CAA Football Recap - Sept. 17
Rob Washburn
Delaware topped Rhode Island in a Top 25 conference battle on Saturday, while Richmond, Hampton, Monmouth, Elon and William & Mary picked up non-conference victories.
Delaware 42, Rhode Island 21
Box Score
In a battle of Top 25 teams, 9
th-ranked Delaware (3-0, 1-0 CAA) earned an impressive 42-21 victory at 17
th-ranked Rhode Island (2-1, 1-1 CAA).
UD quarterback Nolan Henderson had a big afternoon, completing 29-of-34 passes for a career-high 379 yards and 4 TD’s. Jourdan Townsend made seven receptions for a career-best 109 yards and 2 TD’s as the Hens rolled up 610 yards of offense, which was their most since 2013.
All four of Henderson’s scoring passes came in the first half as UD built a 35-7 lead at the break. He had a 21-yard connection to Braden Brose and hit Townsend for TD passes of 65 and 4 yards in the second quarter. Thyrick Pitts also had an 8-yard TD reception.
Rhode Island got TD passes of 19 and 20 yards from Kasim Hill to Kahtero Summers in the second half, but never got closer than 21 points. Hill threw for 179 yards, with Summers making five receptions for 78 yards.
Richmond 30, Lehigh 6
Box Score
Reece Udinski completed 37-of-44 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns as Richmond (2-1) rolled past Lehigh, 30-6. Udinski connected on his first 17 pass attempts and threw for the most yards by a UR quarterback since 2018.
The Spiders sprinted out to 20-0 lead in the first 19 minutes of the game as Udinski had scoring tosses to Leroy Henley (13 yards) and Aaron Dykes (18 and 2 yards). Henley finished with a team-high 9 catches for 127 yards. Richmond added a third-quarter TD on a halfback pass from Savon Smith to Connor Deveney and a pair of Jake Larson field goals.
Richmond’s defense limited Lehigh to 203 total yards. Marlem Louis recorded two of UR’s four sacks in the game.
Monmouth 45, Georgetown 6
Box Score
Monmouth (1-2) turned in a complete performance offensively and defensively in a 45-6 triumph over Georgetown for its first victory of the season.
Owen Wright scored two touchdowns on the ground and added a 14-yard TD catch to give the Hawks a 21-6 halftime advantage. Jaden Shirden, who ran for a team-best 139 yards on 18 carries, broke the game open with a 67-yard scoring burst early in the third quarter to put Monmouth in command. Tony Muskett contributed 243 yards and a TD through the air.
The Hawks’ defense pitched a shutout in the second half and held the Hoyas to 252 total yards. Jaylen Dotson made a team-high nine tackles and Tyrese Wright added five stops and an interception.
Hampton 17, Norfolk State 7
Box Score
Hampton improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2007 after beating rival Norfolk State, 17-7, in the Battle of the Bay.
Romon Copeland caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Christopher Zellous on the opening drive of the third quarter to put the Pirates on top for good, 14-7. Copeland finished with three receptions for 111 yards, while Zellous came off the bench to pass for 153 yards and run for a team-high 62.
Hampton’s defense was dominant, limiting NSU to 271 total yards and no points in the second half. Mason King led the Pirates with 11 tackles and 2.5 TFL’s. Stafford Everett and Michael Crawford each recorded an interception.
William & Mary 34, Lafayette 7
Box Score
Bronson Yoder rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns as William & Mary pulled away from Lafayette, 34-7, to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2009.
The contest was tied at 7-7 in the opening six minutes, but Yoder’s 11-yard scoring run late in the first quarter put the Tribe on top for good. He added a 4-yard TD run midway through the third period and found the end zone from 10 yards out with 13:07 remaining to seal the victory. Martin Lucas added a career-high 91 rushing yards on 13 carries.
The Tribe defense held Lafayette to 240 total yards and recorded six sacks. Linebacker John Pius had many of them, finishing with a team-high eight tackles, 4.0 TFL’s and 3.5 sacks.
Elon 30, Gardner-Webb 24
Box Score
Matthew McKay passed for 260 yards and three touchdowns and Jalen Hampton rushed for a career-high 168 yards on 34 carries as Elon (2-1) rallied past Gardner-Webb, 30-24.
McKay threw TD passes of 39 yards to Bryson Daughtry and 24 yards to D.J. Moyer to put the Phoenix on top 20-3 early in the second quarter. Gardner-Webb responded with 21 unanswered points to go up 24-20 at the break. Elon went ahead, 27-24, on a 27-yard scoring pass from McKay to Jordan Bonner with 5:19 left in the third quarter and Skyler Davis hit his third field goal of the game to increase the lead to six.
Elon’s defense pitched a second-half shutout and recorded five sacks. Marcus Hillman had a team-high eight tackles and a sack and Josh Johnson recorded 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Fordham 48, UAlbany 45
Box Score
UAlbany (0-3) accumulated 527 yards of total offense, but was edged 48-45 at Fordham.
In an offensive shootout, the Great Danes went ahead 38-27 late in the third quarter on a 25-yard scoring pass from Reese Poffenbarger to Julian Hicks. Fordham answered with a pair of quick scores to go up 41-38, but UAlbany moved back on top, 45-41, after a 7-yard TD pass from Poffenbarger to Brevin Easton. The Rams regained the lead just 1:28 later and then stopped a UAlbany drive with 2:40 remaining.
Poffenbarger finished 25-of-40 passing for 412 and 3 TD’s, with Roy Alexander making six receptions for 127 yards. Todd Sibley ran for 122 yards and 3 TD’s on just 17 carries and also had a 45-yard TD catch. Defensively, AJ Mistler and Jackson Ambush had 12 tackles apiece.
Army 49, Villanova 10
Box Score
Quarterback Connor Watkins threw for 74 yards and a touchdown and added a team-high 60 yards on the ground, but Villanova (2-1) suffered a 49-10 setback at Army West Point.
After falling behind 7-0 early, Watkins capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring pass to Rayjoun Pringle to tie the contest with 5:27 left in the first quarter. The Black Knights took over from there as their triple option offense piled up 472 yards on the ground. Army led 21-7 at the half and found the end zone on the opening drive of the second half to take control.
Timmy Furgeson recorded a team-high eight tackles for VU, while Shane Hartzell added seven tackles and a sack.
West Virginia 65, Towson 7
Box Score
Despite a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by D’Ago Hunter, Towson (2-1) was beaten 65-7 by Big 12 foe West Virginia.
Hunter’s return with 11:14 left in the first quarter tied the game at 7-7, but the Mountaineers were able to pull away after that. D’Kendall James made a team-high five catches for 44 yards for a Tigers’ offense that finished with 180 total yards. Towson’s defense got nine tackles apiece from Ubayd Steed and Mason Woods.
UMass 20, Stony Brook 3
Box Score
Stony Brook (0-2) got a strong performance from its defense, but dropped a 20-3 decision at UMass. The Seawolves limited the Minutemen to 264 total yards.
UMass built a 17-0 lead on a first-quarter scoring pass and a 94-yard pick six. The Seawolves got on the board just before halftime as Angelo Guglielmello booted a 29-yard field goal. SBU held UMass to just three second-half points, but was unable to cut into the deficit.
Quarterback Daron Bryden was 15-of-31 passing for 186 yards and Jayden Cook rushed for a team-high 73 yards on 14 carries. Defensively, Reidgee Dimanche made a team-high eight stops and Carthell Flowers-Lloyd added seven tackles and 3.5 TFL’s.
North Carolina Central 45, New Hampshire 27
Box Score
Quarterback Max Brosmer was 26-of-45 passing for 296 yards and four touchdowns, but 25
th-ranked New Hampshire (2-1) lost its first game of the season, 45-27, to unbeaten North Carolina Central.
N.C. Central took a quick 14-0 lead and maintained it throughout the night. The Wildcats trimmed the deficit to seven three times as Heron Maurisseau had a 49-yard TD grab in the first quarter, and Brosmer threw touchdown passes of 15 and 3 yards to D.J. Linkins in the second quarter to make it 28-21 at halftime.
The Wildcats added a 4-yard scoring pass from Brosmer to Sean Coyne in the fourth quarter. UNH’s defense was led by Bryce Shaw with 10 tackles.
Boston College 38, Maine 17
Box Score
Maine (0-3) jumped out to an early lead, but suffered a 38-17 loss at ACC foe Boston College.
The Black Bears got on the board first on a 45-yard Cole Baker field goal and then grabbed a 10-7 advantage on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Joe Fagnano to Shawn Bowman later in the first quarter. The Eagles reeled off 24 straight points before Maine got a 4-yard scoring pass from Fagnano to Montigo Moss midway through the third quarter that made it 31-17.
Fagnano finished 21-of-43 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Zavier Scott made eight receptions for 135 yards. Defensively, Buggs Brown had 11 tackles and Adrian Otero added 10 stops.