CAA Football Recap - Oct. 10-11
Rob Washburn
Rhode Island 38, New Hampshire 27
Box Score
Rhode Island scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns and rallied past New Hampshire, 38-27, to move to 3-0 in CAA play.
Down 27-17 entering the final period, Brandon Barrow’s 19-yard scoring run with 13:05 to play brought the Rams within three. URI then put together a late drive, capped by a 16-yard TD scramble by quarterback Devin Farrell to go up 31-27 with 2:12 remaining. The Rams sealed the win a minute later when Rohan Davy picked up a fumble after a strip sack by Moses Meus and returned it 45 yards for a score. Barrow finished with a season-high 111 yards and 2 TD’s rushing. UNH quarterback Matt Vezza threw for 193 yards and 2 TD’s and added a team-high 54 yards rushing. His 2-yard TD toss to Peyton Strickland in the third quarter gave the Wildcats a 21-17 lead and Nick Reed followed with field goals of 46 and 31 yards.
Villanova 29, Elon 21
Box Score
Ja’briel Mace’s 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 5:10 to play proved to be the difference as Villanova used a big second half to edge, Elon, 29-21.
Elon took a 14-3 lead into halftime on scoring runs by TJ Thomas (8 yards) and Landen Clark (4 yards). Villanova responded quickly in the third quarter as Pat McQuaide connected on TD passes of 20 and 42 yards to Luke Colella and added a Jack Barnum field goal to go up 20-14. The Phoenix put together an 80-yard drive capped by a 2-yard run by Thomas that put them back on top, 21-20, with 5:25 on the clock. However, Mace broke down the sideline on the ensuing kickoff for his second return for a TD this season. McQuaide finished 23-of-31 passing for 255 yards, while Colella made 10 receptions for 125 yards. Clark threw for 220 yards for Elon.
Monmouth 42, Towson 31
Box Score
Derek Robertson’s 10-yard TD pass to Jack Neri with 9:15 to go snapped a 28-28 tie and Elijah Jennings added his third score of the day with 2:06 remaining as Monmouth earned a 42-31 victory at Towson.
Robertson finished 26-of-31 passing for 244 yards and 2 TD’s, while Rodney Nelson (152 yards, 1 TD) and Jennings (47 yards, 3 TD’s) combined for 199 yards on the ground. The Hawks held a 21-7 advantage late in the second quarter, but Towson freshman quarterback Andrew Indorf threw a 4-yard TD to John Dunmore right before the half and a 6-yarder to Lukkas Londono on the opening drive of the third quarter to tie the contest at 21-21. The teams traded touchdowns before Neri’s grab put the Hawks ahead to stay. Indorf was 21-of-28 passing for 292 yards and 2 TD’s for the Tigers with Jaceon Doss making seven receptions for 139 yards.
Campbell 38, Hampton 21
Box Score
JJ Cowan rushed for a career-high 142 yards and three touchdowns as Campbell picked up a 38-21 road win at Hampton. The Camels finished with 301 yards on the ground, while their defense contributed five sacks, 11 TFL’s and two interceptions, including a Lakeem Rudolph pick six.
Hampton took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Gracen Goldsmith and a 10-yard TD reception by Maxwell Moss, but Campbell responded with 28 unanswered points. Cowan reached the end zone on runs of 1 and 5 yards and Ethan Lawrence added a 41-yard burst before the Rudolph pick six made it 31-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Logan Livermon made 10 tackles for the Camels and Ashton Miller had seven stops and 1.5 sacks. For Hampton, Braden Davis passed for 131 yards and Harold O’Neal III recorded 11 tackles.
Maine 20, Merrimack 13
Box Score
Quarterback Carter Peevy’s 1-yard touchdown run with 6:49 to play lifted Maine over Merrimack, 20-13, for its third straight victory.
With the game tied at 13-13, the Black Bears’ Christian Thomas forced a fumble that was recovered by Vincent Nwachi. Maine then put together a 62-yard drive capped by Peevy’s score. Devin Vaught’s interception with 1:32 locked up the win. Rashawn Marshall led the Maine offense with a season-high 146 yards rushing on 19 carries and Thomas made a team-high seven tackles for a Maine defense that held Merrimack to 329 yards and forced three turnovers.
South Carolina State 22, North Carolina A&T 16
Box Score
Andrew Brown booted three first-half field goals, including a 55-yarder, to give North Carolina A&T a 9-0 halftime lead, but South Carolina State came back to top the Aggies, 22-16.
Brown connected on field goals of 43, 55 and 33 yards and the A&T defense turned in a dominant effort to make it 9-0 at the break. However, the Bulldogs put together an 86-yard scoring drive in the third quarter and then forced a pair of Aggies’ fumbles in the fourth quarter that they turned into touchdowns to go up 22-9. A&T battled back as Thomas Brown caught a 16-yard TD pass from Kevin White with 3:05 remaining, but SCSU was able to burn the rest of the clock on its next possession. White passed for 194 yards, while Joshua Iseah made a team-high nine tackles and intercepted a pass.
Brown 29, Bryant 19
Box Score
Brown rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Bryant, 29-19, on Friday night.
The Bulldogs went up 6-0 late in the first quarter on Elijah Elliott’s 14-yard TD run. In the second quarter, Elliott crashed into the end zone from a yard out to cap a 92-yard drive and make it 12-0. Defensively, the Bulldogs recorded four quarterback sacks and added a Dorian Helm interception to pitch a shutout over the first 30 minutes.
However, Brown flipped the momentum in the second half, scoring touchdowns on four of its first five drives. After the Bears grabbed a 15-12 advantage, Bryant regained the lead, 19-15, on a sensational 16-yard TD grab by Aldrich Doe with 2:22 left in the third quarter. But Brown put together two 70-plus yard drives in the fourth quarter to earn the win. Elliott finished with 116 yards rushing on 21 carries. Lonnie Rice paced the Bryant defense with 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks.