CAA Football Recap - Oct. 9
Rob Washburn
CAA Football delivered another day of dramatic finishes, with four of the five contests decided by seven points or less. For full recaps, box scores and highlights,
click here.
#11 Villanova 28, #3 James Madison 27
Box Score
Dan Smith hit Rayjoun Pringle with a 57-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to lift Villanova (4-1, 2-0 CAA) to a 28-27 comeback win at James Madison, snapping the Dukes' 15-game CAA winning streak. The Wildcats also got a career-high 20 tackles from linebacker Forrest Rhyne as Villanova's defense kept JMU scoreless in the second half. Smith, who was 16-of-28 passing for 258 yards, gave the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead on a 15-yard run. JMU (4-1, 2-1 CAA) responded with a 3-yard TD run by Percy Agyei-Obese midway through the first period, but a 56-yard TD run by Justin Covington two minutes later put VU back on top. Trailing 16-10 midway through the second quarter, the Dukes reeled off 17 points in less than nine minutes to take a 27-16 halftime advantage. Quarterback Cole Johnson's 1-yard TD run put the Dukes up by one and Agyei-Obese reached the end zone from 5 yards out. VU got field goals of 43 and 42 yards from Cole Bunce before Smith and Pringle connected on their big pass play with 2:54 to go in the third quarter. Pringle finished with eight catches for 132 yards. The Dukes were unable to connect on a pair of fourth-quarter field goal attempts and Villanova converted a 4th-and-1 from its own 29 in the final two minutes to seal the win. Johnson was 24-of-40 passing for 174 yards and also rushed for 25 yards.
#18 Rhode Island 22, #9 Delaware 15
Box Score
L.B. Mack returned Andre Bibeault's blocked punt 28 yards for a touchdown with 3:46 to play as Rhode Island (5-0, 3-0 CAA) defeated Delaware, 22-15, and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2001. The Rams built a 12-0 halftime lead on a pair of C.J. Carrick field goals and 1-yard TD run by quarterback Kasim Hill late in the second quarter that capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive. Delaware (3-2, 2-1 CAA) battled back to take the lead. Zach Gwynn connected on a 42-yard TD pass to Thyrick Pitts midway through the third quarter and the Blue Hens took the lead on an 8-yard scoring run by Quincy Watson and a Watson 2-point conversion run with 10:37 remaining. Carrick's 32-yard field goal with 6:39 left tied the game at 15-15 before Mack scooped up the blocked punt for the winning score. Hill passed for 155 yards, while URI's Justice Antrum ran for 122 yards on 30 carries. Delaware's Dejoun Lee rushed for 115 yards on 19 attempts. Rhode Island's Jordan Jones intercepted two passes, including one in the end zone with 23 seconds left that sealed the victory.
Elon 33, Maine 23
Box Score
Elon quarterback Davis Cheek accounted for 340 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to lead the Phoenix (3-3, 2-1 CAA) to a 33-23 victory at Maine. Cheek, who finished 29-of-37 passing for 330 yards, tossed scoring passes to Donovan Williams (9 yards), Jaylan Thomas (30 yards) and Bryson Daughtry (39 yards) in the first half to give Elon a 19-3 advantage. The Black Bears (1-4, 0-3 CAA) pulled within 19-10 at the half on a 25-yard TD pass from Derek Robertson to Shawn Bowman. Cheek found the end zone on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter, but Maine's Trevin Ewing took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a TD. Zavier Scott's 8-yard scoring run with 31 seconds left in the third quarter brought the Black Bears within 26-23. However, Elon's McKinley Witherspoon capped an 11-play drive with a 2-yard TD run to give the Phoenix a cushion. Robertson had a big day for Maine, going 19-of-32 through the air for a career-high 283 yards, with Andre Miller making eight grabs for a career-high 176 yards.
William & Mary 31, UAlbany 24
Box Score
William & Mary (4-1, 2-0 CAA) rallied from a 21-3 halftime deficit to edge UAlbany, 31-24, and improve to 2-0 in CAA play for the first time since 2004. After pulling within 21-10 on a Martin Lucas 3-yard run to open the second half, the Tribe took advantage of a pair of turnovers to take the lead. A high snap on a Great Danes' punt was recovered in the end zone by Alex Washington. W&M's Nate Lynn then forced a fumble that was recovered by John Pius on the UA 10-yard line. Two plays later, Darius Wilson hit Lachlan Pitts with an 11-yard scoring pass to put W&M ahead, 24-21. Trailing 31-21 with five minutes to go, the Great Danes got a 25-yard field goal by Dylan Burns and then drove to the W&M 7-yard line in the final seconds but had two passes into the end zone fall incomplete. Wilson finished 14-of-19 passing for 145 yards. UAlbany quarterback Joey Carino was 17-of-24 passing for 244 yards and 2 TD's, while Karl Mofor rushed for 126 yards and a TD and caught four passes for 40 yards and a score.
Towson 21, Stony Brook 14
Box Score
Chris Ferguson completed 22-of-31 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns as Towson (2-3, 1-1 CAA) topped Stony Brook, 21-14. In a first quarter that had just one possession for each team, the Tigers went on top 7-0 on a 3-yard run by Devin Matthews after a 16-play drive. The Seawolves (1-5, 0-3 CAA) answered with a 15-play drive capped by Ty Son Lawton's 1-yard TD run to even the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter. Ferguson fired a 7-yard scoring pass to Darian Street late in the second quarter and another 7-yard TD strike to Jabari Allen late in the third period to put the Tigers up 21-7. Lawton broke loose on a 41-yard TD run with 7:32 remaining that pulled Stony Brook within seven, and the Seawolves drove to the Towson 22-yard line in the final seconds, but were unable to get in the end zone. Lawton, the CAA's leading rusher, finished with 119 yards and 2 TD's on 19 carries, while Shawn Harris, Jr. made eight catches for 109 yards.