New Haven Leads the Pack in 2019 NE10 Football Coaches' Poll

MANSFIELD, Mass. – One year removed from coming up two yards short of a Northeast-10 Conference Championship, New Haven has been selected by the league's head coaches to finish first in the NE10 Football Coaches' Poll – receiving seven first-place votes and 63 points overall to lead all nine programs.

The Chargers surpassed Assumption, who finished second with 54 points and the remaining two first-place tallies. The two programs meet later in the season on Nov. 9 in Worcester, Mass., a game that can prove to decide the league's regular-season champion. New Haven beat the Greyhounds, 27-21, in mid-October of 2018.

For complete poll results, please see below.

New Haven came up just short of an NE10 title last season when a last-second play came up two yards short of the goal line – being edged by LIU Post, 17-13, in the regular-season finale. However, the Chargers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship, further than any other NE10 team, for the second time since 2009.

The Chargers lost quarterback and NE10 Most Valuable Player Ajee Patterson to graduation, but return wide receiver Ju'An Williams – the league leader in yards per game and receiving touchdowns in 2018.

Assumption edged Pace (49 points) for second place, despite the Greyhounds losing star return specialist Deonte Harris to the NFL. Harris has signed a three-year contract with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. The Greyhounds were 6-4 (6-3 NE10) last season.

The Setters are coming off a 7-3 season (6-3 NE10), the best campaign in program history. Pace's record for wins in a single season (7) came in head coach Andy Rondeau's fifth season at the helm.

Bentley and Southern Connecticut (40 points) tied for fourth place in the poll, while Stonehill (29), AIC (23), Saint Anselm (18) and Franklin Pierce (8) followed. It is the Ravens' inaugural season in Division II, as they previously sponsored a sprint football program.

The 2019 NE10 football season is slated to begin on Thursday, Sept. 5, as a pair of teams are in action. Southern Connecticut will host Gannon at 6:30 p.m. and Pace welcomes Millersville at 7 p.m.

The NE10 has nine football programs for the 2019 season, as LIU Post and Merrimack both moved to Division I for the upcoming year.