CAA FOOTBALL WEEKEND RECAP - SEPT. 6 - 7
No. 15 NEW HAMPSHIRE 28, ARMY 10
Boxscore
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -- John Clements returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and Hugo Souza ran 22 yards with a fumble for another score as New Hampshire topped Army 28-10 on Saturday.
Army took the early lead but Clements' responded with his kickoff return to make it 7-all. New Hampshire (1-0) recovered a fumble to set up another score as Army fell to 0-2.
Army quarterback Carson Williams was injured early in the second quarter, apparently hurting his left thumb (on his non-throwing hand) and did not return. He was 7-for-7 for 95 yards and a TD before the injury.
R.J. Toman hit 11-of-16 for 131 yards with one interception for New Hampshire, a Football Championship Subdivision team. Chad Kackert ran for 65 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries for the Wildcats.
Collin Mooney led Army with 57 yards on 16 carries.
Momentum swung New Hampshire's way early in the second quarter when the Wildcats took a 14-7 lead on Kackert's 23-yard run. The score came eight plays after Lance Mailloux recovered Mooney's unforced fumble at the New Hampshire 26. Army had been driving from its 31, with Williams throwing four completions during an 11-play drive before the fumble.
Army received more bad news when Williams came out of the game after that -- left-handed sophomore Chip Bowden took over on Army's next series while Williams walked the sideline, his left hand bandaged in white.
Williams set up the touchdown with a 59-yard completion to Jameson Carter, who caught the ball in the right flat and ran down the sideline to the New Hampshire 16-yard line. Four plays later, Williams hit Evans near the back left corner of the end zone as two defenders converged on the receiver.
But for the second consecutive week, Army's special teams allowed a big kickoff return for a touchdown. Three Army defenders converged on Clements near the Wildcats 35-yard line, but he slipped through and ran untouched the rest of the way, tying the game 16 seconds after Army's TD.
Army drew within 14-10 when Matthew Campbell kicked a 42-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining in the first half.
But New Hampshire scored on a nine-play 66-yard drive to open the second half on Mike Boyle's 5-yard run, and stretched it to 28-10 late in the third quarter when Steve Young forced a fumble by Army's Josh McNary; the ball hit the ground and bounced straight up into Souza's hands, who ran it in for the touchdown.
No. 4 MASSACHUSETTS 45, HOLY CROSS 42
Boxscore
WORCESTER, Mass. - #4 UMass rallied from down 14 points in the second quarter and Armando Cuko won it with a career-high 42 yard field goal as time expired to give the Minutemen a 45-42 win on Saturday under ominous skies at Fitton Field with Tropical Storm Hanna looming. Senior quarterback Liam Coen threw for 395 yards on 25-for-36 passing and three touchdowns. Junior tailback Tony Nelson ran in two scores as well including the go-ahead TD with 7:14 left in regulation. Nelson finished with 82 yards on the ground. Jeremy Horne finished with career-highs in receptions (10), yards (172), and touchdowns (2).
In the battle of two Walter Payton Award Candidate signal callers, Coen outnumbered Holy Cross' Dominic Randolph who wasn't too shabby with 249 yards on 28-of-44 and two TD passes. The Crusaders jumped out to a 28-14 lead in the second quarter, but UMass (2-0) rallied back for one of four ties in the game. The Crusaders, in their season opener, dropped their seventh game in a row to UMass, dating to 1992.
With 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, Coen orchestrated a drive which included two crucial fourth-down conversions. Coen's 16-yard completion to Horne on fourth and five gave the Minutemen life and set up Cuko's heroics.
UMass took a 42-35 lead with 7:14 left in the fourth as Nelson dove over from 1-yard out. That play was set up by a sensational catch by freshman Julian Talley at the 1-yard line. Nelson also had a key 19-yard run on the drive.
The Minutemen regained the lead, 35-28, on a 25-yard screen pass to Joe Sanford from Coen. Holy Cross answered on the next series as Terrance Gass dashed up the middle for a 21-yard run to tie the game again at 35 all with 2:56 left in the third quarter. That tied the game for the fifth time.
UMass rallied back to tie the game at 28 all early in the second half. Nelson rumbled to the left for a 4-yard score three minutes into the second half. The Minutemen responded too falling behind by 14 points right before halftime as Coen and Horne hooked up for the second time. Horne's 19-yard reception with 1:02 left in the first half was keyed by Courtney Robinson's 59-yard kickoff return - his first return of the season as teams kicked away from him until then.
Holy Cross scored on four possessions in a row spanning 14 minutes and built a 28-14 advantage with 1:49 left in the second quarter. Santana grabbed an 8-yard strike from Randolph to give HC the two-score edge. That also signified the most points allowed by UMass in the first half in nearly six years. The Crusaders took a 21-14 lead on Brett McDermott's 88-yard kickoff return just 15 seconds after Horne's first score of the day. The kick return for a score was the first allowed by UMass in six years.
The teams continued to trade scores as Horne scored on a 26-yard pass from Coen with 7:46 left in the first half to deadlock the score at 14 all.
Holy Cross regained the lead, 14-7, on a two-yard rush by Gass off right tackle with 9:44 left in the first half. The Crusaders had a big kickoff return to set up the drive as McDermott had a 55-yard gainer following UMass first score of the game.
UMass evened the score as Coen ran a naked bootleg to the left side and scored from 2-yards out with 13 minutes left in the first half to even the game at 7-7. It was Coen's second career rushing touchdown, the other coming on Nov. 5, 2005 at Delaware. The drive was keyed by a 47-yard bomb to Horne just before the first quarter ended.
Holy Cross drew first blood as it converted on 15-yard pass from Randolph to Jon Brock in the middle of the end zone with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. UMass gave the Crusaders the possession on a fumbled snap from center. The Crusaders took 7:09 to drive 79 yards on 15 plays.
MAINE 21, MONMOUTH 17
Boxscore
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The Monmouth University football team fell to the University of Maine 21-17 on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon at Kessler Field. The Hawks fall to 0-2 on the season while the Black Bears improve to 1-1.
On a fourth-and-21 from the Monmouth 23-yard line with 2:49 left in the fourth quarter, Maine quarterback Adam Harkes lofted a pass towards the end zone that was deflected by a MU player and caught by tight end Derek Buttles for what proved to be the deciding score, putting Maine up 21-17. The Hawks were unable to mount an offensive effort on the ensuing possession and Maine ran out the clock for the win.
“It was unfortunate that we couldn’t finish the game off, we were right where we needed to be and we couldn’t close it out,” said head coach Kevin Callahan.
After the teams traded punts to begin the affair, the Hawks scored the game’s first points when Fred Weingart (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt) connected on a 27-yard field goal to cap off a 13-play, 66-yard drive that took 6:04 off the clock, giving MU a 3-0 lead. After nearly a full quarter of scoreless play, the Hawks added to their lead when David Sinisi (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run down the right sideline to finish off a 10-play, 66-yard drive and give Monmouth a 10-0 lead with 1:04 to go before halftime.
Maine got their offense going on the ensuing possession when Farkes led the Black Bears down the field in a two-minute drill, culminating in a 16-yard touchdown pass to Landis Williams to cut the MU lead to 10-7 at the half.
The Black Bears scored first after intermission when Farkes fired his second touchdown pass of the game, this one a 27-yarder to Jeremy Kelley in the right corner of the end zone to put the guests up 14-10 with 5:37 left in the third quarter. The Hawks answered with a touchdown of their own, this one a Sinisi one-yarder to cap off a 12-play, 75-yard march that took 6:25 off the clock, giving MU a 17-14 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.
The team’s traded possessions after MU took the lead, which set up Maine’s final touchdown. The Black Bears outgained the Hawks 332-277 in total yardage, including 207-95 advantage through the air. Farkes ended up the day going 17-of-27 for 207 yards and three scores for Maine. Fluellen carried the ball 26 times for 102 yards, while Williams had six catches for 61 yards and Buttles made two grabs for 55 yards.
Sinisi ran 29 times for a season-high 182 yards and two scores to go along with two catches for 30 yards. Brett Burke (Wall, N.J./Wall) completed 10-of-26 passes for 95 yards while John Nalbone (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence) caught three passes for 30 yards. Nick Romeo (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) had three catches for 26 yards and also contributed 35 yards on punt returns.
Kevin Walsh (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) led the Monmouth University defense with nine tackles, while Jose Gumbs (Queens, N.Y./Hebron Academy) had eight solo stops, including one for loss. Jon Stolarz (Andover, N.J./Hopatcong) contributed six tackles for Monmouth, who had 10 players contribute at least one-half tackle for loss in the game.
VIRGINIA 16, No. 3 RICHMOND 0
Boxscore
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia's Chase Minnifield stopped a late Richmond threat with an interception, and Vic Hall returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown to seal the Cavaliers' 16-0 victory Saturday.
Richmond kept it close until Mikell Simpson's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter finally gave Virginia (1-1) a little breathing room at 10-0, and the defense did the rest.
Minnifield intercepted Eric Ward's pass at the goal line and returned it to the Virginia 28 with 4:10 left, one of several big defensive plays that allowed the Cavaliers to overcome poor field position and three unsuccessful fourth-down gambles.
Two minutes later, Hall picked off another Ward pass and broke one tackle en route to the clinching score.
Until late, it was a frustrating afternoon for the Cavaliers, coming off a 52-7 season-opening loss to top-ranked Southern California. However, they were able to sack Ward at key times to keep the Spiders (1-1) out of the end zone, and Nick Jenkins blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt by Andrew Howard, who also missed a 29-yarder.
The worst of Virginia's fourth-quarter miscues came just before the half when Richmond's Jordan Shoop intercepted Peter Lalich's pass and returned it 63 yards before being caught from behind at the Virginia 24. But Howard's miss left Virginia with a 3-0 lead.
Virginia also failed on an earlier fourth-down pass from Richmond's 31, and Lalich was stopped for no gain on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Virginia 29 early in the third quarter. A third-down sack of Ward pushed the Spiders out of field goal range and, moments later, Howard's field goal attempt was blocked.
The Cavaliers' only first-half points came on Yannick Reyering's 26-yard field goal.
Lalich was 21-of-29 for 204 yards and two interceptions for Virginia, which improved to 19-3 against Football Championship Series opponents, including 12 consecutive victories. Kevin Ogletree had eight receptions for 103 yards.
Ward was 16-of-33 for 175 yards and two interceptions. Kevin Grayson caught eight passes for 111 yards.
TOWSON 21, MORGAN STATE 16
Boxscore
TOWSON, Md. (AP) -- Sean Schaefer threw three touchdowns and became Towson's all-time passing yardage leader, and the Tigers rallied to beat Morgan State 21-16 Saturday night.
Schaefer, who passed for 243 yards, broke the record of 8,900 career passing yards set by Dan Crowley (1991-94) on a 40-yard screen pass to Hakeem Moore with 3:50 remaining in the game.
Schaefer connected with Steve Holmes for a 12-yard touchdown to pull Towson (1-1) within two points in the third quarter. The record-breaking quarterback threw a 4-yard passing score to Marcus Lee to put the Tigers ahead for good with 1:59 left in the quarter.
Devan James totaled a career-best 178 yards on 33 carries for Morgan State (0-1).
The Tigers improved to 16-5 all-time against Morgan.
JAMES MADISON 56, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 7
Boxscore
HARRISONBURG, Va., Sept. 6, 2008 ? James Madison vaulted out to a 35-0 halftime advantage and went on to defeat North Carolina Central 56-7 in its 2008 home opener at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.
JMU improves to 1-1 for the season while NCCU falls to 0-2. The Dukes won their sixth straight home opener in their first-ever meeting with the Eagles.
The Dukes reached the end zone in each of their first seven possessions, including all five in the first half. Altogether eight of 10 drives resulted in touchdowns for JMU with one punt and a missed field goal.
JMU led in total yardage 449-203 with a decided advantage in rushing, 276-81.
Senior quarterback Rodney Landers led the Dukes in total offense, going 13-for-17 in the air with 164 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 31 yards on three carries with a score.
Three running backs each rushed for over 60 yards, led by senior Eugene Holloman with 88 yards on 14 carries while reaching the endzone once. Sophomore Griff Yancey scored twice with 71 yards on just four carries. Freshman Corwin Acker rushed 11 times for 69 yards with a touchdown.
Landers and sophomore Drew Dudzik combined to hit eight different receivers with freshman Kerby Long and Holloman each hauling in three catches, Long for 32 yards and Holloman for 27. Yancy had two receptions for 40 yards while senior tight end Mike Caussin had the only receiving touchdown for the Dukes.
Senior quarterback Stadford Brown threw for 122 yards on 16-for-33 passing with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Sophomore Tony McCord rushed 10 times for 42 yards. Senior Wayne Blackwell was the top receiver, hauling in six passes for 59 yards and a touchdown.
JMU will be at home again next Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Dukes open Colonial Athletic Association play with a 3:30 p.m. home game against Massachusetts. The game will be televised live on CN8.
N.C. STATE 34, WILLIAM & MARY 24
Boxscore
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Backup quarterback Harrison Beck threw two touchdown
passes, and North Carolina State beat William & Mary 34-24 Saturday
for its first win of the season.
Beck replaced Daniel Evans late in the second quarter and completed
17-of-25 passes for 246 yards for the Wolfpack (1-1). His 22-yard
scoring strike to Jarvis Williams with 33 seconds left in the second
quarter gave N.C. State a 14-0 lead.
Beck's 1-yard touchdown pass to George Bryan -- set up by T.J. Graham's
juggling 47-yard catch -- extended the Wolfpack's advantage to 21-3
with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter.
All-CAA quarterback Jake Phillips struggled for Championship
Subdivision William & Mary (0-1), completing 15-of-30 passes with a
touchdown and two interceptions. His 30-yard scoring strike to D.J.
McAulay cut N.C. State's third-quarter lead to 21-10. McAulay caught
six passes for 99 yards with two touchdowns.
Andre Brown gave N.C. State a 7-0 lead in the first quarter two plays
after Nate Irving's interception gave the Wolfpack possession at the
Tribe's 6-yard line. N.C. State, which was blanked 34-0 by South
Carolina in its season-opener, hadn't scored in nine quarters.
Both offenses were nonexistent the first 29 minutes, and with the
Carter-Finley Stadium crowd beginning to boo Evans, N.C. State coach
Tom O'Brien called on Beck.
On Beck's second possession, N.C. State got its initial first down with
1:17 left in the half, and Beck then found Owen Spencer, who caught
five passes for 82 yards, on a 22-yard reception on the next play. He
followed that with the touchdown pass to Williams, the first of the
receiver's career.
Beck, who transferred from Nebraska after the 2005 season, started four
games in 2007 before an injury sidelined him. Evans, a graduate
student, started for freshman Russell Wilson, who suffered a concussion
against South Carolina.
Beck's lone blemish came when Derek Cox intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to make the score 34-17.
Curtis Underwood Jr. scored the first touchdown of his career on a
10-yard run and Josh Czajkowski booted two field goals for the Wolfpack.
In the first half, the teams combined for 13 punts, 182 yards of offense and four turnovers, two by each team.
N.C. State capitalized on William & Mary's miscues, scoring 17 points off four turnovers.
FORDHAM 16, RHODE ISLAND 0 -- SUNDAY, SEPT. 7
Boxscore
BRONX, N.Y. -- The Rhode Island football team dropped its first road game of the season, losing, 16-0, at Fordham. The game was played on Sunday, postponed for a day due to poor weather conditions due to Tropical Storm Hanna.
"We lacked execution out there today," said head coach Darren Rizzi. "We did some really good things - I thought special teams made some great plays - but we were 3-for-17 on third down conversions. While we didn't turn the ball over, if you can't turn some of those third downs into firsts, it adds up."
Senior quarterback Derek Cassidy attempted a career-best 41 passes, completing 25 of them, for 200 yards. Five Rams had at least three receptions, led by Ty Bynum's five catches for 43 yards. Joe Bellini hauled in four catches for 62 yards.
"Joe Bellini has been a very consistent performer for us all season long," Rizzi said. "Overall as a team, we had too many dropped passes and missed opportunities. Derek Cassidy was 25-for-41 and that very well could have been 35."
Fordham opened the scoring in the first quarter thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Adam Danko. Danko's field goal capped an eight play 58-yard drive that spanned 4:03.
In the second quarter, Fordham struck again as quarterback John Skelton hit receiver Jason Caldwell for an 87-yard touchdown pass, which put the Rams up 10-0.
They tacked on a fourth quarter TD, on a 50-yard pass from Skelton to Asa Lucas, making it 16-0.
"Our defense played very well, but let up a few big plays and those cost us in the end," said Rizzi.
Rhode Island struggled to move the ball offensively in the first half as they mustered just 84 yards of total offense. URI finished with 174 yards for the game.
"We had peaks and valleys out there today, but it's a rebuilding process," Rizzi explained. "It wasn't the result we wanted, but we come away from this game with some real positives. I'm very excited about some of the things we did defensively and I think you can build a long list of the positive things we did out there today."
The Rams' special teams had an outstanding day, blocking a punt and an extra-point, while getting excellent play from true freshman punter Tim Edger - 10 punts for 428 yards, including a long of 53 yards and five punts inside the 20.
"Tim Edger has a bright future and our special teams really showed a lot of heart," Rizzi said. "We have a lot of starters playing big roles on special teams. Shawn Leonard almost got to a punt as well and if we were able to convert some of those plays, it could've been a big day. Sometimes you just don't get the bounces."
URI returns home next to face New Hampshire in a Noon-time start at Meade Stadium. It is the CAA Football Game of the Week and will be broadcast live locally on Cox Sports Television. The game can also be heard live on the radio on WHJJ 920 AM and 99.3 FM WJZS, with Steve McDonald and Terry Lynch calling all the action.