CAA Football Recap - Oct. 25
Rob Washburn
Maine 35, Elon 14
Box Score
Carter Peevy passed for 260 yards and two touchdowns and Rashawn Marshall added a career-high 141 yards and a TD on the ground as Maine extended its winning streak to four by beating Elon, 35-14. The Black Bears’ defense held the Phoenix to 231 yards, forced two turnovers and recorded five sacks.
Elon took a first-quarter lead on a 17-yard TD run by Jimmyll Williams, but Maine took over from there. Peevy fired scoring passes to Jake Kucera (14 yards) and Gianni Rossito (24 yards) in the second quarter to go up by seven at the half. Peevy snuck in from a yard out in the third quarter and an 85-yard punt return for a TD by Scott Woods put the Black Bears up 28-7 early in the fourth period. Elon cut into the deficit on a 15-yard TD catch by Isaiah Fuhrmann , but Marshall capped the scoring by breaking loose on a 61-yard TD run. Christian Thomas had nine tackles, a TFL and a fumble recovery for the UM defense. Elon quarterback Landen Clark threw for 128 yards and a TD and ran for 42, while Jesse Powell II had eight tackles and 2.0 TFL’s for the Phoenix defense.
New Hampshire 34, William & Mary 24
Box Score
Matt Vezza accounted for 379 yards of offense and three touchdowns to lead New Hampshire past William & Mary, 34-24. Myles Thomason added a career-high 130 yards and a TD on the ground and Caleb Burke had six catches for 153 yards and 2 TD’s as the Wildcats piled up 512 yards of offense.
W&M went up 7-0 on its opening drive as Tyler Hughes ran in from a yard out, but UNH responded with a 63-yard TD catch by Burke and a 39-yard scoring run by Thomason to make it 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. A 26-yard run by Hughes tied the contest but a 26-yard Nick Reed field goal put UNH ahead 17-14 at the half. The teams traded scores early in the second half as the Wildcats got a 17-yard TD catch by Josh Fillion before Hughes answered with his third rushing TD of the day from 6 yards out. UNH extended its advantage late in third quarter as Vezza found Burke again on a 48-yard score that made it 31-21. The teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter and UNH was able to grind out the final 5:16 on the clock. Vezza finished 17-of-23 passing for 280 yards and 3 TD’s and ran for 99. Hughes was 19-of-24 for 204 yards through the air and rushed for 74 yards and 3 TD’s.
Rhode Island 38, Bryant 17
Box Score
Devin Farrell passed for 272 yards and two touchdowns and Gabe Winowich ran for a career-high 90 yards and 2 TD’s as Rhode Island pulled away for a 38-17 win over Bryant to remain atop the CAA standings.
Bryant took a 7-0 lead on its first possession as Jaden Keefner connected with Koby Keenan on an 11-yard scoring pass. URI responded with first-quarter TD runs of 51 and 6 yards by Winowich to take the lead. The Bulldogs went back on top in the second quarter following a 24-yard Nicholas Stoyanovich field goal and a 1-yard Elijah Elliott TD run. However, the Rams regained a 24-17 halftime advantage after a 27-yard grab by Kevin Schaeffer and a program-record 54-yard field goal by Garth White. The Rams built a cushion as Farrell fired a 38-yard scoring strike to Greg Gaines in the third quarter. URI’s defense, which pitched a second-half shutout, delivered the final points on a 24-yard pick six by Ayinde Johnson with 2:12 to play. URI’s Marquis Buchanan made three catches for 124 yards, while A.J. Pena had eight tackles and 2.0 TFL’s defensively. For Bryant, Elliott ran for 83 yards and a TD and made a team-high five receptions for 84 yards. Olatunde Mkparu had a forced fumble and an interception on defense.
North Carolina A&T 28, Campbell 24
Box Score
Elijah Kennedy set a program record with a game-tying 96-yard punt return for a touchdown and followed with a game-winning 85-yard kickoff return for a score with 1:29 to go as North Carolina A&T rallied past Campbell, 28-24.
The teams traded touchdowns in the opening quarter with Campbell getting a 34-yard reception from Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox and North Carolina A&T answering with a 7-yard catch from Michael Carlock-Williams. Naieem Kearney’s 1-yard scoring run put the Camels up 14-7 at the half. CU extended its advantage to 21-7 with 13:12 to play when Kamden Sixkiller hit Trevor Wilson with a 9-yard TD strike. However, the Aggies rallied as quarterback Kevin White capped an 86-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run before Kennedy evened the score at 21-21 with 6:12 on the clock. A 38-yard Alex Crabb field goal with 1:49 remaining put Campbell back on top before Kennedy took the ensuing kickoff to the house. Kennedy finished with 228 all-purpose yards for A&T, while White provided 133 yards through the air. Joshua Iseah made a team-best 11 tackles. For Campbell, Sixkiller threw for 255 yards and 2 TD’s with Randall King making 10 receptions for 71 yards. Logan Livermon recorded a team-high nine tackles.
Stony Brook 27, Towson 19
Box Score
Roland Dempster rushed for a season-high 181 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries as Stony Brook held off Towson, 27-19. Freshman quarterback Quinn Boyd passed for 176 yards and a TD in his first career start for the Seawolves.
SBU dominated the opening half, taking a 17-0 halftime advantage on touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards from Dempster and a 24-yard Michael Mannino field goal. The Seawolves pushed the advantage to 24-0 midway through the third quarter when Boyd hit Dez Williams with a 2-yard TD toss. Trailing 27-3 in the fourth quarter, the Tigers rallied as Nathan Kent fired touchdown passes to John Dunmore (16 yards) and Jaceon Doss (29 yards). However, SBU was able to control the ball for the final 3:37 to seal the win. Kent threw for 183 yards and 2 TD’s in the second half with Dunmore making seven catches for 119 yards. Xavier Terry tallied 13 tackles for the Tigers.
Villanova 29, UAlbany 16
Box Score
Pat McQuaide threw for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Luke Colella as Villanova defeated UAlbany, 29-16, for its 20
th consecutive home win. Colella had six receptions for 107 yards.
UAlbany got off to a fast start, taking a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard TD pass from Jack Shields to Carter Moses on their opening drive. VU battled back in the second quarter, getting a 5-yard TD run from David Avit and two Jack Barnum field goals to go up 12-7 at the half. The Wildcats carried the momentum into the third quarter with a 34-yard scoring reception by Colella and a 44-yard Barnum field goal. Colella added a 36-yard TD catch early in the fourth quarter before UAlbany closed the scoring on a 2-yard TD run by Aidan Semo. Shane Hartzell had eight tackles and 2.0 TFL’s for a VU defense that held the Great Danes to 154 total yards. Shields passed for 102 yards for UA, while Dillon Dunathan had seven tackles and a TFL.
Monmouth 28, Hampton 10
Box Score
Rodney Nelson ran for a career-high 233 yards and four touchdowns as Monmouth pushed its winning streak to five with a 28-10 victory at Hampton.
Hampton took an early 3-0 lead on a 19-yard Brett Starling field goal, but Nelson reached the end zone on runs of five and three yards to go up 14-3 at the half. The Pirates opened the second half with a 91-yard drive capped by a Gracen Goldsmith 1-yard TD run to cut the deficit to 14-10. However, the Hawks put together a pair of scoring drives in the fourth quarter with Nelson finishing them both with TD runs of 1 and 6 yards to clinch the win. MU’s Frankie Weaver passed for 122 yards in his first career start and Deuce Lee made 13 stops for the Hawks’ defense. For Hampton, Braden Davis passed for 242 yards with Tae’Shaun Johnson making seven catches for 104 yards. Will Hicks had 13 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble for the Pirates’ defense.