BY Mitchell Kiernan
Staff Reporter
The Sacred Heart Pioneers football team showed its resilience on Senior Day, as they defended their home turf with a 13-6 win over Lehigh on Nov. 16. The win marked the fourth in a row for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers win streak is because of a couple of key components such as the defense and a particular sophomore running back.
Senior defensive end Chris Agyemang thought if everyone contributes, then their defense is pretty stout and tough to go against.
“As long as everyone does their job, it makes it easier for everyone to have a good game and execute,’’ said Agyemang.
In the victory over Lehigh, Agyemang contributed two sacks and three tackles for loss. He credits his coaches and teammates for putting him in these positions to make a play.
“My credit has to go to my coaches and my teammates. They work with us and put us in positions to be successful. Any play that I do make, does not happen without my teammates doing their job,” said Agyemang.
The senior defensive end credited how the defense has stepped up huge in this win streak in particular.
“There have been times where the defense has struggled and the offense had to pick us up. Right now I feel like the defense is in a great groove in the middle of this streak,” said Agyemang.
Agyemang looked onto the next game with hopes to continue the streak to five. Even though they weren’t lined up to win a conference title, they still treat this game the same way as any other.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t in a position to play for a conference championship, but I want us to be firing on all cylinders. At the end of the day, just getting the win in the last game is the ultimate goal. I plan to play as hard as I can to put my team in a position to win,” said Agyemang.
Sophomore running back Julius Chestnut is also a huge part of this winning streak. In the win against Lehigh, Chestnut rushed for two touchdowns and 130 yards. In the win, Chestnut became the first underclassmen in program history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards for his career.
“I have to give credit to my offensive line. Everybody is blocking for me and coach for calling my number,” said Chestnut.
He also credits his hard work for his fantastic season and the sacrifice he’s made to get where he is. “I stayed here all summer, getting the chemistry right with the offensive line. Working in the weight room getting bigger, stronger and faster,” said Chestnut.
When he talked about the four game win streak he was humble and soft spoken about what they need to do.
“We are trying to end the season on a good note. We want to win this game,” said Chestnut.
The Pioneers closed their 2019 season on Nov. 23 to Robert Morris in a 16-14 loss making their record 7-5 on the year. Sacred Heart showed that they are a force to be reckoned with as they will start to prepare for next season soon.
