Brady Olson threw for three touchdowns and Elijah Howard ran for two scores and Central Connecticut clinched the Northeast Conference title beating Mercyhurst 35-28 on Saturday.

Olson threw an 8-yard touchdown to Howard with 11:14 left in the fourth quarter after a six-play, 12-yard drive set up by the Blue Devils' defense. Eric Jackson tackled running back Brian Trobel to force a fumble that Dylan Jones recovered for the short field.

Despite 10-play and nine-play drives by Mercyhurst on their last two possessions, Central Connecticut's defense managed both times to prevent the Lakers from scoring.

Adam Urena threw an 11-yard touchdown to Taylor Wright-Rawls with 2:03 left in the third quarter to bring Mercyhurst into a tie at 28.

Howard ran for 163 yards on 25 carries for the Blue Devils (8-4, 6-1).

Trobel ran for 166 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns for Mercyhurst (5-7, 4-3).

The win marks Central Connecticut State’s second consecutive FCS Championship berth.

In its first season carrying a full NEC slate, Mercyhurst entered Saturday's game in contention of winning a share of the regular-season title.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football