CAA FOOTBALL WEEKEND RECAP - SEPT. 20
No. 5 James Madison 35, No. 1 Appalachian State 32
Boxscore
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Rodney Landers and James Madison got the revenge they had waited months for Saturday night, and did it in the sweetest of ways, rallying from a 21-0 halftime deficit to beat three-time defending national champion Appalachian State 35-32.
The Dukes (3-1), whose decision to go for a game-clinching fourth-and-1 last year in the playoffs started a remarkable collapse that ended with the Mountaineers winning 28-27, converted in a similar scenario this time and left a sellout crowd delerious at the end.
Appalachian State (1-2), which pulled within 35-32 on a touchdown with 1:42 to play and Armanti Edwards' 2-point conversion run, failed to recover an onside kick with 1:40 remaining and James Madison ran out the clock to seal perhaps its biggest home victory ever.
And once again, the key was a fourth-down play.
This time, facing fourth-and-1 at the Mountaineers' 24, quarterback Rodney Landers handed off to Griff Yancey, who burst up the middle for 6 yards. A facemasking penalty and a 3-yard run by Landers brought it to the 4, and Eugene Holloman did the rest, taking a pitch as the entire line headed right and racing untouched to the left corner to make it 28-24.
Nearly 11 minutes remained, and the night only got better for the Dukes.
The Mountaineers responded by driving deep into Dukes territory, but on a first-and-10 from the 29, Robert Welton carried the ball inside the 15 and was still grinding when Jamie Veney stripped the ball and Gerren Griffin recovered for JMU as the stadium erupted.
James Madison promptly drove 87 yards, Landers taking it in from the 1 with 2:31 to play, and the Dukes fans -- many who had tailgated all day long -- began celebrating in earnest.
The Mountaineers made it interesting, getting a long pass from Edwards to Josh Johnson and a 2-yard run by Welton for their final score, but the Dukes secured the onside kick.
For the entire first half, it looked like another heartbreak for the Dukes as App State ignored more than 16,000 rowdy fans in Bridgeforth Stadium and dominated behind Edwards.
Playing a field position game that saw the Dukes start two of their first three drives deep in their own territory, the Mountaineers got a 6-yard scoring run from Devon Moore on their second possession and two touchdowns in the second to seemingly take control.
Edwards, a dual-threat lefthander, had a 12-yard run on the first scoring drive, and rolled left and hit Johnson in the back of the end zone from 11 yards out for the second.
He also got loose for a 14-yard run and then hit Coco Hillary for 31 yards on the third TD drive, which Welton capped with four straight runs, the last for 2 yards up the middle.
By then, Dukes fans -- many in purple t-shirts with the words "revenge is sweet" across the back -- had started to boo, fearing another disappointment was becoming inevitable.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Scotty McGee returned the opening kickoff of the second half 99 yards for a touchdown, and after App State went three-and-out, Landers faked a handoff and went off right tackle, found himself in open space and went 62 yards for a touchdown, pumping his fist as he crossed in the end zone.
Just 2:17 had been played, and the Dukes were within 21-14.
After Jason Vitaris kicked a 30-yard field goal for App State, the Dukes needed just two plays -- the second Landers' 35-yard scoring pass to a wide open Yancey -- to make it 24-21.
Three series later, Darrieus Ramsey intercepted Edwards and returned it to App State's 46, and the Dukes converted their crucial fourth down before Holloman put them ahead to stay.
James Madison/Appalachian State Highlights featured on ESPN's Top-10 plays from Week 4
No. 10 New Hampshire 34, Albany 24
Boxscore
DURHAM, N.H. -- R.J. Toman passed for 255 yards and four touchdowns to lead New Hampshire to a 32-24 victory over Albany on Saturday.
Albany's Vinny Esposito completed 21 of 31 for 283 yards and one touchdown.
UNH, 3-0, scored less than a minute and a half into the game when Toman and Scott Sicko connected on a 65-yard pass, the first of Sicko's two touchdown catches, before Albany, 1-2, scored 17 straight. Herb Glass hit a 47-yard field goal, David McCarty scored on a 19-yard run and Esposito romped 11 yards on a quarterback sneak for a 17-7 lead.
Toman made it 17-14 at the end of the first half with a 19-yard pass to Chad Kackert. Two errant Albany snaps early in the 3rd quarter set up the next two UNH scores -- a 24-yard pass from Toman to Sicko and a safety after punter Chris Lynch scooped up a bad pass at his 20 and flipped the ball out of the end zone.
Albany marched 77 yards to take a 24-23 lead on a 19-yard pass from Esposito to Chris Kenneally mid-way through the 3rd quarter. Then Toman hit Mike Boyle with a 24-yarder to give UNH a 29-24 lead. A two-point pass attempt failed, but Tom Manning finished the scoring with a 45-yard field goal four seconds into the 4th quarter.
Hofstra 23, Rhode Island 20
Boxscore
Hempstead, NY- Hofstra freshman placekicker Roger Williams drilled a 38-yard-field goal with three seconds remaining in the contest to give the Pride a 23-20 CAA Football victory over Rhode Island at James M. Shuart Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Pride improved to 1-2 and 1-0 in the CAA while Rhode Island dropped to 1-3 and 0-2 in conference play.
Williams, a walk-on from Mandeville, Louisiana, came off the bench in the second half in place of freshman starter Brian Hanly and kicked two field goals, including the game-winner in the waning seconds of regulation, to lead the Pride to victory. Pride quarterback Cory Christopher sliced through the Rams defense with his arm and his legs, completing 25 of his 33 attempts for 265 yards while rushing for an additional 97 yards. Freshman tailback Brock Jackolski (Shirley, NY) added a career-high 144 yards on 13 carries in just his second collegiate contest.
With the score tied at 20 in the final minute and no timeouts, Christopher engineered an eight-play, 58-yard drive in just 44 seconds to facilitate Williams’ attempt. The Miami, FL. native completed two passes to Everette Benjamin before connecting on a 12-yard pass to red-shirt freshman receiver Aaron Weaver as the Pride advanced into Rams territory. Christopher punctuated the drive by finding Ottis Lewis for 24 yards to the URI 21. After a spike to stop the clock, Williams came on and converted his second field goal of the game to give the Pride the lead. Williams would kick-off to the Rams and, after a total return of 57 yards by two URI players, would assist on the final tackle to end the game.
Rhode Island mounted a comeback of its own, marching 54 yards down the field on its second-to-last possession. Rams tailback Anthony Ferrer pushed through for a 21-yard gain and then pushed his way in from the 1-yard line one play later to tie the game at 20 with 44 seconds left.
But Louis Feinstein hooked his extra point attempt, keeping the score tied at 20.
Hofstra scored 14 points in the final quarter, starting with Christopher’s one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown with 8:21 left. Head Coach Dave Cohen elected to go for the two-point conversion and Christopher delivered by finding Weaver for a successful conversion and a 17-14 lead for the Pride.
Jackolski, who was playing in just his second NCAA game, nearly made it a two-score game five minutes later. The underclassman busted through a hole, completed a spin move and raced 64 yards downfield before getting hauled down just inches from the goal line. But the Pride couldn’t punch it in and had to settle for a 33-yard field goal from Williams to boost the Pride lead to 20-14 with 3:27 to play.
The Rams came out strong, breaking open the scoring just 1:50 into the contest when Jimmy Hughes blasted through a hole for a 37-yard rushing touchdown. Hughes would lead the Rams’ ground game with 49 yards on 11 carries. The Pride got on the scoreboard with 5:31 remaining in the first half following Brian Hanly’s (Wyckoff, NJ) 21-yard field goal. Benjamin, who added 44 yards on nine carries, gave the Pride its first lead just over a minute later, recording a six-yard touchdown run to give Hofstra a 9-7 halftime lead. It was Benjamin’s first touchdown of the season.
Senior defensive back Nick Altomare (Fairfax, VA) set up that short scoring drive, forcing Hughes to fumble after a ferocious hit. Anthony Vernaglia (Anaheim Hills, CA) recovered the loose ball, giving possession to the Pride at the Rams 21-yard line. Vernaglia finished with a team-high six tackles, including five sol stops, and a sack.
Altomare also added an interception-his second of the season-off quarterback Derek Cassidy, one of three turnovers the Pride generated.
Cassidy, who completed 18 of his 32 passes for 248 yards, also had a pass picked off by Leslie Jackman.
Christopher ran the ball 22 times but also forged a connection with his two top receivers. Sophomore Anthony Nelson (Wellington, FL) logged a game-high nine receptions for 92 yards while Weaver contributed eight catches for 76 yards.
No. 2 Richmond 44, Maine 17
Boxscore
RICHMOND, Va. -- Eric Ward threw for a career-high 273 yards and three touchdowns to lead Richmond over Maine 44-17 on Saturday.
Ward completed 16 of 25 passes and rushed for 28 yards on seven carries for the Spiders (3-1, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association). Jordan Mitchell added 139 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions.
Adam Farkes was 20 of 34 passing for 229 yards with two touchdowns and in interception for the Black Bears (2-2, 0-1).
Richmond outgained Maine in total yards -- 434-273.
Ward connected with Mitchell for an 87-yard touchdown to give the Spiders a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. After Andrew Howard made field goals of 28 and 38 yards for Richmond, Farkes threw a 14-yard touchdown to Kenneth Fersner to push the Spiders lead to 13-10 in the second.
In the second half, Ward connected with Mitchell and Tre Gray on passing scores of 25 and 34 yards, and Will Healy scored on a 12-yard touchdown run to cap a 31-0 run that sealed the victory for Richmond.
Justin Rogers also had an interception return for a touchdown for the second straight game.
No. 24 Furman 23, No. 6 Delaware 21
Boxscore
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Matthew Cesari's 29-yard fourth-quarter field goal was Furman's only score of the second half, but it was enough as the Paladins held off Delaware for a 23-21 victory on Saturday.
Cesari's kick gave Furman (3-1) a 23-14 lead with 13:59 remaining in the game.
Delaware (1-2) cut the advantage to 23-21 on Rob Schoenhoft's 14-yard pass to Aaron Love with 2:44 remaining but the Paladins were able to run out the clock.
Furman took a 7-0 lead on Tersoo Uhaa's first of two 1-yard touchdown runs with 10:56 remaining in the first quarter.
Delaware tied the game on Johnathon Smith's 2-yard run with 5:55 remaining in the first, but the Paladins took a 20-7 lead into halftime on Uhaa's second touchdown and Thomas Twitty's 20-yard interception return.
Smith's second 2-yard run cut the lead to 20-14 with 4:39 left in the third quarter.
Mike Brown caught five passes for 91 yards and rushed for 63 yards for Furman. Jordan Sorrells completed 17 of 30 passes for 263 yards.
Schoenhoft went 22 of 39 for 246 yards passing and four interceptions for Delaware. Love finished with nine catches for 90 yards and Smith had 94 yards rushing on 22 carries.
Syracuse 30, Northeastern 21
Boxscore
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Doug Hogue gained 100 yards and scored two touchdowns, Curtis Brinkley ran for 145 yards and another score, and Syracuse held off Northeastern 30-21 on Saturday for its first win of the season.
Syracuse, which had lost its first three games by a combined 127-51, finally found an obliging opponent in Northeastern (0-3), a member of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Still, it wasn't easy for a team that's 8-31 in Greg Robinson's three-plus years as head coach. Northeastern converted 10 of 14 third downs, gained 383 yards on offense and never seemed out of the game against one of the worst defenses in the nation, even after falling behind 27-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Orio gained 49 yards rushing and was 23-for-37 for a career-high 293 yards and two touchdowns.
Cam Dantley complemented his running tandem, who each notched career highs rushing, by completing 14 of 17 passes for 167 yards and one TD in his third straight start for the Orange.
The game turned in Syracuse's favor when the Huskies committed a costly turnover.
After Hogue caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Dantley to cap the first possession of the second half and extend the Orange's slim halftime lead to 17-7, free safety Randy McKinnon made an interception.
Linebacker Derrell Smith began the decisive play by deflecting Orio's third-down pass at the line, and it caromed off the hands of defensive end Andrew Lewis to McKinnon.
Dantley then converted a pair of third downs, hitting Marcus Sales for 16 yards and Tony Fiammetta for 7 to set up Brinkley's 3-yard scoring run and a 24-7 lead.
The Huskies struck back quickly, going 80 yards in five plays. Orio hit Chris Plum for a 54-yard TD pass over the middle on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 24-14.
Orio drove the Huskies to another score, keying a 62-yard drive with runs of 10 and 6 yards to set up Broomfield's 1-yard run that made it 27-21.
But the Huskies' defense couldn't stop the Syracuse ground attack, and Shadle's 21-yard field goal with 1:52 left secured the victory.
Hogue's 9-yard run up the middle gave Syracuse a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Shadle made it 10-0 with a 46-yard field goal early in the second.
After Syracuse punt returner Ryan Howard decided not to field a kick and watched it roll dead at the Orange 2, Dantley directed the Orange downfield again. But Owen fumbled after a catch, and Chris Byrne recovered for the Huskies at the Northeastern 20.
Orio then got his offense rolling despite a holding penalty that forced the drive to begin at the 10. Orio gained 10 yards on a keeper and hit Greg Abelli for another 10 and a critical first down.
Tight end Greg Mandeville then made a nice 16-yard catch over the middle after a Northeastern challenge of what appeared to be a 25-yard sideline reception by Tony Lott was denied.
Orio kept the drive alive with a hook-and-lateral play on third-and-10, throwing a short pass in the left flat to Lott, who lateraled to Broomfield for a 10-yard gain and a first down.
After hitting Lott for another 11 yards, Orio, with no pass rush to worry about, found Abelli in the left side off the end zone at the goal line for a 27-yard TD pass with 25 seconds left in the half.
No. 19 Villanova 20, Penn 14 (OT)
Boxscore
PHILADELPHIA -- Backup quarterback Chris Whitney scored on a 9-yard run on the first possession of overtime as Villanova defeated local rival Penn 20-14 on Saturday.
Penn blocked the extra-point attempt after Whitney scored, but the Quakers fumbled on their first play and Villanova's Salim Koroma recovered the ball to clinch the win for the Wildcats (2-1).
Villanova starting quarterback Antwon Young completed 16 of 26 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown, but also had four interceptions. Robert Irvin was 15-for-23 for 179 yards and a touchdown for the Quakers (0-1), who lost to the Wildcats for the seventh straight time since the series was resumed in 1999.
Penn led 14-7 on a 12-yard run by Michael DiMaggio with 9:56 left in the second quarter, but Villanova tied the score four plays later on a 38-yard pass play from Young to Matthew Szczur.
Neither team scored in the second half, although Villanova threatened on three occasions but was stopped by Penn's interceptions.
Whitney replaced Young late in the game and completed 1 of 2 passes for 10 yards and carried four times for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Villanova now has an 8-5 lead in the overall series, which started in 1905 -- but the teams didn't play from 1912 to 1999.
Texas Tech 56, No. 9 Massachusetts 14
Boxscore
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Graham Harrell threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns and Shannon Woods ran for three scores to help No. 11 Texas Tech rout Massachusetts 56-14 on Saturday night.
Texas Tech (4-0) dominated the Minutemen from the outset. The Red Raiders scored on six of seven possessions in the first half and Massachusetts couldn't summon much resistance the rest of the game.
Harrell, who completed passes to 10 different receivers, threw TDs of 17, 12, 2 and 4 yards -- and that was in the first half alone. He was 27-of-34 and no interceptions.
Woods, who spent much of last year in coach Mike Leach's doghouse, ran for touchdowns of 2, 38 and 18 yards and finished with 108 yards on 10 carries. It was the most rushing yards for him since he got 109 in a 44-41 win over Minnesota in the 2006 Insight Bowl.
The Red Raiders have a week off before beginning the Big 12 season at Kansas State on Oct. 4.
Massachusetts' troubles continued to begin the second half. On the third play from scrimmage, Red Raider safety Darcel McBath stepped in front a pass from Liam Coen to Julian Talley and returned it 45 yards to put Texas Tech up 49-7.
Tech finished with 538 total yards.
Harrell was replaced by Taylor Potts with about 11 minutes remaining in the game.
Coen was 13-of-20 for 145 yards, well below his season average of 275 yards per game.
Massachusetts (2-2) avoided a second-half shutout when Korrey Davis scored on a 2-yard run with 51 seconds remaining in the game.
Texas Tech (4-0) wasted little time getting out front, scoring quickly on each its first two possessions in the game. Woods got the first of two touchdowns in the first half when he carried the ball in from the 2 and Swindall caught his first career TD when Harrell hit him at the 5 and he ran in from there to put the Red Raiders up 14-0.
On the Red Raiders third possession, Harrell hit Swindall at the UMass 47 but the redshirt freshman fumbled the ball. Minutemen safety Brian Ellis picked it up and started lumbering toward the end zone along the far sideline. Most of the Texas Tech players thought the pass to Swindall was ruled incomplete and stood and watched as Ellis completed a 53-yard score to make it 14-7. It was Ellis' first career touchdown.
Leach challenged the call but officials upheld their ruling.
UMass appeared to have a chance to level it at 14 when Red Raiders LaRon Moore fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Jonathan Hernandez recovered it at Texas Tech's 21. An official review overturned the call and Texas Tech marched down the field, culminating with Harrell finding Eric Morris over the middle on a slant on a 12-yard TD to go up 21-7 with .
It was the most first-half points for the Red Raiders since late September 2006 when they scored 42 points against Southeast Louisiana in an eventually 62-0 win.
And it could have been worse. Swindall, Detron Lewis and All-American Michael Crabtree were each unable to hold onto passes in the end zone.
William & Mary 42, Norfolk State 12
Boxscore
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Jake Phillips threw four touchdowns to lead William & Mary to a 42-12 victory over Norfolk State on Saturday night.
The Tribe (2-1) took a 21-3 lead in the second quarter after David Caldwell's 66-yard touchdown return off a blocked field goal, making it the first special teams score since 1996.
William & Mary pushed its lead to 28-3 in the third on Phillips' 32-yard touchdown pass to D.J. McAulay, who leads the Tribe with five touchdowns.
The Spartans (2-2) converted only three of 18 third downs, giving up 337 total yards and throwing four interceptions.
The game was only the third between the two schools, about 45 minutes apart. William and Mary won both previous games in 1977 and 1985.
Coastal Carolina 31, Towson 3
Boxscore
CONWAY, S.C. ? Coastal Carolina erased an early 3-0 deficit and scored 31 unanswered points, 24 in the second half, to beat Towson 31-3 in the first meeting ever between the two schools Saturday night.
Towson’s offense never got into gear, gaining just 186 total yards for the game. While Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer was accurate (20-36 for 142 yards), he completed just one pass longer than 12 yards.
Coastal Carolina, meanwhile took big bites out of the Towson defense, scoring on a 49-yard run and a 63-yard pass play. The Chanticleers piled up 459 total yards, gaining 302 rushing yards and another 157 in the air.
The Tigers took the opening possession and drove from their own 17 yard line to the Chanticleers’ eight where the 15-play march stalled after 7:39. Towson had to settle for a 3-0 lead off Mark Bencivengo’s 25 yard field.
Those would prove to be Towson’s only points of the contest.
Coastal Carolina took advantage of a punt that shanked out of bounds at the Tigers’ 46. Seven plays later the Chanticleeers went ahead 7-3 when quarterback Zach MacDowall scrambled nine yards for the touchdown with 1:36 left in the first quarter.
Thereafter each team made empty threats. A combination of penalties and sacks on both sides spoiled opportunities. The Chanticleers had the best chance to score but Justin Du rham’s 42-yard field goal try was wide left as a lackluster first half ended.
Arthur Sitton got the Chanticleers off to a roaring third quarter start when he broke loss for a 61-yard gain to Towson’s 13 yard line. The Tigers held their ground, however and came out of the foray slightly bruised by Durham’s 28-yard field goal that widened the Chanticleers’ lead to 10-3 at the 12:14 mark.
Coastal roughed up punter Billy Shears on the next series. The personal foul kept Towson’s drive alive at the Coastal Carolina 37. Five plays later Schaefer scrambled to the two-yard for a first and goal. But the Tigers came up empty. Two runs and an incomplete pass netted nothing, forcing a 19-yard field goal attempt by Bencivengo that was blocked by Phil Oboh.
Emotionally charged after their goal line stand the Chanticleers struck quickly. MacDowall hit Brandon Whitley on a crossing pattern for a 63-yard touchdown and a 17-3 lead.
“When they blocked that field goal and turned that into a touchdown it was downhill after that,” said Tigers’ head coach Gordy Combs. “We just didn’t make the plays tonight.”
Coastal Carolina sealed the victory midway in the fourth quarter. After Towson turned the ball over on downs at midfield MacDowall went to the air again, finding Trent Usher for a 19-yard touchdown strike and a 24-3 lead with 7:55 remaining to play.
Three minutes later Eric O’Neal padded the lead with a 49 yard touchdown run.