses, got a pair of touchdown passes from James Suozzo to Steve Serwon. The first tied the score at 7-7 and the final one capped the day’s scoring.
In between Jimon Hill (25 carries, 127 yards) scored on a 16-yard run and Suozzo, who threw for 262 yards and ran the ball 30 times for 46 yards, scored a crucial touchdown late in the third quarter on a 6-yard run. That touchdown was set up by a long Charger punt return after Southern had stopped two Merrimack drives deep in the red zone.
Said Cavanaugh: “We knew they had a good kicking game. We emphasized that to the guys during the week and we did a pretty good job most of the game. That one return put them in good field position and that hurt.”
SCSU quarterback Kevin Lynch finished 10 for 29 for 156 yards but had two TD passes dropped in the end zone or his numbers would have been better. He leaves the school as the standard-bearer in several categories.
In all 18 seniors played their last game at Southern, a group that won 27 games.
“It’s a tough situation anytime you lose your last game,” Cavanaugh said. “They’re a great group of seniors and they showed great leadership. They showed great character. They’re going to be some tough guys to replace.”

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NEW HAVEN — A few months ago the Southern Connecticut State athletic department was shocked by its seeding in the NCAA Division II baseball tournament.
The Owls figured to get the region’s No. 1 seed after winning the Northeast-10 Conference title and host the East Regional at Yale Field. Instead, Franklin Pierce, which finished third in the Northeast-10 conference and didn’t even win the NE-10 postseason was awarded the top seed.
The Owls, however, got the last laugh, making the trek to Rindge, N.H., and winning the regional on the Franklin Pierce campus to advance to the College World Series.
Now, the SCSU football finds itself in an even more sticky situation. As Southern prepares for its final game of the regular season the Owls are pinning their playoff hopes to the outcome but even with a win they could get shutout of the six-team NCAA Division II regional playoff field.
Southern plays host Merrimack on Saturday at Jess Dow Field at 1 p.m.
The Owls enter the game with a 7-2 record overall, 7-1 in Division II play. Southern lost at FCS school Central Connecticut State to start the season. That loss, according to the by-laws of the selection committee does not count among its Division II playoff resume.
Southern entered last weekend ranked seventh in the Super Regional I rankings. The Owls did not play but, off its bye-week, still dropped a spot to eight place in the rankings. But, what makes that drop more confusing, is the fact three teams ranked ahead of SCSU lost their games.
“I have to be honest that I thought we would move up,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “I thought with some of those teams losing we would. I don’t have access to the numbers. You really don’t know what are point total is, what are strength of schedule is, but the only thing that I thought is that we have one loss and some of those other teams have more than one loss.
I thought that was part of the criteria.
“I guess some of those teams lost to some pretty high-ranked teams but we have one loss and it’s against the No. 1 ranked team.”
There was a general feeling that the Southern’s Northeast-10 Conference did not earn enough respect among members of the tournament selection committee heading into this season. And that was with good reason. For the past two seasons not one NE-10 team has earned a spot in the playoffs. SCSU had gone to the tournament the four prior seasons.
But this year New Haven, which is Southern’s only DII blemish, is ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 10 nationally. Thus it is apparent that there is some respect for the conference.
SCSU Associate Director of Athletics/Communications Mike Kobylanski said he would be “frustrated” if the Owls were to win this week and not gain a spot in the playoffs.
“In baseball and basketball it was also a matter of who you beat non-conference,” Kobylanski said. “We beat West Liberty State this year (out of conference). They were 8-2 last year and this year, how did we know that they’d go 1-9.
“It clearly would be frustrating for the university and the student athletes because in terms of scheduling and performance on the field we tried to do everything we can. I wouldn’t say I would be frustrated in the system, just more of a general frustration because we tried to do everything we could and it wouldn’t be deemed good enough.”
Kobylanski pointed to a couple of games that could help the Owls’ chances this week: Winston-Salem beating Elizabeth City and Concord beating West Virginia Wesleyan would look to be beneficial to SCSU’s cause.
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