NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) Elijah Howard ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns, Brady Olson threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, and Central Connecticut remained the lone unbeaten team in Northeast Conference play with a 40-10 victory over Stonehill Skyhawks on Saturday.

CCSU has won nine straight NEC games, dating to last season. The Blue Devils' fifth straight win this season is the program's longest since 2019, when the Blue Devils won the final eight regular-season contests.

Howard 93-yard touchdown run with 11:40 left in the second quarter gave CCSU a 23-0 lead. He also had a 3-yard touchdown run to begin the scoring and Donny Marcus added an 11-yard TD run.

Ricky Ortega and Sean O’Brien each had a 12-yard touchdown grab on their only catch of the game for CCSU (7-3, 5-0). Olson was 20 of 30 and Howard carried it just 17 times for an average of 10.5 yards. Howard went over 100 yards for the 12th time in his career.

Jack O’Connell threw for 160 yards and a touchdown for Stonehill (3-7, 2-3).

CCSU plays three of its four November games at home, where the Blue Devils are 10-1 the past two seasons.

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