CAA Football Recap - Aug. 27-29
Rob Washburn
Campbell 49, ETSU 37
Box Score
Quarterback Kamden Sixkiller accounted for 438 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to lead Campbell to a 49-37 road victory at ETSU. Sixkiller completed 29-of-42 passes for 343 yards and 2 TD’s and added a team-high 95 yards and two scores on the ground, including a 14-yard TD run with 1:53 to play.
The two teams traded scores throughout the first half. Sixkiller threw TD passes to Evan Austin (30 yards) and Stevie Keener (26 yards) and added a 5-yard scoring run as the Camels took a 28-21 advantage into halftime. Campbell never trailed over the final 30 minutes, getting scoring runs of 2 yards and 1 yard from De’Von Thomas to go up 42-24 early in the fourth quarter. ETSU rallied back within 42-37 with 5:34 left, but Sixkiller led an 82-yard drive capped by a 14-yard run into the corner of the end zone to put the Camels in control. Charles Battaglia, who recorded a team-high 12 tackles, forced an ETSU fumble in the final minute to seal the win.
Bryant 24, Stonehill 6
Box Score
Bryant’s defense limited Stonehill to 304 total yards and just a pair of field goals as the Bulldogs earned a 24-6 road win. OJ Ross rushed for a team-high 102 yards and a TD on 18 carries to pace the Bryant offense.
Ross found the end zone from 10 yards out to put Bryant ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter, before Stonehill pulled within 7-3 at the half. The Bulldogs extended their advantage by putting together an 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard Jordan Bennett TD run early in the fourth quarter. After the Bulldogs’ defense forced a turnover on downs, quarterback Brennan Myer scored on a 2-yard run with 8:20 remaining to put Bryant up 21-3. The Bulldogs added a late 27-yard field goal from Nicholas Stoyanovich. Myer was 10-of-20 passing for 108 yards. Nelson Sparrow made a team-high seven tackles for the Bryant defense and Toby Brown added five stops, a sack and two TFL’s.
Hampton 45, Va. University of Lynchburg 0
Box Score
Quarterback Jalen Woods passed for 191 yards and three touchdowns and the Hampton defense forced three turnovers and pitched a shutout as the Pirates blanked Virginia University of Lynchburg, 45-0.
Hampton built a 17-0 halftime lead as Gracen Goldsmith scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and Woods hit Dedrick Borden with a 13-yard scoring strike midway through the second period. The Pirates pulled away in the second half as Caden Rice had a 32-yard pick six early in the third quarter and Woods fired TD passes to Chaz Portis (25 yards) and Jalen Walker (16 yards). Freshman Amari Pryear rushed for a team-high 132 yards on only eight carries. Cam Sturdifen made eight tackles for a Pirates’ defense that allowed just 220 yards.
Morgan State 17, North Carolina A&T 7
Box Score
North Carolina A&T surrendered a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and dropped a 17-7 decision to Morgan State.
The Aggies put together a 17-play drive that ate up nearly 10 minutes in the first quarter and took a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard TD run by quarterback Braxton Thomas. Morgan State got on the board with a field goal in the second quarter, but A&T maintained a 7-3 edge through three periods. The Bears moved on top early in the fourth quarter on a 68-yard TD pass and put the game away with a 22-yard scoring run with 1:03 left. Thomas finished 20-of-32 passing for 240 yards and JT Smith ran for 51 yards. Eddie Conover contributed six tackles and 2.5 TFL’s for an Aggies’ defense that held MSU to 276 total yards.
Tennessee Tech 38, Monmouth 14
Box Score
No. 22 Monmouth fell 38-14 to No. 14 Tennessee Tech in a clash of nationally ranked FCS programs.
Trailing 7-0 after the opening period, the Hawks tied the game up on an 11-yard touchdown by Elijah Jennings with 4:45 left in the second quarter. However, the Golden Eagles took a 17-7 lead into halftime and tacked on a touchdown in the third quarter and two more in the fourth. Monmouth added a 1-yard TD run by Kenny Smith, Jr. with 1:50 remaining. Frankie Weaver was 20-of-41 passing for 179 yards with Jennings picking up 75 yards rushing. Jaeden Jones made a team-high 11 tackles for the Hawks.
AUGUST 28
UAlbany 28, UNH 14
Box Score
UAlbany piled up 374 yards on the ground and earned a 28-14 victory over UNH in the conference opener for both teams on Friday night.
Joey Koch led the Great Danes with 144 rushing yards on only seven carries and quarterback Kai Colon tallied 92 yards on the ground and 57 through the air.
UNH used a big play from its defense to get off to a fast start. Darren Burton II intercepted a pass on UAlbany’s opening drive and the Wildcats turned it into points as Brooks Bentley connected on a 4-yard TD toss to Myles Thomason to make it 7-0. The Great Danes pulled even on their ensuing possession, getting a 54-yard run from BJ Norman to set up Rahshan La Mon’s 1-yard TD burst.
UA went ahead by seven with six minutes left in the second quarter as quarterback Aidan Semo reached the end zone on a 4
th-and-1 run. The Great Danes tacked on another score before half as Koch broke loose on a 79-yard run and then finished the drive from 4 yards out to make it 21-7 at the break.
The Wildcats needed only 37 seconds in the third quarter to cut the deficit in half as Bentley found Ja’Carree Kelly with a 45-yard scoring strike. However, UAlbany pushed their lead back to 14 on Semo’s 8-yard run midway through the third quarter.
Bentley was 19-of-27 passing for 230 yards to pace the UNH offense, with Kelly finishing with six receptions for 123 yards.
Rhode Island 34, Merrimack 7
Box Score
Rhode Island used a dominant defensive effort to cruise past Merrimack, 34-7. The Rams didn’t allow a point over the final three quarters, forced three turnovers and capped the game with a 49-yard pick six from Moses Meus.
URI jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage in the opening two minutes of the game. The Rams forced a Merrimack fumble on a punt and then cashed it in on a 16-yard TD pass from Tyler Budge to Marquis Buchanan. After the Warriors pulled even late in the first period, the Rams put together two long drives in the second quarter. Reserve quarterback Alex McClelland capped both drives with scores from the Wildcat formation, finding the end zone on runs from five yards and four yards to put URI up 21-7 at the break.
The Rams added field goals of 26 and 33 yards from Ty Groff in the third quarter before the final Meus interception. Budge finished with 129 passing yards with Buchanan making six catches for 72 yards. BJ Barrow ran for a team-best 56 yards.
AUGUST 27
Maine 21, Towson 18
Box Score
Maine jumped out to a 21-0 second-quarter lead and held off Towson, 21-18, in the CAA opener.
The Black Bears tallied all three of their touchdowns in less than eight minutes in the second quarter. A 16-yard TD pass from Eddie Buehler to Malik McNeely got Maine on the board. On the ensuing drive, the Black Bears put together a 90-yard drive capped by a 32-yard Rashawn Marshall scoring run and then upped the lead to 21 on a 30-yard TD grab by Nick Laughlin with 42 seconds left in the opening half.
Towson took some momentum into halftime, moving 69 yards in 24 seconds behind a 56-yard one-handed catch by Cleveland Charlton followed by a 4-yard TD toss from Andrew Indorf to Aaron Enterline to trim the deficit to 21-8. Charlton came up big again in the third quarter, hauling in a 59-yard pass from Indorf to pull Towson within 21-15. The Tigers added a 39-yard field goal by Zaydaan Faridi with 12:18 to play but were unable to convert a game-tying kick with 3:53 on the clock. Maine sealed the win when Sam Oppenheimer forced a fumble that was recovered by Jake Kucera.
Buehler finished 17-of-27 passing for 199 yards and two touchdowns in his first Maine start, while Marshall rushed for a team-high 81 yards on 13 carries. Oppenheimer and Jeremiah McGill each made 10 tackles for the Black Bear defense. For Towson, Indorf was 15-of-21 through the air for 267 yards and 2 TD’s, with Charlton making four catches for 136 yards. Kemarrion Battles ran for 89 yards and added 59 receiving. Seth Chestnut recorded seven tackles and 1.5 TFL’s for the Tigers.
Elon 42, Glenville State 7
Box Score
Quarterback Brady Stober passed for 254 yards and two touchdowns and added another TD on the ground in his Elon debut as the Phoenix rolled past Glenville State, 42-7. Jimmyll Williams added 77 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground and the Phoenix defense held GSU to 125 total yards.
Elon built a 21-0 halftime lead on TD runs by Stober (2 yards) and Williams (10 yards) and a 3-yard scoring grab by Jamarien Dalton. After a third-quarter score by GSU, the Phoenix answered with two scores in less than five minutes as Williams found the end zone from a yard out and Stober connected with Ben Kirsch on a 10-yard TD pass. Brodie Carroll paced the Elon defense with six tackles and a sack.
Delaware State 41, Stony Brook 34
Stony Brook twice erased 18-point deficits to tie the game, but a late touchdown lifted Delaware State to a 41-34 victory.
Quinn Boyd threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Keiden Gutierrez with 11 minutes remaining that tied the game at 34-34. The Hornets responded with the winning score in the final two minutes. Boyd threw three TD passes in the game and also ran for a TD as SBU battled back from 24-6 and 31-13 deficits to pull even. Final game stats were unavailable.