CAA Football Recap - Sept. 19
Rob Washburn
Stony Brook 56, Rhode Island 24
Box Score
Quarterback Quinn Boyd passed for 198 yards and a TD and added a career-high 153 yards on the ground to power Stony Brook (2-2, 1-0 CAA) past Rhode Island (2-2, 1-1 CAA), 56-24. The Seawolves finished with 519 yards of offense, including 321 rushing, as CJ Hester ran for 77 yards and a school-record tying four TD’s and Jeremiah Coney had 90 rushing yards and 3 TD’s.
The two teams traded touchdowns through most of the first half and URI went up 17-14 on a 38-yard Josh Hamel field goal with 3:49 left until the break. However, SBU changed the momentum in the final minute of the first half, getting a 1-yard TD run from Hester, an interception from Kareem Hector, followed by another 1-yard Hester TD to put the Seawolves ahead 28-17 at the break. Both teams started the second half with big pass plays as Boyd connected on a 69-yard strike to James Dely and the Rams answered with a 36-yard TD toss from Tyler Budge to Marquis Buchanan. It was all Seawolves after that as Hester scored his fourth TD and Coney added two in the fourth quarter. The SBU defense recorded four sacks, led by Lance Byndon with eight tackles, 3.0 TFL’s and 1.5 sacks. For URI, Budge passed for 209 yards and Buchanan made seven catches for 124 yards. Dane Picariello tallied a team-high 15 stops.
Monmouth 28, UAlbany 20
Box Score
Monmouth’s defense recorded four sacks, intercepted two passes and made a critical stop in the final minutes as the Hawks (2-2, 2-0 CAA) held off UAlbany (2-2, 1-1 CAA), 28-20. Quarterback Frankie Weaver threw for 200 yards and 2 TD’s to lead the MU offense.
The Hawks took a 7-0 lead just 49 seconds into the game on a 30-yard pick six by linebacker Ryan Russo and followed with a 46-yard TD catch by Gavin Nelson later in the period to go up 14-0. UAlbany put together a long drive that was capped by a 10-yard Joey Koch scoring run early in the second quarter, but the Hawks went up 21-7 just over a minute later on a 60-yard TD reception by Tra Neal. The Hawks reached the end zone on their first drive of the second half as Nazir Treadwell ran in from a yard out to make it 28-7. However, the Great Danes fought back, getting a 21-yard TD pass from Kai Colon to Matthew Iuvara late in third period and a 2-yard TD run from Rahshan La Mons to close within 28-20 with 5:06 left. An interception by the Great Danes’ Jeremiah Pruitt put UA at the Monmouth 3-yard line with four minutes remaining, but the Hawks’ defense forced a three-and-out to clinch the victory. Russo and Jaeden Jones each had eight tackles and an interception for the MU defense. For UAlbany, La Mons ran for 86 yards on 15 carries and Dana Johnson, Jr. made nine stops.
Elon 24, Sacred Heart 21
Box Score
Luke Barnes booted a 52-yard field goal with 1:19 remaining to lift Elon (3-1, 1-1 CAA) to a 24-21 victory over Sacred Heart (0-3, 0-2 CAA). Making his first start, quarterback Elijah Guttman accounted for 159 yards of offense and three touchdowns for the Phoenix.
Sacred Heart took a 7-0 first-quarter lead on a 6-yard TD pass from Poochie Snyder to Jason Palmieri, but Guttman had a 5-yard TD run and threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Landyn Backey to put Elon on top. The Pioneers pulled even on a 6-yard TD throw from Snyder to Ben Evee, but Guttman reached the end zone from 10 yards out in the final minute of the first half to give Elon the lead. SHU tied it up again in the third quarter as Snyder fired a 34-yard TD pass to Nick Gentilella, setting the stage for Barnes’ game-winning kick. Brodie Carroll recorded 16 tackles and a sack for the Phoenix defense. For SHU, Snyder was 20-of-27 passing for 195 yards and 3 TD’s and added 39 on the ground. Myles Hamilton made a team-high 12 stops.
Campbell 42, North Carolina A&T 14
Box Score
Kamden Sixkiller completed 23-of-25 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns as Campbell (3-1, 1-0) downed North Carolina A&T (0-4, 0-1 CAA), 42-14, in the CAA opener for both teams. The Camels finished with 574 yards of offense.
The teams traded touchdowns in the opening five minutes as Campbell’s JJ Cowan broke loose for a 90-yard scoring run, but A&T answered with a 23-yard TD pass from Kevin White to Elijah Kennedy. Sixkiller took over from there, firing one scoring strike to Brady Ambrose (4 yards) and two to Jyron Waiters (12 and 70 yards) to take a commanding 28-7 lead into halftime. Cowan, who ran for 134 yards, added a 35-yard TD catch and a 1-yard scoring run in the second half. For Campbell, Waiters finished with seven receptions for 155 yards, while Kalen Villaneueva made 10 tackles. For A&T, reserve quarterback Champ Long passed for 148 yards and a TD and Tyrek Brown recorded seven stops.
Bryant 21, Princeton 14
Box Score
Jordan Bennett’s 11-yard touchdown run with 8:25 remaining lifted Bryant (3-1) over Princeton, 21-14. The Bulldogs picked off two passes, including one by Ezra Carter with 1:11 to play that sealed the victory.
After falling behind 7-0 early, Bryant got a key interception in the end zone by Omaris McMillan and then put together an 80-yard drive capped by a game-tying 1-yard TD run by Brennan Myer. The Bulldogs took their first lead, 14-7, with five minutes left in the third quarter when OJ Ross scored on a 1-yard run to end a 79-yard drive. The Tigers drew even on the opening play of the fourth quarter, but Bryant answered with a 14-play drive that culminated with the Bennett scoring run. Myer was 14-of-20 passing for 140 yards with Sean Wilson, Jr. making six catches for 85 yards. Drake Lusk tallied nine tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, and a sack for a Bulldogs’ defense that held Princeton to 320 yards.
Boston College 22, Maine 16
Box Score
Maine (1-3) gave ACC member Boston College all it could handle before dropping a 22-16 decision.
The Eagles jumped out to a 19-3 advantage, but Maine took momentum into halftime when Eddie Buehler hit Nick Laughlin with a 5-yard TD toss. The Black Bears held BC to just a field goal in the second half and pulled within one score, 22-16, when Buehler found Laughlin again with a 7-yard TD pass with 4:34 remaining. However, the Eagles were able to burn the rest of the clock on their ensuing drive. Buehler was 22-of-32 passing for 201 yards and 2 TD’s, and Laughlin ran for a team-best 38 yards and added six catches for 42 yards. Defensively, Sam Oppenheimer recorded 11 tackles and an interception.
Harvard 31, New Hampshire 7
Box Score
No. 25 Harvard forced three New Hampshire (1-3) turnovers and defeated the Wildcats, 31-7.
The Crimson went up 7-0 early in the second quarter, but UNH answered with a 75-yard drive capped by a 1-yard scramble by quarterback Brooks Bentley to tie the contest at 7-7. However, momentum changed as Harvard scored 14 points in the final 53 seconds of the first half, taking advantage of a UNH interception, to go up 21-7 at the break. Bentley passed for 186 yards but was sacked seven times. The Wildcats’ defense only gave up 262 yards, as Cohen Cook made a team-best nine stops.
Norfolk State 42, Hampton 21
Box Score
TreVon Taylor passed for 178 yards and two touchdowns, but Hampton (1-3) was beaten 42-21 at Norfolk State in the Battle of the Bay.
The Pirates sprinted out to a 7-0 lead on their opening drive as Amari Pryear capped a 73-yard drive with a 21-yard scoring run. The Spartans reeled off 10 unanswered points, but Hampton moved back as Taylor hit Noah Colon with a 9-yard TD toss early in the second quarter. However, Norfolk State returned two punts for touchdowns during a stretch of 32 straight points to grab control. Sejhe Jackson had a 51-yard TD reception late in the game for the Pirates. Cam Sturdifen made a team-best 12 tackles and a TFL for HU.
Morgan State 41, Towson 26
Box Score
Andrew Indorf completed 33-of-43 passes for a career-high 365 yards and three touchdowns, but it was not enough as Towson (0-4) suffered a 41-26 setback to Morgan State in the Battle for Greater Baltimore.
A Weston Woodard strip sack set up a Towson field goal to open the game, but Morgan State reeled off 21 straight points to go up by 18 early in the second quarter. Down 24-6 at the half, the Tigers battled back as Indorf fired TD passes of 18 and 41 yards to Aaron Enterline to close within 31-20 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bears responded with a 95-yard kickoff return to regain control of the game. Enterline made seven receptions for 92 yards, while Seth Chestnut made eight tackles.