CAA Football Recap - Oct. 8
Rob Washburn
William & Mary held off Delaware in a Top 25 showdown, while New Hampshire and Elon stayed unbeaten in CAA play. Monmouth pushed its winning streak to four and Maine picked up its first victory of the season.
William & Mary 27, Delaware 21
Box Score
In a tense, highly competitive Top 25 showdown, #16 William & Mary (5-1, 2-1 CAA) held off #6 Delaware (5-1, 3-1 CAA), 27-21.
A 4-yard TD run by Bronson Yoder put the Tribe on top early in the second quarter, but the Blue Hens drew even as Kyron Cumby broke loose for a 38-yard scoring run. W&M took a 17-7 advantage at the half after running back Malachi Imoh found tight end Lachlan Pitts on a 13-yard TD pass with 22 seconds remaining. The Tribe extended its lead to 24-7 early in the third quarter after Darius Wilson scored on a 1-yard run that was set up by a Blue Hens’ fumble on a punt. Delaware battled back behind quarterback Nolan Henderson, who threw TD passes to Jourdan Townsend (4 yards) and Chandler Harvin (3 yards) to make it 24-21 through three periods. W&M tacked on a 41-yard field goal from Ethan Chang with 1:45 remaining, and Delaware’s final drive came up short.
Wilson passed for 144 yards for the Tribe, while Yoder rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries. Henderson finished 21-of-35 through the air for 203 yards and 2 TD’s, with Townsend making eight grabs for 91 yards. Johnny Buchanan had a game-high 19 stops for the UD defense, while John Pius had six tackles and two sacks for W&M.
Monmouth 38, UAlbany 31
Box Score
Jaden Shirden rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns and Owen Wright added 114 yards and 2 TD’s as Monmouth (4-2, 2-1 CAA) outlasted UAlbany (1-4, 0-2 CAA), 38-31, for its fourth straight victory.
The Great Danes took a quick 7-0 lead on Todd Sibley’s 2-yard scoring run, but the Hawks responded with scoring runs of 75 and 30 yards from Shirden and a school-record 99-yard TD gallop from Wright to grab a 21-7 advantage. Sibley, who finished with 144 yards rushing, scored on a 19-yard run on the opening drive of the third quarter to pull UAlbany within 24-17. The teams traded touchdowns as MU’s Tony Muskett connected with Jack Neri on a 16-yard pass before UA got a 1-yard run from Reese Poffenbarager. Wright found the end zone from a yard out to up the Hawks’ lead to 38-24 before the Great Danes answered on an 8-yard scoring pass from Poffenbarger to Roy Alexander with 3:38 left. UA drove to MU 26-yard line in the final seconds, but was unable to score.
Muskett finished with 187 yards passing, while Poffenbarger threw for 263 yards. Jackson Ambush made 10 tackles and 1.5 TFL for the Great Danes, while Mike Reid had nine stops, a fumble recovery and three pass breakups for the Hawks.
Elon 27, Towson 10
Box Score
Elon (5-1, 3-0 CAA) used a strong defensive effort to extend its winning streak to five with a 27-10 triumph over Towson (2-4, 0-3 CAA).
The Phoenix defense forced four turnovers and held the Tigers to 226 total yards. Towson took a 7-0 first-quarter lead on a 26-yard TD pass from Tyrrell Pigrome to Da’Kendall James. Elon responded with a 1-yard TD pass from Matthew McKay to Johncarlos Miller II and 5-yard scoring run from McKay to go up 14-7 at the half. It was 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter after field goals of 51 and 48 yards from EU’s Skyler Davis and a 36-yard FG from TU’s Keegan Vaughan, when the Phoenix’s Marcus Hillman recovered a fumble. One play later, McKay fired a 31-yard TD pass to Bryson Daughtry to put Elon in control.
McKay finished 19-of-30 passing for 312 yards and 2 TD’s, with Jackson Parham making seven receptions for 152 yards. Pigrome passed for 108 yards and ran for a team-best 36 for the Tigers. Mason Woods made a team-best 10 tackles for the Towson defense, while Devonte Chandler had five stops, 2.0 TFL, a sack and two forced fumbles for the Phoenix.
Maine 31, Hampton 24
Box Score
Austin Ambush intercepted a pass in the end zone with 57 seconds left as Maine (1-4, 1-1 CAA) held off Hampton (3-2, 0-2 CAA), 31-24, for its first victory of the season.
The teams traded a pair of touchdowns each over the game’s first 17 minutes. Hampton quarterback Malcolm Mays threw scoring passes to Tyler Thompson (40 yards) and Jadakis Bonds (67 yards), while Maine got scoring runs from Elijah Barnwell (4 yards) and Zavier Scott (27 yards). The Pirates moved on top 21-17 midway through the third quarter on a 5-yard TD pass from Mays to Bonds and later tacked on a 36-yard Axel Perez field goal. However, the Black Bears put together two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter, tying the game on Brock’s 7-yard run with 11:57 remaining and then taking the lead on Brock’s 25-yard scoring reception from Joe Fagnano with 7:15 to go. The Pirates drove into Maine territory before Ambush sealed the victory with his interception.
Fagnano was 19-of-24 passing for 213 yards and a TD and Barnwell ran for a team-high 90 yards. For Hampton, Mays threw for 230 yards and 3 TD’s, with Bonds making 7 receptions for 141 yards and 2 TD’s. Adrian Otero had six tackles and an interception for the Black Bears’ defense, while Qwahsin Townsel had a team-high 12 tackles for the Pirates.
New Hampshire 24, Stony Brook 14
Box Score
Max Brosmer passed for 291 yards and two touchdowns as New Hampshire (4-2, 4-0) remained atop the CAA standings after beating Stony Brook (0-5, 0-4), 24-14.
The Seawolves struck first early in the second quarter on a 55-yard halfback pass from Ross Tallarico to Tyler Devera. The Wildcats moved on top 10-7 at the half following a 3-yard TD run from Dylan Laube. UNH pushed its advantage to 10 in the third quarter on a 5-yard pass from Brosmer to D.J. Linkins. SBU closed within 17-14 with 5:01 to play on a 10-yard pass from Charlie McKee to Tallarico, but the Wildcats locked up the win when Brosmer connected with Brian Espanet on a 15-yard TD toss with 2:21 left.
Along with Brosmer’s effort through the air, Laube ran for a team-best 77 yards and Joey Corcoran had seven catches for 96 yards. In his first action for SBU, McKee was 18-of-26 passing for 190 yards and a TD, while Tallarico ran for a team-high 75 yards. Reidgee Dimanche had eight tackles, 1.5 TFL and a forced fumble for the Seawolves’ defense. Dylan Ruiz had five tackles and 2.0 sacks for UNH.