BY Jordan Banks
Staff Writer
The Sacred Heart University football team tallied their first win of the 2019 season on Sept. 7 in their home opener, beating Bucknell University 30-10. After an opening week loss to the University of Maine, the Pioneers improved to 1-1 through the first two weeks of the season.
The biggest key to Sacred Heart’s success according to head coach Mark Nofri was their level of urgency from the beginning of the game.
“They didn’t wait until the second half to get things going,” said Nofri. “They did a better job executing this time and they played hard all four quarters.”
Sophomore running back Julius Chestnut was instrumental to the team’s success. Chestnut was named Northeast Conference (NEC) Offensive Player of the Week. Chestnut rushed for 162 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown run. He also added two receiving touchdowns in the win.
“In the practices leading up to the Bucknell game, I worked on my footwork a little bit more than usual,” said Chestnut. “I made sure my focus was on the game and the game only. As the week progressed, I just listened to coach and did what he told me.”
Chestnut also added that he would not have been as successful in the game if were not for the effort given by the offensive line.
While the team was firing on all cylinders on the offensive side of the ball, the defense also stepped up in a huge way. The Pioneers were able to apply pressure on the Bison all night, and recorded two interceptions during the contest.
One of the interceptions was hauled in by 5th year senior Noah Provenzano.
“We just worked on trying to compete for more balls in the air,” said Provenzano. “We were also fired up about getting blown out the week before.”
The Sacred Heart defense had no takeaways the week before against the University of Maine. According to Nofri, the team was able to make adjustments during the past week of practice.
The team also credited the record crowd at Campus Field for motivating them throughout the game. Pioneer fans showed up in huge numbers that topped out at 4,187 people, a single game record.
“In my five years here at Sacred Heart, that was the biggest crowd I’ve seen,” said Provenzano. “Whenever you play at home, there’s definitely more of an incentive to show up and play your absolute best.”
Even Coach Nofri, who always has his mind on the game, gave his respects to the crowd.
“Of course, the players are very appreciative and happy that so many people showed up to the game,” said Nofri, “Whenever the guys play at home, we expect to defend our turf. Especially when this many people show up.”
Sacred Heart followed up their home opener win with a 56-40 victory over Lafayette College on Sept. 14 to improve to 2-1 on the season. The team opens their conference slate of the schedule against Long Island University on Sept. 21.
