CAA Football Rewind - Sept. 28
Rob Washburn
James Madison 45, Elon 10
Box Score
Highlights
James Madison (4-1, 1-0 CAA) turned in an impressive performance on both sides of the ball and earned a 45-10 road victory at Elon (2-3, 0-1 CAA) in the conference opener for both squads. The Dukes' offense rolled up 521 total yards, with 336 coming on the ground. Jawon Hamilton ran for a team-high 81 yards and a TD on 13 carries, while Latrele Palmer added 78 yards and 2 TD's on just 8 attempts and Solomon Vanhorse contributed 63 yards and 2 TD's on 11 carries. Quarterback Ben DiNucci passed for 185 yards and picked up a TD on the ground. Defensively, JMU tallied five sacks and 10 tackles for loss while limiting the Phoenix to 227 total yards, including just 33 rushing. Dimitri Holloway and Adam Smith made seven tackles apiece for JMU and John Daka registered a pair of sacks. Elon jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead when Davis Cheek hit Avery Jones with a 66-yard scoring pass on the second play of the game. However, the Dukes answered back with a 6-yard TD run by Vanhorse, that started a string of 38 unanswered points. Cheek finished with 189 yards passing, with Jones making six receptions for 93 yards. Defensively, Tre'Von Jones tallied 16 tackles and a forced fumble.
Villanova 33, Maine 17
Box Score
Highlights
Villanova (5-0, 2-0 CAA) sprinted out to a 30-0 first-half lead and went on to a 33-17 victory over Maine, continuing their best start since 2009. VU quarterback Daniel Smith threw for 213 yards and a TD and also ran for two scores, while Justin Covington topped the 100-yard mark on the ground for the fifth straight game, picking up 118 yards on 19 carries. Smith connected on a 77-yard TD pass to Changa Hodge in the first quarter that made it 13-0 and added a pair of 7-yard scoring runs in the second quarter as the Wildcats built a commanding 30-3 halftime advantage. Maine (2-3, 0-2 CAA) rallied in the second half behind a strong performance from receiver Earnest Edwards, who tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Andre Miller and caught a 32-yard scoring pass from Chris Ferguson. Edwards finished with 140 receiving yards, while Jaquan Blair had 12 catches for 120 yards. Ferguson threw for 347 yards in the game. Noowola Awopetu paced the Wildcats' defense with a career-high 10 tackles.
UAlbany 39, William & Mary 31
Box Score
Highlights
UAlbany (3-2, 1-0 CAA) forced four turnovers and rallied past William & Mary (2-3, 0-1 CAA), 39-31. The Tribe took a 24-15 lead midway through the third quarter on a 56-yard TD run by quarterback Hollis Mathis. However, the Great Danes battled back as Jeff Undercuffler threw a 10-yard TD pass to LJ Wesneski and a 7-yard scoring strike to Juwan Green that put UAlbany on top 32-24 with 10:29 to go. The Great Danes extended their lead to 39-24 as Karl Mofor scored from six yards out to cap an 82-yard drive with just 1:44 to go. W&M didn't quit, getting an 83-yard TD pass from Kilton Anderson to Kane Everson and then recovering an onside kick, but UAlbany's Josh Wynn intercepted a pass as time expired. Undercuffler passed for 291 yards and 3 TD's, with Jerah Reeves making nine receptions for 92 yards and a TD. Mofor had 95 yards on the ground and 53 yards receiving. For W&M, Anderson threw for 124 yards with Everson making seven grabs for 121 yards. UAlbany's Dylan Burns kicked a program-record four field goals and W&M's Kris Hooper booted a school-record 54-yard field goal.
Stony Brook 31, Rhode Island 27
Box Score
Highlights
Quarterback Tyquell Fields sprinted 50 yards for a game-winning touchdown with 11 seconds to go, lifting Stony Brook (4-1, 1-0 CAA) to a 31-27 win over Rhode Island. In a back-and-forth affair that saw 37 points scored in the fourth quarter, Fields scrambled up the middle of the field to the end zone on 4th-and-6 as the Rams (0-4, 0-3 CAA) suffered a third straight heartbreaking loss in CAA play. Rhode Island trailed 24-14 with less than two minutes to play, but Vito Priore hit Isaiah Coulter with a 24-yard TD pass that cut the deficit to three. Coulter was able to recover the ensuing onside kick, and the Rams took their first lead of the game, 27-24, three plays later as Priore connected on a 29-yard pass to Aaron Parker with 1:05 remaining.However, the Seawolves were able to go 75 yards in just 49 seconds for the winning score. Fields finished with 199 yards passing and 85 on the ground, while Isaiah White rushed for a team-high 109 yards and a TD on 20 carries for SBU. For URI, Priore was 26-of-39 passing for 295 yards and 3 TD's. Coulter had five catches for 99 yards and a TD and Parker made five receptions for 80 yards and 2 TD's.
New Hampshire 23, Duquesne 6
Box Score
Highlights
Behind a dominant defensive effort, New Hampshire (2-2, 1-0) defeated defending Northeast Conference champ Duquesne, 23-6, for its second straight win. The Wildcats held the Dukes to 233 total yards, including just 50 on the ground, and kept them off the scoreboard until the game's final minute. Pop Lacey recorded six tackles and an interception, while Brian Carter tallied six tackles and two sacks. UNH's offense totaled 433 yards, with more than 200 on the ground and through the air. Evan Gray ran for a team-high 99 yards on 10 carries, including a 72-yard TD gallop in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Max Brosmer was 17-of-31 passing for 202 yards. The Wildcats also got three field goals from Jason Hughes, highlighted by a 45-yarder.
Pitt 17, Delaware 14
Box Score
Highlights
Delaware (3-2, 1-0 CAA) gave ACC foe Pitt all it could handle before dropping a narrow 17-14 decision. Quarterback Nolan Henderson threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns, connecting on a 7-yard strike to Gene Coleman II in the second quarter that tied the game at 7-7, and a 5-yard toss to Jourdan Townsend early in the third quarter that put the Blue Hens on top, 14-10. Coleman finished with a team-high five receptions for 61 yards. The Blue Hens held the lead until Pitt scored what proved to be the game-winning TD with 10:33 remaining. Kedrick Whitehead recorded a team-high 13 tackles and Drew Nickles added 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Fordham 23, Richmond 16
Box Score
Highlights
Fordham scored two touchdowns in a three-minute span late in the third quarter and held off Richmond, 23-16. The Spiders (1-3, 0-1 CAA) took a 13-10 advantage with 6:03 left in the third quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Jake Larson, but the Rams responded with their two TD drives and never relinquished the lead. UR quarterback Beau English completed 22-of-34 passes for 298 yards, including a 10-yard TD toss to Charlie Fessler in the second quarter. Fessler finished eight receptions for a career-best 150 yards. Larson booted field goals of 37, 32 and 41 yards and remained perfect on the season. Tristan Wheeler made a team-best 13 tackles to pace the Spiders defensively.
Florida 38, Towson 0
Box Score
Highlights
Towson (3-2, 1-1 CAA) dropped a 38-0 decision at undefeated SEC power Florida. The Tigers drove into Gators' territory on all three of its first-half drives, but was unable to come away with points. Towson quarterback Tom Flacco passed for 157 yards and top receiver Shane Leatherbury made four receptions for 65 yards. Florida built a 17-0 lead at the half and tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter. Quarterback Kyle Trask was 18-of-20 passing for 188 yards and two TD's. S.J. Brown made 11 tackles for the Tigers and Christian Dixon added nine stops and 2.0 TFL.