New Britain, CT – Wagner outscored Central Connecticut  15-0 in the fourth quarter in posting a thrilling 25-21 come-from-behind Northeast Conference (NEC) road victory at sun-splashed Arute Field and live on ESPN3 this afternoon.

In registering the win, the Seahawks improve to 4-2 overall and, most importantly, are now a perfect 2-0 in NEC play heading into the October 22 contest at Bryant. The Blue Devils fall to 1-5 on the year, 0-2 in league play.
 
Junior quarter Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport) led Wagner on fourth-quarter touchdown drives of 90 and 54 yards en route to a 270-yard passing performance. Thomson's second-highest career passing day came on 19-of-28 accuracy, with senior wide receiver Andre Yevchinecz (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) corralling four receptions for 88 yards.
 
Junior running back Denzel Knight (Rochester, NY / Salisbury School) rushed for a career-high 150 yards on just 13 carries, an effort buoyed by first quarter runs of 51 and 70 yards with the 51-yarder coming on Wagner's first play from scrimmage and the latter which gave the Seahawks an early 7-0 lead.
 
Senior running back Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY / Bishop Maginn / Jireh Prep [NC]), who was named the ESPN 3 Player of the Game, added 73 hard-fought yards on 18 carries, in addition to coming up with four catches for 69 yards.
 
Wagner took early leads of 7-0 and 10-7 before CCSU turned a turnover and a host of penalties into a pair of second-quarter touchdowns in talking a 21-10 halftime lead.
 
Following a scoreless third quarter, senior kicker James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Mainland Regional/ Temple) trimmed the deficit to 21-13 with a 37-yard field goal on the very first play of the fourth quarter. The ensuing CCSU drive proved to be a key sequence in the game.

After running back Cameron Nash sprinted 58 yards to give the Blue Devils a first down at the Seahawk 25, the Wagner defense stiffened, forcing the Central into a 4^th-and-3 at the 10-yard line. Rather than attempting a 27-yard field goal, CCSU rolled the dice with a fake, but starting quarterback/holder Jacob Dolegala overthrew well-covered tight end Brian Kowalczyk in the back of the end zone.
 
Taking over on their own 10, the Seahawks used a mixture of run and pass to march 90 yards in 13 plays over a span of 5:58, with the drive culminating in a five-yard touchdown strike from Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport) to senior wide receiver Brandon Peoples (Abington Township, PA / Archbishop Wood/Milford Academy) with 6:15 left in the game.
 
This score made it a 21-19 game and Wagner went for the two-point conversion in an effort to tie the game, but Thomson's pass to Peoples in the right flat was low and incomplete, leaving the Devils with a two-point lead.
 
After the Wagner defense forced CCSU into a three and out, the Seahawks took over in excellent field position at their own 46 with 5:06 left. A pair of Thomson completions to junior wide receiver John Williams (Sewell, NJ / Washington Township/Lackawanna CC [PA], the latter a 15-yard grab with 1:46 left, gave the Seahawks a first down at the CCSU 11.
 
McKinnon knifed his way for 10 yards to the one and punched it in from there to give Wagner a 25-21 lead with just 1:06 remaining, which is the way the score remained after Thomson's two-point pass attempt to Yevchinecz in the end zone was incomplete.
 
The Blue Devils returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 17 and reached their own 48, but a Hail Mary pass from Dolegala was intercepted by senior safety Tim Hayes (Los Angeles, CA / Crespi Carmelite / Wyoming) at the goal line, as the Seahawk celebration began.
 
"The guys battled. I love these kids, they work so hard and I couldn't be happier for them right now," said second-year head coach Jason Houghtaling. "They put the time in all during the offseason. The great thing about them is that there's no quit in them.  We went into the locker room at halftime (trailing 21-10) and we knew we had some issues we had to clean up. Three turnovers, however many penalties. We just had some young kids out there, true freshmen, who were just trying to make plays. We have to correct those things."
 
In addition to outscoring CCSU 15-0 in the second half, Wagner outgained the Devils 210-136 following halftime.
 
"We went out there in the second half and played with a great deal of passion and it was awesome," said Houghtaling. "We had bad snaps, too many penalties, all kinds of things going on out there, but credit the kids and the coaching staff. At the end, we drove down the field, made plays, and won a football game. So that's what it's all about."
 
For the game, Wagner amassed 467 yards of offense, 270 through the air, and 197 rushing, while CCSU gained 358 yards of total offense. Dolegala wound up 18-of-36 for 243 yard and two touchdowns. Nash was the Devils' leading ground-gainer with 97 yards on 13 carries. Defensively, linebacker Randall LaGuerre came up with a game-high 14 tackles.
 
Defensively for Wagner, junior safety Jesse Flaherty (Oceanport, NJ / Red Bank Catholic / The Peddie School) registered nine tackles, to go with an interception, in matching sophomore linebacker Santoni Graham's (Arlington, VA / Bishop O'Connell / Fork Union Military Academy) for game-high honors.
 
"We played hard on defense," Houghtaling added. "I think we blitzed a little more in the second half and got after the quarterback some. Credit to CCSU, they're a good team and their staff does a tremendous job. What a great football game, just a really great day for use here at Central Connecticut."
 
"We're going to enjoy this one for 24 hours, correct and clean some things up, and then get ready for Bryant next week," Houghtaling added.

NOTES
Senior offensive lineman Greg Senat (Elmont, NY / Elmont / Marianapolis Prep [CT]), a two-sport athlete who doubles as a power forward on the Seahawk basketball team, used his 6-8 height and leaping ability to deliver a key special teams play, partially blocking a CCSU first-half field goal attempt.

Fifth-year All-NEC tight end Ryan Owens (Gainesville, NY / Letchworth) sat out the game due to injury with senior Caleb Scepaniak (Endicott, NY / Union-Endicott) gaining the start in his stead, 

Sophomore tight end Chris Woodard (North Tonawanda, NY / North Tonawanda), who snared the first two receptions in the late going last week vs. Columbia, cane up with a big 25-yard fourth-quarter reception vs. CCSU down to the one-yard line which set up Peoples; TD grab. In the last two weeks, Woodard has three receptions for 45 yards.

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