CAA Football Recap - August 31
Rob Washburn
Delaware and William & Mary kicked off the 2023 season with conference wins on the road, while Rhode Island nearly knocked off a FBS opponent on Thursday night.
William & Mary 34, Campbell 24
Box Score
Bronson Yoder ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 4 William & Mary past Campbell, 34-24, in the Camels’ debut in the CAA. The Tribe finished with 270 yards rushing and 452 yards overall. Quarterback Darius Wilson threw for 182 yards and two TD’s and added 57 yards on the ground.
Campbell got a strong performance from quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, who was 22-of-26 passing for 226 yards and a TD. CJ Tillman registered 19 tackles for the Camels defensively.
Both teams were clicking on all cylinders offensively in the first half. Campbell took a quick 7-0 lead as Lamagea McDowell capped a 13-play, 78-yard opening drive with a 1-yard run. W&M responded with a 13-play drive of its own that ended with a 7-yard scoring toss from Wilson to DreSean Kendrick. A muffed punt by the Camels set up Yoder’s first score of the night, but Campbell answered with a 14-yard TD pass from Williams to VJ Wilkins to tie the game at 14-14. A 2-yard TD run by Yoder with 2:59 left until half and a 37-yard Caden Bonoffski field goal put the Tribe up 24-14 at the break.
The teams traded field goals in the second half before W&M sealed the win on a 27-yard pass from Wilson to Martin Lucas with 8:11 left that made it 34-17.
Delaware 37, Stony Brook 13
Box Score
Delaware piled up 559 yards of total offense and pulled away for a 37-13 triumph at Stony Brook. Quarterback Ryan O’Connor passed for 346 yards and a TD for the No. 21 Blue Hens and Marcus Yarns ran for 107 yards and 2 TD’s on just 11 carries.
Delaware led by just seven late in the first half before Yarns scored from five yards out to make it 17-3 at intermission. A 53-yard TD burst by Yarns early in the third quarter extended the Hens’ advantage, but Stony Brook closed within 24-13 after three quarters following a Roland Dempster 1-yard scoring run and a 25-yard Spencer Biscoe field goal. Delaware regained the momentum with two TD’s in a 1:25 span as Kyron Cumby scored from 13 yards out and Ty Davis had a 50-yard pick six.
Tyron Herring had eight tackles and an interception for Delaware defensively, while Nick Chimienti picked off a pair of passes for the Seawolves.
Georgia State 42, Rhode Island 35
Box Score
Quarterback Kasim Hill passed for a career-high 408 yards and four touchdowns, and also ran for a score as Rhode Island suffered a narrow 42-35 setback at Georgia State.
The Rams fell behind 21-7 early in the second quarter, but a 15-yard TD pass from Hill to Gabe Sloat trimmed the deficit to seven at halftime. URI struck quickly in the third quarter as Hill connected on a 63-yard game-tying strike to Darius Savedge and then hit Marquis Buchanan with a 28-yard TD pass to go ahead 28-21 with 8:02 left in the period.
GSU responded with 21 unanswered points, but Hill connected on a 73-yard pass to Buchanan and then scored on a 5-yard run to cut the gap to seven with 6:27 to play.
Buchanan finished with two catches for 101 yards and Kahtero Summers had seven grabs for 99 yards.
Wake Forest 37, Elon 17
Box Score
Elon turned in a strong second-half effort but fell 37-17 at ACC foe Wake Forest.
The Phoenix was down 27-0 early in the third quarter when Jalen Hampton broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown run. Elon trimmed the deficit to 27-14 after a 50-yard pick six by Caleb Curtain with 4:24 left in the third quarter but could get no closer.
Hampton finished with 89 yards rushing on only 15 carries and Jordan Bonner made seven catches for 58 yards. Nick Veloz and Bo Sanders each made nine stops for the Elon defense.
UAB 35, North Carolina A&T 6
Box Score
North Carolina A&T gave UAB a battle early before dropping a 35-6 decision. The Aggies fell behind 7-0 midway through the first quarter but got a 37-yard field goal from Owen Daffer to make it 7-3. The Blazers responded with 21 unanswered points before Daffer added a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
A&T rushed for 147 yards in the game with Wesley Graves picking up a team-high 58 yards on 16 carries and Kenji Christian adding 45 yards on 8 attempts. BJ Turner had a big night defensively with 14 tackles and 2.5 TFL’s.