CAA Football Recap - Nov. 29
Rob Washburn
Rhode Island 27, Central Connecticut State 19
Box Score
Devin Farrell completed 24-of-38 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 9 Rhode Island past NEC champion Central Connecticut State, 27-19. The Rams (11-2) advance to play No. 8 UC Davis next Saturday.
URI sprinted out to a 14-0 lead in the opening 8:14 of the game as Farrell fired touchdown passes of 28 yards to Connor Finer and 25 yards to Marquis Buchanan. After a CCSU field goal, the Rams extended their advantage to 21-3 midway through the second quarter as Antwain Littleton’s 1-yard run capped a 77-yard. Garth White tacked on a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to put URI up 24-7 at the break. Following a scoreless third period, the Blue Devils were able to put together a long TD drive and added a field goal following a Rams turnover to close within 24-16 with 9:57 remaining. The teams traded field goals, with White hitting from 26 yards, and URI’s defense stopped a final CCSU drive as time expired.
Buchanan finished with seven catches for 101 yards and Omari Walker had four grabs for 95 yards. Ayinde Johnson and Andre De-Pina Gray had seven tackles apiece for the URI defense.
Villanova 52, Harvard 7
Box Score
Villanova dominated Harvard from start to finish, piling up 512 yards of offense while allowing only 213 in a 52-7 victory. The No. 12 Wildcats advance to face No. 5 Lehigh next Saturday.
Villanova took a 14-0 first-quarter lead on a 45-yard TD run from Isaiah Ragland and a 30-yard scoring strike from Pat McQuaide to Lucas Kopecky. The Wildcats added a 29-yard Jack Barnum field goal early in the second quarter before McQuaide scrambled for a 10-yard TD run. The Wildcats took a commanding 31-0 advantage at half after Ja’briel Mace reached the end zone from five yards out. Harvard got on the board on the opening drive of the second half, but VU quickly regained the momentum. McQuaide delivered TD passes to Luke Colella (29 yards) and Antonio Johnson (8 yards) before Julian Glantz capped the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run. McQuaide finished 14-of-22 passing for 193 yards and 3 TD’s and added the TD on the ground. Ragland rushed for 152 yards and a TD on 17 carries. Defensively, Shane Hartzell and Richie Kimmel made seven stops each and Omari Bursey had six tackles and 1.5 sacks.
South Dakota State 41, New Hampshire 3
Box Score
New Hampshire had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 41-3 setback to No. 14 South Dakota State.
In snowy conditions, the Jackrabbits grabbed a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter on a pair of 1-yard TD runs and a 7-yard scoring pass from Chase Mason to Alex Bullock. UNH put together its best drive late in the second quarter, getting to the SDSU 8-yard line before settling for a 30-yard Nick Reed field goal. The Jacks extended their lead to 27-3 at the half and a pair of fourth-quarter scores. Denzel Gibson led the UNH offense, running for 101 yards on 19 carries. Defensively, Tim Bonagura had eight tackles and Justice Akinmoladun had seven.