University of New Hampshire Athletics
Max Pedinoff nails a 34-yard field goal during Monday's scrimmage.
Football Scrimmages: Next Up, San Jose State
8/24/2015 5:41:00 PM | Football, UNH Insider
 The defense got off to a fast start and the offense came on strong later in the scrimmage as the UNH football team wrapped up another piece of preseason camp with the fall version of its Blue-White game on Monday afternoon in sunny Cowell Stadium.
Next up, the Wildcats hone in on preparation for next week's season opener at San Jose State, an FBS school. The game is Thursday, Sept. 3 at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
"I thought it was a little bit better than the last scrimmage we had," said Sean McDonnell, who is starting his 17th season as head coach. "I thought it was a little crisper. I thought both sides of the ball executed some things and improved in some of the things that we talked about as a staff. Some of the tackling, some of the blocking, some of the breaking tackles. I thought we threw and caught the ball better."
The primary thrower for the Wildcats is senior Sean Goldrich (West Haven, Conn.), who has started 23 of the 32 games he has played in through his first three seasons.
"When he's got time and he's got his sights on it, he's going to put the ball on people and he's going to make plays," McDonnell said.
The question going into the season has been who is going to catch the ball.
Wide receiver R.J. Harris is now in training camp with the New Orleans Saints and tight end Harold Spears with the Green Bay Packers. Between them last year, they caught 156 of the 308 passes thrown by Wildcat quarterbacks.
Fifteen players caught passes from five different quarterbacks on Monday.
Sophomore Aaron Lewis-Cenales (Odenton, Md.) and freshman Amechie Walker (Harrisburg, Pa.) led the way with four catches each. Lewis-Cenales covered 46 yards on his catches and had the only touchdown pass, a 1-yarder from junior Adam Riese.
Walker's four grabs went for 29 yards. Senior Jared Allison (Cliffwood, N.J.) had three catches for 40 yards.
McDonnell said it could well be a committee approach to catching the ball this season.
"I've been very happy with Allison for the whole camp, not just for today," McDonnell said. "He's caught, he's ran. He's been very good in everything we've asked him to do as a senior leader in that position. The kid Amechie Walker has caught the ball pretty well during camp. (Freshman) Malik Love (Alcoa, Tenn.) has gotten better from the middle of camp to where he is today. He had a real good day today for the most part. (Lewis-Cenales) is inconsistent and you saw that today. When he knows exactly what he's doing and he's comfortable, he's a really good football player."
McDonnell went on to mention junior tight end Jordan Powell (Forked River, N.J.), redshirt freshman Rory Donovan (Canton, Mass.) and redshirt freshman wide receiver Neil O'Connor (Leominster, Mass.).
"You've got a ton of people," McDonnell said. "I think a lot of different people ar going to have a chance to catch the ball this year, not just one guy."
Goldrich completed seven of his 14 passes for 70 yards and scored on 2-yard run. Riese had the best numbers of the quarterbacks, completing 12 of his 17 passes for 150 yards and the score.
Junior Chris McCormick (Winooski, Vt.) completed three of his eight passes and was intercepted on the first play of the game when his pass went off a receiver and redshirt freshman linebacker Jared Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H.) caught it.
McCormick continues to lead in the battle for the backup QB job, McDonnell said.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight (Nashua, N.H.) completed three of his five passes for 42 yards and freshman Ivan Niyomugabo (Penacook, N.H.) was three for seven for 19 yards.
Junior running back Dalton Crossan (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) led the rushers with four carries for 25 yards and also caught a pair of passes for 36 yards. Sophomore Trevon Bryant (St. Augustine, Fla.) carried eight times for 24 yards and scored a pair of 1-yard touchdowns.
Freshman defensive back Matt Sherlock (Oradell, N.J.) and senior defensive back Horace Chalstrom (Annapolis, Md.) led the defense with five tackles each. Freshman defensive end Josh Kania (Milton, Ga.) had three of the five sacks by the defense and Chalstrom and defensive tackle Ryan Sosnak (Bethel Park, Pa.) had one each.
Linebacker Akil Anderson (Morristown, N.J.), one of three captains along with Goldrich and defensive tackle Jullian Turner (East Pittsburgh, Pa.), likes the way the defense has played through camp.
"I love the way we fly around to the football," Anderson said. "I think that's one thing that made us a really solid defense last year. Losing as many guys as we did, we thought that might be a problem with the younger guys, getting them to figure it out. But they've taken everything in stride and they've actually come along really well and I think we fly to the football just as well as we did last year."
The captains and the Wildcats are excited to continue preparing for, and then taking, next week's test against San Jose State.
"Do I wish I had more time? Yeah," Goldrich said. "But will I take where we're at now? Absolutely. I'm proud to see how far we've progressed and I'm looking forward to see what we've got."
XXX
Senior wide receiver Mike Kelly (Merrimack, N.H.) and sophomore defensive back Patrick Mensah (New City, N.Y.) were among the players who were on the sidelines and did not play in the scrimmage.
Kelly has had assorted injures during camp and Mensah sprained his foot in a practice over the weekend.
"When Mike has practiced, he's been lights out," McDonnell said. "Diving catches, blocking, energy. We're knocking on wood that he stays healthy and plays because he'll bring another force on the perimeter, a toughness and catch and run ability that we don't have right now."
The Wildcats made both of their field goals. Junior Morgan Ellman (Scotch Plains, N.J.) kicked one from 31 yards and sophomore Max Pedinoff had a 34-yarder.
Senior Christian Breda (Needham, Mass.) made both of his point-after kicks and freshmen Robert Kelly (St. Albans, Vt.) and Ellman each kicked one.
McDonnell said Breda will be the punter to start the season and has a slight edge in the race for the job of field goal kicker, but a decision on that will come down to next week.
XXX
No. 7/9 UNH opens the 2015 season at San Jose State University of the Football Bowl Subdivision on Thursday, Sept. 3 (10 p.m. ET). The Wildcats went 12-2 to finish last season ranked No. 3 in the nation, which was the highest year-end ranking in program history. The CAA champion Wildcats went 8-0 in conference play to win their first outright league title since 1994 and reached the NCAA Division I FCS Championship semifinals for the second year in a row, matching the deepest postseason run in school history. The Wildcats set school records for victories (12) and consecutive wins (12), competed in the playoffs for a nation's leading 11th straight year. New Hampshire has been ranked in the Top-25 for 156 consecutive weeks, FCS football's longest streak that dates back to Sept. 13, 2004.Â
UNH 2015 football season tickets are on sale now by calling 603-862-4000 or visiting www.unhwildcats.com. The Wildcats' home opener is Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. against Central Connecticut State University on Family Weekend at Cowell Stadium.
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Next up, the Wildcats hone in on preparation for next week's season opener at San Jose State, an FBS school. The game is Thursday, Sept. 3 at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
"I thought it was a little bit better than the last scrimmage we had," said Sean McDonnell, who is starting his 17th season as head coach. "I thought it was a little crisper. I thought both sides of the ball executed some things and improved in some of the things that we talked about as a staff. Some of the tackling, some of the blocking, some of the breaking tackles. I thought we threw and caught the ball better."
The primary thrower for the Wildcats is senior Sean Goldrich (West Haven, Conn.), who has started 23 of the 32 games he has played in through his first three seasons.
"When he's got time and he's got his sights on it, he's going to put the ball on people and he's going to make plays," McDonnell said.
The question going into the season has been who is going to catch the ball.
Wide receiver R.J. Harris is now in training camp with the New Orleans Saints and tight end Harold Spears with the Green Bay Packers. Between them last year, they caught 156 of the 308 passes thrown by Wildcat quarterbacks.
Fifteen players caught passes from five different quarterbacks on Monday.
Sophomore Aaron Lewis-Cenales (Odenton, Md.) and freshman Amechie Walker (Harrisburg, Pa.) led the way with four catches each. Lewis-Cenales covered 46 yards on his catches and had the only touchdown pass, a 1-yarder from junior Adam Riese.
Walker's four grabs went for 29 yards. Senior Jared Allison (Cliffwood, N.J.) had three catches for 40 yards.
McDonnell said it could well be a committee approach to catching the ball this season.
"I've been very happy with Allison for the whole camp, not just for today," McDonnell said. "He's caught, he's ran. He's been very good in everything we've asked him to do as a senior leader in that position. The kid Amechie Walker has caught the ball pretty well during camp. (Freshman) Malik Love (Alcoa, Tenn.) has gotten better from the middle of camp to where he is today. He had a real good day today for the most part. (Lewis-Cenales) is inconsistent and you saw that today. When he knows exactly what he's doing and he's comfortable, he's a really good football player."
McDonnell went on to mention junior tight end Jordan Powell (Forked River, N.J.), redshirt freshman Rory Donovan (Canton, Mass.) and redshirt freshman wide receiver Neil O'Connor (Leominster, Mass.).
"You've got a ton of people," McDonnell said. "I think a lot of different people ar going to have a chance to catch the ball this year, not just one guy."
Goldrich completed seven of his 14 passes for 70 yards and scored on 2-yard run. Riese had the best numbers of the quarterbacks, completing 12 of his 17 passes for 150 yards and the score.
Junior Chris McCormick (Winooski, Vt.) completed three of his eight passes and was intercepted on the first play of the game when his pass went off a receiver and redshirt freshman linebacker Jared Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H.) caught it.
McCormick continues to lead in the battle for the backup QB job, McDonnell said.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight (Nashua, N.H.) completed three of his five passes for 42 yards and freshman Ivan Niyomugabo (Penacook, N.H.) was three for seven for 19 yards.
Junior running back Dalton Crossan (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) led the rushers with four carries for 25 yards and also caught a pair of passes for 36 yards. Sophomore Trevon Bryant (St. Augustine, Fla.) carried eight times for 24 yards and scored a pair of 1-yard touchdowns.
Freshman defensive back Matt Sherlock (Oradell, N.J.) and senior defensive back Horace Chalstrom (Annapolis, Md.) led the defense with five tackles each. Freshman defensive end Josh Kania (Milton, Ga.) had three of the five sacks by the defense and Chalstrom and defensive tackle Ryan Sosnak (Bethel Park, Pa.) had one each.
Linebacker Akil Anderson (Morristown, N.J.), one of three captains along with Goldrich and defensive tackle Jullian Turner (East Pittsburgh, Pa.), likes the way the defense has played through camp.
"I love the way we fly around to the football," Anderson said. "I think that's one thing that made us a really solid defense last year. Losing as many guys as we did, we thought that might be a problem with the younger guys, getting them to figure it out. But they've taken everything in stride and they've actually come along really well and I think we fly to the football just as well as we did last year."
The captains and the Wildcats are excited to continue preparing for, and then taking, next week's test against San Jose State.
"Do I wish I had more time? Yeah," Goldrich said. "But will I take where we're at now? Absolutely. I'm proud to see how far we've progressed and I'm looking forward to see what we've got."
XXX
Senior wide receiver Mike Kelly (Merrimack, N.H.) and sophomore defensive back Patrick Mensah (New City, N.Y.) were among the players who were on the sidelines and did not play in the scrimmage.
Kelly has had assorted injures during camp and Mensah sprained his foot in a practice over the weekend.
"When Mike has practiced, he's been lights out," McDonnell said. "Diving catches, blocking, energy. We're knocking on wood that he stays healthy and plays because he'll bring another force on the perimeter, a toughness and catch and run ability that we don't have right now."
The Wildcats made both of their field goals. Junior Morgan Ellman (Scotch Plains, N.J.) kicked one from 31 yards and sophomore Max Pedinoff had a 34-yarder.
Senior Christian Breda (Needham, Mass.) made both of his point-after kicks and freshmen Robert Kelly (St. Albans, Vt.) and Ellman each kicked one.
McDonnell said Breda will be the punter to start the season and has a slight edge in the race for the job of field goal kicker, but a decision on that will come down to next week.
XXX
No. 7/9 UNH opens the 2015 season at San Jose State University of the Football Bowl Subdivision on Thursday, Sept. 3 (10 p.m. ET). The Wildcats went 12-2 to finish last season ranked No. 3 in the nation, which was the highest year-end ranking in program history. The CAA champion Wildcats went 8-0 in conference play to win their first outright league title since 1994 and reached the NCAA Division I FCS Championship semifinals for the second year in a row, matching the deepest postseason run in school history. The Wildcats set school records for victories (12) and consecutive wins (12), competed in the playoffs for a nation's leading 11th straight year. New Hampshire has been ranked in the Top-25 for 156 consecutive weeks, FCS football's longest streak that dates back to Sept. 13, 2004.Â
UNH 2015 football season tickets are on sale now by calling 603-862-4000 or visiting www.unhwildcats.com. The Wildcats' home opener is Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. against Central Connecticut State University on Family Weekend at Cowell Stadium.
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