CAA Football Recap - November 19
Rob Washburn
The final week of the CAA Football regular season provided plenty of drama, with New Hampshire and William & Mary earning road victories to share the conference title. Villanova, Rhode Island, Monmouth and Towson also picked up wins.
No. 8 William & Mary 37, No. 11 Richmond 26
Box Score
Quarterback Darius Wilson threw for 227 yards and a touchdown and ran for 42 yards and 2 TD’s to lead No. 8 William & Mary (10-1, 7-1 CAA) past No. 11 Richmond (8-3, 6-2 CAA), 37-26, to claim a share of its first CAA championship since 2015. The Tribe won 10 regular-season games for the first time in school history and took home the 133
rd Capital Cup.
Leading by five midway through the fourth quarter, Wilson capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring run that put W&M ahead by 11 with 3:41 remaining. A 1-yard run by Wilson gave the Tribe a 17-13 advantage in an evenly played first half. W&M scored a pair of touchdowns in a 1:09 span midway through the third period on a 2-yard Bronson Yoder run and a 77-yard strike from Wilson to DreSean Kendrick to go up by 18. However, Richmond battled back within 31-26 with 10:42 remaining after a 5-yard TD pass from Reece Udinski to Jakob Herres late in the third quarter and a 6-yard TD run by Aaron Dykes.
Along with Wilson’s big day, Yoder rushed for 89 yards and 2 TD’s to go over 1,000 yards for the season and Caylin Newton made four catches for 93 yards. For UR, Udinski was 32-of-50 passing for 277 yards and 2 TD’s with Leroy Henley, Jr. making 9 catches for 100 yards and Herres tallying 9 receptions for 82 yards and 2 TD’s. Defensively, W&M’s John Pius had 10 tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and a sack, while Phil O’Connor had 10 stops for the Spiders.
No. 18 New Hampshire 42, Maine 41 (ot)
Box Score
Dylan Laube rushed for 190 yards and 3 TD’s and Max Brosmer passed for three scores as No. 18 New Hampshire (8-3, 7-1 CAA) edged Maine (2-9, 2-6 CAA), 42-41 in overtime. The Wildcats earned a share of the CAA championship for the first time since 2014 and reclaimed the Brice-Cowell Musket.
With the game tied at 35-35 after regulation, Brosmer hit Kyle Lepkowsi on a 4-yard scoring toss to put UNH on top. Maine answered with a 19-yard TD pass from Joe Fagnano to Rohan Jones on a 4
th-and-16 play, but the Wildcats’ Bryce Shaw picked off the 2-point conversion pass to end the game. UNH went ahead 14-0 on a Laube TD run and a 33-yard pass from Fagnano to DJ Linkins. The Black Bears pulled within 21-14 at the half after a pair second-quarter scoring runs by Elijah Barnwell. After a 48-yard TD run by Laube, Maine tied it up at 28-28 as Zavier Scott broke free for a 75-yard TD burst and Fagnano ran in from 11 yards out early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats regained the lead on a 6-yard TD catch by Adam Deese, but Barnwell’s third score of the day with 3:11 to go forced overtime.
Brosmer was 14-of-23 passing for 247 yards and 3 TD’s, while Fagnano threw for 202 yards. Barnwell finished with a season-high 143 yards and 3 TD’s on 20 carries. Defensively, UNH’s Ryan Toscano made 14 tackles and Dylan Ruiz added 11 stops and 3.5 TFL’s. Brian Lee had 11 tackles for Maine.
Villanova 29, No. 20 Delaware 26
Box Score
Connor Watkins’ 2-yard touchdown run with 1:11 to play set up by a Devon Marshall blocked punt gave Villanova (6-5, 4-4 CAA) a 29-26 victory over Delaware (7-4, 4-4 CAA) in the Battle of the Blue.
With VU down 26-21 with just over two minutes left, Marshall blocked a punt that was recovered by Tyler Will at the UD 10-yard line. On 4
th-and-2, Watkins scored from 2 yards out to give the Wildcats the lead. The game was tight throughout as a Watkins’ 7-yard run put VU ahead early, but Nolan Henderson threw TD passes of 48 and 7 yards to Thyrick Pitts to give Delaware a 14-7 advantage. The Blue Hens took their biggest lead, 23-14, on a 25-yard TD reception by Jourdan Townsend. VU cut the deficit to two as DeeWil Barlee had an 11-yard scoring run late in the third quarter.
Watkins passed for 122 yards and ran for 60 yards and 2 TD’s, while Barlee rushed for 66 yards and 2 TD’s. Henderson threw for 347 yards and 3 TD’s, with Pitts and Townsend each making seven catches. Brendan Bell had 12 tackles and 3.0 TFL’s for the VU defense.
Rhode Island 35, UAlbany 21
Box Score
Marques DeShields ran for a career-high 204 yards and a touchdown and Rhode Island came up with a pair of big special teams plays as the Rams (7-4, 5-3 CAA) got past UAlbany (3-8, 2-6 CAA), 35-21.
UAlbany struck first with a 66-yard TD pass from Reese Poffenbarger to Jackson Parker, but URI pulled even when Antonio Carter’s strip sack was recovered in the end zone by Evan Stewart. The Rams went up 21-7 late in the second quarter after a blocked field goal by Westley Neal was returned 96 yards for a TD by Oneil Robinson. The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns before a 3-yard scoring pass from Poffenbarger to Ian Renninger pulled the Great Danes within 28-21with 6:50 remaining. However, URI able to create a cushion when DeShields broke loose for a 61-yard run and then found the end zone from 2 yards out with 4:31 remaining.
DeShields’ rushing performance was the best by a URI back since 2014. Kasim Hill passed for a pair of scores. For UAlbany, Poffenbarger passed for 248 yards and 2 TD’s, with Roy Alexander making 5 catches for 73 yards.
Monmouth 24, Stony Brook 21
Box Score
Freshman Enzo Arjona hit Dymere Miller with a 72-yard touchdown pass with 7:32 to play to lift Monmouth (5-6, 3-5 CAA) over Stony Brook (2-9, 1-7 CAA), 24-21.
Monmouth jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 64-yard scoring run by Jaden Shirden on the second play of the game. The Hawks extended their advantage to 17-0 midway through the second quarter on a 3-yard Owen Wright scoring run and an Eric Bernstein field goal. A 41-yard pick six by Carthell Flowers-Lloyd trimmed the Stony Brook deficit to 10 at the half. The Seawolves continued the momentum in the second half as Ross Tallarico broke loose for a 66-yard TD burst in the third quarter and then caught a 5-yard TD pass from Daron Bryden with 8:17 to play to put SBU on top, 21-17. After Miller’s big catch to regain the lead, Monmouth forced a 3-and-out and then ran out the final 5:09 with a 77-yard drive.
Arjona was 14-of-22 passing for a career-high 245 yards, while Miller had 7 catches for 143 yards. Shirden rushed for 155 yards on 23 carries to finish with 1,722 yards, the 2
nd-most in school history. For SBU, Tallarico ran for 120 yards on 21 carries.
Towson 27, Hampton 7
Box Score
Towson’s defense limited Hampton to 264 yards and intercepted three passes, including a 70-yard pick six by Robert Javier, as the Tigers (6-5, 4-4 CAA) topped the Pirates (4-7, 1-7 CAA), 27-7, for their fourth straight victory.
Towson took a 14-0 advantage midway through the second quarter as Tyrrell Pigrome threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Isaiah Perkins and a 7-yard TD toss to Darian Street. Hampton cut the deficit in half with 5:21 left until halftime as Jadakis Bonds caught a 43-yard TD pass from Malcolm Mays. The Tigers’ defense dominated the rest of the way, capped by Javier’s pick six with 8:04 to go. TU’s Keegan Vaughan added 38 and 33-yard field goals.
Pigrome finished 12-of-21 passing for 140 yards and 2 TD’s, while Joachim Bangda ran for 81 yards on 11 carries. For Hampton, Malcolm Mays threw for 119 yards with Bonds making 5 receptions for 68 yards. Ali Shockley had 11 tackles and an interception for the Pirates’ defense, while Ubayd Steed picked off a pair of passes for the Tigers.