Elijah Howard rushes for 257 yards and a TD to help Central Connecticut beat Delaware State 51-44

Updated Oct. 7, 2023 4:55 p.m. ET

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NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Elijah Howard rushed for 257 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Ricky Ortega added 78 yards and three rushing scores, and Central Connecticut beat Delaware State 51-44 on Saturday.

Central Connecticut totaled 498 yards on the ground with five touchdowns. Malik Thomas rushed for 113 yards on just 10 carries, including a 53-yarder for a 27-26 lead. Howard's long was for 80 yards to give CCSU a 41-33 advantage.

Ortega’s 13-yard keeper broke a tie at 41-all with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter. After Kimal Clark made an interception for the CCSU defense, Jake Barnum kicked a 34-yard field goal for a 10-point lead with 1:55 left.

Ortega and Matt Jenner combined for 9-of-19 passing for 86 yards and two scores for Central Connecticut (2-3). Paul Marsh Jr. and Isiah Williams each caught a touchdown pass from Jenner.

Marqui Adams threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns for Delaware State (1-5). Adams added 46 yards rushing and a score. But he also threw two interceptions. NyGhee Lolley and EJ Core each had 80-plus yards receiving with a touchdown.

The teams combined for six touchdowns and 40 points in the opening 11 minutes of the second half. Twenty-seven points came from Delaware State, highlighted by Wade Inge's 85-yard punt return and Rahkeem Smith's 96-yard kickoff return.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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