CAA FOOTBALL RECAP - SEPT. 26
#1 Richmond 38, VMI 28
BOX SCORE
RICHMOND, Va. -- Senior QB Eric Ward was 28-of-39 passing for a career-best 394 yards and three touchdowns as No. 1 Richmond rolled up 548 yards of total offense in a 38-28 win over VMI Saturday at UR Stadium. Ward's performance stands as the second-best passing mark in school history.
The victory improved the Spiders to 4-0 overall and extended the school record and longest winning streak in the FCS to 13-straight games as the reigning National Champions scored 31 points or more in their 14th-consecutive home game.
Ward tied his career high with 28 completions to six different receivers, including career-highs by sophomore Donte Boston (7 catches, 125 yards) and Tre Gray (6-112). Junior WR Kevin Grayson had a game-high nine grabs for 83 yards. All three had TD catches.
Ward's 394 yards through the air stands as the second-best mark in school history, trailing only Buster O'Brien's 447 yards in the 1968 Tangerine Bowl win over Ohio University.
Richmond out-gained the Keydets (1-2) 548-325 in total offense and also got its first 100-yard rushing game of the season - a career-high 152 yards from senior Justin Forte. He and junior RB Tyler Kirchoff each had TD runs.
The Spiders looked to have put the game away midway through the third quarter, after consecutive scores to open the second half made it 31-14. Kirchoff finished off the half-opening drive with his five-yard TD run and Andrew Howard booted a 34-yard field goal on the next possession.
But the Keydets didn't fade, answering with a touchdown drive of 11 plays after the Spiders turned the ball over for the third time in the game. Derek Hatcher coughed up the ball on a punt return, setting up the VMI TD that made the score 31-20.
Richmond, though, slammed the door for good with a clock-eating 13-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard TD pass to Grayson. The drive was kept alive by a running-into-the-kicker penalty on a Brian Radford punt and Ward seized the opportunity. He went six-for-six for 65 yards on the drive following the flag.
VMI QB Kyle Hughes, who broke off a 66-yard TD run to cap the scoring, helped put the Keydets on the board first as his 44-yard TD pass to Tim Maypray opened the scoring at the 9:28 mark of the first and stunned the UR Stadium crowd of 7,554.
Richmond responded in a big way - scoring on three-consecutive possessions thanks to a nine-yard run from Forte, a 17-yard strike from Ward to Gray and a dazzling 53-yard pass from Ward to Boston.
VMI would trail just 21-14 at the half after Hughes found Mario Scott for a nine-yard TD with 4:29 left, and Richmond's Howard missed a field goal for the first time this season on a 33-yarder on the half's final play.
Hughes finished the game nine-of-14 passing for 141 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 133 and two more TDs. Maypray racked up 176 all-purpose yards for the Keydets, who did not turn the ball over. VMI scored 14 points on its three takeaways.
Richmond, which heads into its bye week, returns to action Oct. 10 with a pivotal CAA Football battle at No. 6 James Madison.
#2 Villanova 56, Northeastern 7
BOX SCORE
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) -- Junior running back Aaron Ball (Los Angeles, Calif.) ran for over 100 yards in the first quarter alone and No. 2 Villanova (4-0, 1-0 CAA) ran for a season-high 410 yards in a 56-7 win over Northeastern (0-4, 0-2 CAA) on Saturday afternoon at Villanova Stadium. The Wildcats improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2003 and won their conference opener for the third straight year.
Ball ran for 109 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries and six different players scored touchdowns for Villanova, which registered individual 100-yard rushing and 100-yard receiving performances in the same game for the first time since 2005 against William & Mary. Senior wide receiver Brandyn Harvey (Spring Valley, Calif.) caught seven passes for 102 yards to join Ball as the `100-100' tandem in the game.
The rushing total for the Wildcats was their highest since 1991 and the third-highest single-game total in school history. Villanova has had just five games with even 300 yards rushing since 1999, but four of those games have come in the last seven outings dating back to last season.
On the third offensive play of the game, Ball ran 31 yards up the middle for a touchdown that got the Wildcats off and running. After the Huskies punted on their first possession, Villanova put together a 13-play drive in just 4:28 that culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Angelo Babbaro (Canfield, Ohio).
The Wildcats extended their lead to 21-0 before the end of the first period when senior quarterback Antwon Young (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) threw a one-yard pass for a touchdown to senior running back Tony Canci (Brookhaven, Pa.) with 1:40 remaining in the period. Canci had two catches for 15 yards, both of which were touchdown recptions.
Whitney ran for 98 yards on 10 carries and completed 7-of-11 passes for 84 yards and one touchdown. Young was 4-of-6 for 58 yards and a touchdown and also ran eight times for 35 yards and one score. Six of the eight touchdowns for Villanova in the game came on the ground, including a pair of scores for sophomore running back Lawrence Doss (Bellflower, Calif.), who ran for 36 yards on eight carries.
Late in the second quarter, Whitney threw a 14-yard pass to Canci for a touchdown that made the score 28-0 entering the intermission. Villanova had eight of its 12 drives result in a touchdown, with four of the scores coming on six plays or less.
Northeastern got on the board in the third quarter when Alex Dulski threw a 48-yard pass for a touchdown to Jordan Batts for the Huskies only points of the game. Dulski completed 16-of-31 passes for 138 yards, with Batts being the favorite target. Batts caught seven passes for 92 yards and the touchdown. Dulski was picked off three times as well, as the Wildcats increased their interception total to eight through the first four games.
Villanova resumed its quick pace of scoring just 32 seconds after the Huskies lone touchdown when Whitney ran in from 45 yards on the second play of the ensuing Wildcat drive. Young ran in for a one-yard score near the end of the quarter to stretch the margin to 42-7 after three periods.
This afternoon's game was the first of two straight at home for Villanova, which will host No. 5 William & Mary next week at 3:30 p.m. The contest will be aired live on VERSUS and stands to be the first-ever nationally televised game between two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) teams.
#5 William & Mary 30, Delaware 20
BOX SCORE
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Chase Hill and R.J. Archer understand each other. Both were high school quarterbacks converted to wide receiver in college, both will do whatever it takes to win, and both put on a show Saturday night.
Hill had a career-best six catches for 148 of Archer's career-high 313 passing yards as William and Mary beat Delaware 30-20 in the Tribe's Colonial Athletic Association opener in front of a sellout crowd of 12,259 at Zable Stadium.
Hill threw for 1,285 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach, but like Archer, he wasn't picky about what position he played with the Tribe.
"I just wanted to get on the field," said Hill, who was second on the team last season with 39 catches for 438 yards and seven touchdowns. "They always tell us to read the play through the eyes of the quarterback, and it really helps playing quarterback, understanding receiver a lot better."
William and Mary (4-0, 1-0 CAA), ranked No. 5 in the nation, outgained Delaware 458 yards to 300 - holding the Blue Hens to minus-2 rushing yards on 18 carries - to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1994. The Tribe came into the game allowing opponents just 240.2 yards per game, 15th-best in the country, while the Blue Hens (2-2, 0-2 CAA) were surrendering just 11 points per game, ninth in the nation.
Hill bettered that mark in the first quarter. His first touchdown catch came on a school-record 91-yard completion with 7:19 to play in the opening period, and his second came on a 20-yarder on the Tribe's next drive.
"He sees a lot of what I see out there," Archer said. "He can read the coverage as well as anybody else, and that makes it really nice. I don't think you can say that for a lot of receivers at other schools."
Archer, in his first year as the Tribe's starting quarterback after playing two years as a wide receiver, finished the night 23-of-37 for his second 300-yard game. Delaware counterpart Pat Devlin, a Penn State transfer averaging 207 passing yards per game, was 33-of-49 for 302 yards and three TDs, including a 30-yarder to Grafton High product Phillip Thaxton in the final seconds of the first half.
Tribe senior defensive end Adrian Tracy, shut out of the sack column for his first three games after ranking sixth in the country with 0.91 per game last year, finally got one in the first quarter and added another in the second as William and Mary sacked Devlin five times for a loss of 28 yards. At the end of the third quarter, the Blue Hens had minus-13 yards on 13 carries.
"The first thing we wanted to do was try to make them one-dimensional," Tracy said. "One of the big things going in that's just ironic was talking about the front four on both sides of the ball, and how a lot of people thought they had a better front four. ... We took it upon ourselves to make it a statement game in that regard. We're not slouches."
Sophomore tailback Jonathan Grimes, who had 98 of the Tribe's 145 rushing yards, notched his first touchdown of the season on a 9-yard run that capped a 12-play, 70-yard, 4:57 drive to open the third quarter. He added his second on a 4-yard run with 1:47 left in the game.
#6 New Hampshire 44, Dartmouth 14
BOX SCORE
DURHAM, N.H.- The No. 6-ranked University of New Hampshire football team put together a 24-0 scoring run in the second half to keep the Granite Bowl Trophy at home after posting a decisive 44-14 victory over Dartmouth in front of a home crowd of 8,271 at Cowell Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats, now 3-0 overall in 2009, were led by sophomore backup quarterback Kevin Decker (Armonk, N.Y.) who threw for a touchdown and ran for another put the game away for UNH in the second half.
For the Big Green, now 0-2 overall this season, sophomore running back Nick Schweiger recorded the first 100 yard rushing game for Dartmouth since October of 2007. He finished the day with 26 carries for 119 yards.
The victory gave the Wildcats the lead in the all-time series, which now stands at 18-17-2.
The game was still in question into the third quarter as the Wildcats led 20-14, but then UNH junior starting quarterback R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) left the game with a toe injury. The Big Green was driving quickly down field, but gave up a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive back Ryan Hinds (Toronto, Ont.), which gave UNH the ball on its own 12 yard line. UNH took advantage of the turnover with a long, sustained 13-play, 88 yard drive that was capped by a beautiful 15-yard touchdown pass by Decker (Armonk, N.Y.) to senior wide receiver J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.). Decker completed a two-point conversion pass to junior running back Sean Jellison (Amherst, N.H.) and UNH held a 28-14 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
UNH took control of the game for good at 11:11 of the fourth quarter after Decker ran to the sideline, tip-toed along it, and then dove into the end zone on a 33-yard touchdown scamper to give the Wildcats a commanding 34-17 advantage.
Junior defensive back Dino Vasso (Crum Lynn, Pa.) added an exclamation point to the Wildcat run with 7:36 left to play when he grabbed his second interception of the game and ran it back 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats the 41-14 lead with just 7:36 remaining in the contest.
UNH senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome, N.Y.) finished the scoring with a 24 yard field goal with 1:03 to play in the game as he completed the 24-0 run by the ‘Cats.
The contest began wildly as UNH started the scoring at 12:17 after a long and effective opening drive for the ‘Cats that went eight plays for 70 yards and was capped off by a 4 yard TD run by senior running back Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.), who was playing in his first game after suffering a pulled hamstring during fall preseason practice. UNH led 7-0 after the PAT.
The Big Green responded quickly, however, taking advantage of a 58 yard kickoff return by Shawn Abuhoff. Quarterback Alex Jenny completed a 10 yard TD pass to wide receiver Michael Reilly and the game was tied (7-7) with 10:14 remaining in the first stanza.
UNH answered. The Wildcats took a 14-7 lead at 7:16 of the first quarter following another TD run, this time for 15 yards. by Kackert, his second of the game and season as he scampered in for the score.
The Wildcat defense came up with a forced fumble by sophomore safety Ryan McGuinness (Howell, N.J.), which was recovered by Hinds. The offense took over once again, and Toman completed a beautiful pass to sophomore wide receiver Mickey Mangieri (Bedford, N.Y.) for 65 yards that could have been a touchdown had it not been stopped by a Big Green touchdown saving tackle. UNH still managed to score on the drive with a 7 yard touchdown run by Toman with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter and UNH was up by a 20-7 margin after a blocked PAT.
The Big Green took advantage of a key UNH penalty and made the Wildcats pay when Jenny completed a 12 yard TD pass to wide receiver Niles Murphy that made the game close again, as UNH's lead was narrowed to 20-14.
The Big Green was driving again late in the first half, but an outstanding interception by Vasso in the UNH end zone in the closing seconds allowed UNH to hold the lead heading into the lockerroom at the half.
Looking at the statistics for the day, Kackert led UNH in rushing with 12 carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Decker completed 9 of 14 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and Toman completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards. UNH had 10 different players rush the football and 11 players made catches. Senior tight end Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.) led all UNH receivers with five catches for 53 yards. UNH was led defensively by Vasso, who collected two interceptions and seven tackles and by linebackers Devon Jackson and Sean Ware, who each had a team-high eigth tackles.
Jenny had a solid day at quarterback for Dartmouth completing 20 of 29 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns and wide receiver Scott Tanner led the Big Green with six catches for 48 yards.
UNH outgained the visitors on the afternoon (528 yards to 314 yards) and the UNH defense recorded four turnovers in the contest.
The Wildcats will return to action on Sat., Oct. 3 when they travel to play at Towson. Game time is at 3:30 p.m. and the contest can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet.
#7 James Madison 24, #25 Liberty 10
BOX SCORE
LYNCHBURG, Va. - James Madison took all the hype coming out of Lynchburg for Saturday night's game and swallowed it whole.
Corwin Acker's 65-yard touchdown run and Matt Goff's 65-yard punt helped JMU escape Liberty with a 24-10 rain-soaked win despite committing its first three turnovers of the year.
"Just all the yapping about, ‘You know, they're ready to beat you.' ‘They want to beat you all,'" senior defensive end Arthur Moats said. "That's all we kept hearing all week."
All week long, JMU coach Mickey Matthews relayed tales of the buzz in Lynchburg, the huge crowd Liberty expected and the "Beat JMU" T-shirt Flames coach Danny Rocco had worn, to his Dukes.
The message: Don't overlook a highly motivated Liberty team.
"Our guys don't know a lot about liberty so it probably helped us," Matthews said. "We explained to them, at least I did as the head coach, that we were going to be in a hornets nest down here in Lynchburg."
Yet it was JMU (2-1) that stung the Flames. Tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter, backup tailback Corwin Acker - playing for Jamal Sullivan, who suffered a bruised patella on the first drive of the third quarter - totaled 147 rushing yards and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Acker took a handoff around the left edge and raced up the JMU sideline for a 65-yard score to put the Dukes' up 17-10 with 14:35 left in the game.
JMU forced Liberty (2-2) to punt on its next possession, but the Flames pinned the Dukes at their own 5-yard line to start their drive. After a three-and-out, Liberty appeared poised to get the ball in great field position to drive for a tying score.
Instead, Goff got off a hurried punt that he booted through the pouring rain over the head of Liberty returnman Mike Brown. The ball bounced to the Liberty 29.
"That was a huge play," Rocco said. "That really turned over the field position. As we studied the film we didn't see that kind of consistency in his punt game. In this weather like this it just wasn't the expectation."
Then, after free safety Griff Yancey intercepted a pass and returned it to 34 yards the Liberty 13-yard line, Acker took the first carry 13 yards up the middle for the clinching score.
Like he did in the Dukes' overtime loss at Marland in Week 1, Matthews entrusted the JMU offense to Drew Dudzik in the second half. Dudzik and Justin Thorpe rotated series by series in the first two quarters - as they have most of the young season. But Thorpe threw a costly interception with JMU poised to at least try a short field goal.
In the second half, Dudzik got all the snaps.
He finished 2-for-5 for 30 yards and one long interception that appeared to be held up by the rain. Dudzik also rushed 12 times for 32 yards and led all four JMU scoring drives Saturday.
After the game, Liberty coach Danny Rocco said he didn't regret any of the things he said or did to hype Saturday's game and didn't believe they helped to motivate JMU.
"I don't think so," Rocco said. "I pay close attention to my football and the things that we do here to try to motivate our players, to get them ready to play at a high level. I think Coach Matthews was in a position where he was coming into a situation that could have been an upset alert situation. He knew that. He was going to find ways to continue to motivate his football team."
As for the "Beat JMU" T-shirt he wore after the Flames defeated Lafayette the previous weekend?
"If I need to say I make no excuses for wanting to beat the best, then I'll say that," Rocco said. "I don't. That's what they brought me here to do."
#15 Massachusetts 44, Stony Brook 17
BOX SCORE
AMHERST, Mass. - Sophomore Jonathan Hernandez made the most of his first college start as he scored three rushing touchdowns and gained 140 yards on the ground as No. 15 UMass topped Stony Brook, 44-17 on Saturday night at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The Minutemen (3-1) wrapped up a three-game homestand with their third win in a row, in their final non-conference game of the season. Stony Brook fell to 1-3 overall.
Hernandez, who started in place of a banged up Tony Nelson, scored on rushes of 3, 9 and 36 yards to give UMass some separation from a pesky Seawolves team. The Leominster, Mass., native became the first UMass player since Matt Laawrence to rush for three touchdowns, who did in the 2007 NCAA Tournament First Round vs. Fordham.
Fellow back Chris Zardas rushed for two touchdowns (3 and 4 yards) to give UMass five rushing touchdowns. It was UMass' first game with five rushing touchdowns since Oct. 7, 2006 against William & Mary (Nelson 3, Steve Baylark 2).
Senior receiver Jeremy Horne had his first big game of the season with a break-out 124 yards on five catches. It was his fifth-career 100-receiving game.
Senior kicker Armando Cuko had a career-high three field goals for the third game in a row with kicks of 30, 42 and 35.
The Minutemen defense proved to be strong again, despite giving up points in the first quarter for the first time this season. UMass held Stony Brook to 229 offensive yards and just 97 in the second half. Shane Viveiros and Darren Thellen each had their first-career interceptions.
The Minutemen broke open the game early in the second half as Hernandez bolted free for a 36-yard rushing touchdown 4:59 into the third quarter. That put him over 100 yards for the first time in his career and gave UMass a 31-17 lead. Armando Cuko added a 42-yard field goal and Zardas scored on a 4-yard rush to give UMass a 41-17 lead with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.
After Havens threw his second interception of the game, Stony Brook converted on its first ensuing offensive play as Coulter connected with Gush for the second time on a 15-yard touchdown. That brought the Seawolves to within four points at 21-17. The score was the second off a UMass turnover.
UMass regained a two-score advantage as Hernandez scored on a 9-yard run with 9:34 left in the first half, that put the Minutemen up 21-10.
UMass came out firing as Havens connected with Jeremy Horne on a 49-yard bomb on the first play from scrimmage. Five plays later Chris Zardas rumbled in from three yards out for a 7-0 UMass lead, 2:21 into the game.
Stony Brook answered UMass right away with 10 points as Michael Coulter hit Jordan Gush for a 5-yard touchdown. Then after a Seawolves' Arin West interception, Wesley Skiffington kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Stony Brook a 10-7 lead with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
The Minutemen came right back as Hernandez ran in from three yards to regain the lead at 14-10 with 2:04 left in the first quarter.
UMass has an open date next week before its first road game in a month at Delaware on Oct. 10. That game kicks off at 6 p.m.
Syracuse 41, Maine 24
BOX SCORE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -Delone Carter scored four touchdowns and Syracuse overcame Maine's bag of tricks to beat the Black Bears 41-24 on Saturday night.
It was the second straight win for the Orange (2-2) and it put them at .500 for the first time in three years, a span of 35 games.
Maine (2-2) made it interesting, though, flawlessly executing two onside kicks and two fake punts, and led 17-13 at halftime. The Black Bears, who were hurt by 17 penalties for 132 yards, failed to score again until the final minute.
Carter caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and scored three times in the second half on runs of 9, 5 and 3 yards to rally the Orange.
Greg Paulus finished 21-for-28 for 270 yards and two touchdowns for Syracuse, including a pretty 17-yarder to Marcus Sales to give the Orange a 27-17 lead late in the third.
Western Michigan 24, Hofstra 10
BOX SCORE
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller completed 34 of 43 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns to lead the FBS Broncos to a 24-10 victory over the Hofstra Pride at Waldo Stadium Saturday night. Western improves to 2-2 on the season while the Pride also had their record evened at 2-2.
Hofstra senior quarterback Cory Christopher completed 17 of 27 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown while junior receiver Aaron Weaver hauled in eight passes for a season-high 109 yards and one touchdown. The Pride posted 329 yards on the night. Hofstra, playing without starting fullback Everette Benjamin for the second straight game, racked up 140 yards on the ground with sophomore Kwabena Asante posting a team-high 50 yards on 10 carries and freshman Miguel Maysonet adding 33 yards on five carries. Hiller, who tied Ben Rothlisberger for fifth place on the MAC's all-time career touchdown pass list with 84, led the Broncos with junior receiver Jordan White hauling in nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown and junior Caleb Ravenall catching seven passes for 99 yards. Senior Brandon West rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Broncos recorded 471 yards in the game.
The Pride rebounded from a mistake-laden game last week to impress the partisan crowd of 16,116 at Waldo Stadium. After the Pride offense moved the ball into Bronco territory on their first possession but was forced to punt, the Hofstra defense stood tall on their first test of the contest. Western, taking over on its own 20 drove 77 yards to the Pride three-yard line in 13 plays behind the arm of Hiller, who completed his first five passes. But the Pride stopped the Broncos on third and fourth and-one plays from the three to take over on downs as Greg Melendez and Luke Bonus came up with the big tackle.
It looked like it would be a scoreless first quarter but on Western's next possession after a Hofstra punt, Hiller, from his own 28, was picked off by Pride safety Ray McDonough at the Hofstra 46. It was McDonough's first of the season and fifth of his career. On Hofstra's second play, after an 11-yard rush by Kwabena Asante, Christopher threw a swing pass out to Weaver, who ran 46 yards down the Western sideline for his first touchdown of the season. Henry Greco's point-after gave the Pride a 7-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter.
The Broncos got on the board in the second quarter after a Pride miscue. After Hofstra forced Western to punt on their first possession of the second, punter Ben Armer pinned the Pride back on their own two-yardline. On the Pride's first play, freshman Miguel Maysonet broke away for a gain of seven before being stripped of the ball by Jamail Berry with tackle Cody Cielenski recovering at the eight. The Pride defense once again held, forcing Western to settle for a 24-yard field goal by John Potter to close the deficit to 7-3 with 11:23 to play in the half.
But the Pride came right back and drove 54-yards in 10 plays before senior Greco booted a 23-yard field goal with 6:14 remaining to boost the Hofstra lead to 10-3. The big play in the drive was a 37-yard completion from Christopher to Weaver that moved the ball to the Bronco five-yard line. A three-yard scoring run by reserve quarterback Steve Probst was nullified by an illegal shift penalty on the Pride near the end of the drive.
The Pride field goal sparked Western as Hiller came right back and directed a 74-yard, 5-play drive in 1:42, capped by a 16-yard scoring pass up the middle to junior receiver Jordan White. Potter's extra-point tied the game at 10-all with 4:32 to play in the half. Hiller was four-for-four for all 74 yards in the drive.
Western held the Pride on their next possession but Hofstra left them on their own six-yard line after the punt. But Hiller went to work again, going six-for-six for 74 yards in the eight-play, 94-yard drive that was capped by a nine-yard scoring run by senior Brandon West with 38 seconds remaining in the half. The drive took 1:33. Potter's point-after closed the first half scoring with the Broncos leading 17-10. Hiller was 20-for-26 for 226 yards in the first half. Christopher, who found Weaver five times for 87 yards in the first two quarters, was nine-for-12 for 126 yards.
The third quarter was scoreless as both defenses stood their ground. Hofstra had a scoring opportunity late in the period after Pride linebacker Basim Hudeen caused and recovered a Western fumble at the Bronco 46-yard line. Five plays later, Greco's 43-yard field goal attempt had the distance but was wide left.
Western boosted the lead to 24-10 on another long drive Hiller directed an 11-play, 77-yard drive and hit senior tight end Matt Stevens with a one-yard scoring toss. Potter's point-after gave the Broncos a 14-point lead with 9:25 to play in the game.
The Pride then mounted a promising drive, moving the ball to the Broncos 24-yard line. But a fourth-and-three pass was broken up giving the ball back to Western. The Broncos ran out the clock the rest of the way.
Hofstra sophomore Greg Melendez led the Pride defensive charge with a career-high 12 tackles while classmate Basim Hudeen tallied 10 tackles and Brock Jackolski posted a career-high eight stops. Western linebacker Austin Pritchard led the Broncos with 10 stops.
The Pride return to the friendly confines of Shuart Stadium next Saturday, October 3, for the first time since opening night, when the host the Dukes of James Madison at 3 p.m.
Morgan State 12, Towson 9
BOX SCORE
BALTIMORE, Md. - Ever since he became the Towson University head coach eight months ago, Towson Coach Rob Ambrose has been preaching the importance of finishing to his players. He has told his team they have to finish everything they start.
In their 22nd meeting with Morgan State on Saturday, the Tigers were reminded how important it is to finish. They failed to finish some solid scoring chances and the result was a disappointing 12-9 to their crosstown rivals at a soggy Hughes Stadium.
While raising its record to 2-1 on the season, Morgan State beat Towson for the first time since the 2003 season. The loss dropped Towson's record to 1-2 on the season and snapped its four-game winning streak over the Bears.
"We left a lot of plays out there," admitted Coach Ambrose. "But we have to give Morgan credit. They played very well and made fewer mistakes than we did and they got the win. We had moments where we showed some greatness but there just wasn't enough consistency."
Remarkably, the Tigers had 344 yards of total offense while holding Morgan to 161 total yards. Towson had 14 first downs while Morgan had six first downs. The Tigers ran for 196 yards while the defense held the Bears to 33 yards rushing.
But turnovers and penalties spelled the Tigers' doom.
"It really wasn't the number of penalties we had," said Ambrose. "It was the timing of them. It seemed like they always negated a big play."
In fact, Towson penalties negated a 38-yard kickoff return by Hakeem Moore, a 25-yard punt return by Dave Newsom and a pair of long runs by freshman quarterback Peter Athens. In the third quarter, Athens scrambled for 14 yards to give Towson a first down at the Morgan six-yard line. However, a holding penalty negated the run and pushed the ball back to the 30-yard line, costing the Tigers a chance for a go-ahead touchdown.
With the weather conditions worsening, the Tigers turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter. Towson had moved to the Morgan 35-yard line with less than five minutes to play. But junior defensive back Darren McKhan ended the threat by intercepting a pass.
The Bears owned a 12-6 lead at halftime. Despite being held to 45 yards of total offense and one first down in the second half, Morgan held on to win.
Ambrose admitted, "The rain hurt us because we were behind. We couldn't throw the ball very well and I saw our guys drop passes that they never drop in practice."
Early in the first quarter, the Tigers took a 6-0 lead on under an unusual set of circumstances. On a second down play at the Towson 46-yard line, Athens threw deep to Newsom who caught the ball at the six-yard line and ran to the end zone. He fumbled at the one-yard line and the ball went into the end zone where tight end Tony Zaccarelli recovered for the touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 9:06 left in the first quarter.
However, James Cole blocked Jon Boyer's conversion attempt. McKhan picked up the ball and returned the blocked kick 100 yards for a two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 6-2.
"That two-point conversion return was a big play in the game," said Ambrose. "We had just scored and we had the momentum. Then, everything changed and they had the momentum."
The Tiger defense did a great job shutting down Morgan State's offense through the first quarter. In fact, the Bears were held to no first downs and 22 yards of offense in the opening period.
In the second quarter, the Bears mounted their only sustained drive of the game and it put them ahead. Converting a pair of third down opportunities, Morgan State marched from its own 11-yard and reached the Towson 26-yard line. Facing a fourth down-and-one at the Towson 26, the Bears gambled and it paid off. With the short-yardage offense in the game, senior quarterback Carlton Jackson faked a handoff and rolled out to his left. He fired a short pass to sophomore Lamont Bryant in the flat and he ran down the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown. When Kemar Scarlett kicked the extra point, the Bears owned a 9-6 lead with 9:53 remaining in the first half.
On their ensuing possession, the Tigers faced fourth down-and-one at their own 31-yard line. Hoping to change the momentum, they tried a fake punt. However, the Bears were ready for it and Tommy Chroniger was thrown for a loss by Jody Ellis.
"The first down was there for us," said Coach Ambrose. "We had the right play called and Tommy was in the right spot. That could have been a huge gain for us but somebody missed a block."
Although the Bears had excellent field position at the Towson 30-yard line, they couldn't move the ball. On fourth down, Scarlett kicked a 41-yard field goal to put the Bears up by 12-6 with 6:02 remaining in the first half.
Sparked by a 35-yard run by Tremayne Dameron, the Tigers responded with an impressive drive of their own. Backed up at their own 10-yard line by a penalty on the kickoff, the Tigers proceeded to move the ball. After reaching the Bears' 25-yard line, the Morgan defense stiffened. On fourth down at the 22-yard line, Athens tried to throw a touchdown pass to Casey Cegles by Gary Albury broke up the play.
At the start of the third quarter, the Tigers received a break when a bad snap on a punt forced Nicholas Adams to throw a four-yard pass to George Howard. Howard was short of the first down and the Tigers received great field position at the Morgan 34-yard line.
After Athens ran for a first down at the Morgan 20-yard line, he scrambled for 14 yards to the six. However, the run was negated by a holding penalty. Three plays later, Boyer kicked a 35-yard field goal and the Tigers had trimmed their deficit to 12-9.
On their next possession, Newsom had his 25-yard punt return wiped out by a holding penalty and the Tigers went "three-and-out."
Late in the third quarter, the Tigers received another break when Bryan Mann fumbled a punt at the Morgan 41-yard line and Donte Blakey recovered for Towson. After moving to the Morgan 33-yard line, the Tigers were stopped on fourth down-and-two and that opportunity was wasted.
In the fourth quarter, Athens threw a 27-yard pass to freshman Alex Blake, who reached the Towson 37-yard line. But, he fumbled and Ellis recovered for the Bears.
After the Bears were stopped, Adams came in to punt and he placed his punt inside the five-yard line where it was downed at the Towson one-yard line.
Starting at their own one-yard line with 9:42 remaining, the Tigers moved the ball out to their own 32-yard line. Bill Shears came in to punt and he was hit after he kicked, resulting in a penalty. That gave Towson another first down at its own 38-yard line.
After Athens picked up 20 yards on a quarterback draw, the Tigers had a first down at the Morgan 42-yard line. But, McKahn's interception at the 34-yard line ended the drive.
With 1:57 left, the Tigers had one final chance when they got the ball at their own ten-yard line. But, Ellis intercepted a tipped pass at the Towson 28-yard line and the Bears were able to run out the clock.
"This game was a good learning experience for our team," said Coach Ambrose. "But it was a painful one. Our preparation wasn't as a good as it should have been and I'll take the blame for that. As a coach, you'd be very happy if your players could learn without being hurt. But, that doesn't happen very often."
Defensively, the Tigers turned in an outstanding effort as they held Morgan to 33 yards on 33 carries. Devan James, who ran for 178 yards on 33 carries against Towson last season, was held to only 29 yards on 15 attempts.
Led by junior tackle Yaky Ibia, the Tigers made eight tackles for lost yardage in the game. Ibia made seven tackles, including 2.5 tackles for lost yardage and had one quarterback hit. Senior defensive end Brady Smith added four tackles while senior linebacker Alex Butt made six tackles, including a sack.
Linebacker Danzel White, a "red shirt" freshman, led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles.
Dameron led the Tigers' running game by rushing for a career high 126 yards on 28 carries. Athens ran for 53 yards on seven carries while freshman Dominque Booker picked up 13 yards on five carries.
Athens completed 11 of 23 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. But he was intercepted twice.
Newsom led the Tigers with four catches for 90 yards while Dameron caught three passes for nine yards. Newsom, who had six punt returns for 46 yards, picked up 141 yards.
Connecticut 52, Rhode Island 10
BOX SCORE
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Rhode Island football team (1-2) dropped a 52-10 decision to Connecticut Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field.
Junior quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne finished the game with 108 yards through the air, completing 12-of-19 passes.
Defensively for the Rams, junior linebackers Rob Damon and Matt Hansen combined 32 tackles (19 - Damon; 13 - Hansen) and five tackles for loss. Damon's 19 tackles were a career-high, surpassing his previous mark of 16, which he set last week against Massachusetts (Sept. 19).
Sophomore kicker Louis Feinstein scored the Rams' only points of the second half as he connected on a 28-yard field goal.
UConn jumped out to an early lead as it scored on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Huskies got the ball back after a Rhody three and out, but URI got the ball right back after Hansen forced his first fumble of the year in sacking UConn quarterback Cody Endres.
Rhody capitalized on the turnover as Paul-Etienne connected with sophomore wide receiver Ty Bynum for a 66-yard touchdown pass on third down to cut the Huskies lead in half at 14-7.
Paul-Etienne's 66-yard touchdown pass was the longest completion of his career. It was also the longest reception of Bynum's career.
Rhody got the ball back just one play later after senior Rodney Mitchell forced the Rams' second turnover of the afternoon.
In the second quarter, Rhody was outscored 10-0 as the Huskies took a 24-7 halftime lead.
The Rams return to action on Oct. 3 against Brown. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on the Rams Radio Network WHJJ 920 AM.