NEW FAIRFIELD, CT- Scoreless for three quarters, the Militia put up two fourth quarter touchdowns to secure a 13-6 win over the Long Island Panthers (0-2). “We looked a little out of sorts early on but put together some strong drives late to win” said receiver Edwin Heath.

The Militia was slowed throughout the first half by both an aggressive Panther team and untimely penalties. “We collected over 130 yards of penalties” said Head Coach Lonnie Young, “we weren’t helping ourselves. Panthers quarterback Scott Merto took advantage of two consecutive 15-yard personal fouls and found himself deep in Militia territory. A well placed 3^rd down pass to Kenny Wiggins in the back of the end zone opened the scoring for the day. After a missed extra point, the Militia trailed 6-0 heading into the half.

The Militia defense stiffen in the 3^rd quarter behind the line play of Jasper Ramsey (2 sacks) and Marcus Pouncey (3 tackles). Pass defense by Jamar Rawles (3 tackles, 3 pass deflections), Courtney Moultrie (3 pass deflections), and Al Williams (pass deflection, interception) slowed down the Panthers offense and gave the ball back to Western Connecticut in great position.

The final period saw the Militia running attack wear down their opponent’s defensive line. The combination of Torry Mack and Joe Pacheco (8 carries for 55 yards) collected over 50 yards on the ground in the 4^th quarter. In the air, Dwight Franklin (6 catches for 98 yards), Vinny Muli, and Donte Clark all caught passes to put the home team in scoring possession. A quick out to receiver Edwin Heath put the Militia on the board with 7:24 left in regulation. After a turnover on down, quarterback Rich Snowden threw a well-placed fade to the corner of the end zone to give Heath (4 catches for 73 yards, 2TD receptions) his second score of the day and the Militia a 13-6 lead.

The Panthers connected on two completions to get them near the 50 yard line as they mounted a last second comeback. However, pressure from tackle Hardison Freeman hurried Merto’s pass and it was picked off by Raquim Taft (4 tackles) to close out the game.

“It wasn’t pretty but we got it done” said Taft, “on to the next one”. The 2-0 Militia will now travel to Newark to take on the high-powered New Jersey Hawkeyes (2-0).