CAA Football Recap - Oct. 28
Rob Washburn
Delaware extended its winning streak to six and stayed atop the CAA standings with a convincing road victory, but Richmond, Villanova and UAlbany remained close behind with impressive performances. William & Mary and Hampton pulled out close wins at home, while Rhode Island got past New Hampshire in overtime.
Delaware 51, Towson 13
Box Score
Fifth-ranked Delaware (7-1, 5-0 CAA) sprinted out to a 45-0 lead and cruised past Towson (3-5, 2-3 CAA), 51-13. Running back Marcus Yarns tallied 168 all-purpose yards (105 receiving/63 rushing) and five touchdowns, while quarterback Zach Marker completed 16-of-18 passes for 302 yards and 4 TD’s in just one half of action.
The Blue Hens got off to a hot start as Yarns caught a 75-yard scoring pass on the first play from scrimmage. After a 3-and-out, Marker threw passes of 54 and 22 yards to Jourdan Townsend before Yarns found the end zone from 8 yards out. Scoring runs of 3 and 5 yards by Yarns made it 28-0 after the first quarter and then Marker hit Braden Brose with a 12-yard TD pass early in the second quarter. Yarns added his final TD of the game on a 5-yard run in the third quarter. The Blue Hens finished with 619 yards of total offense while limiting the Tigers to 326. Towson quarterback Nathan Kent passed for 265 yards, including an 11-yard TD pass to Zay Perkins in the fourth quarter.
UAlbany 37, Maine 21
Box Score
Reese Poffenbarger threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns and Faysal Aden added 141 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground as UAlbany (6-3, 4-1 CAA) earned a 37-21 road win at Maine (2-7, 1-5 CAA).
Maine jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead as Jamie Lamson had an 8-yard TD catch on the opening drive. The Great Danes pulled even at 7-7 on a 22-yard scoring reception by Brevin Easton and took a 17-7 advantage early in the second quarter following a 68-yard fumble return by Brian Abraham. A 4-yard Michael Monios TD catch cut the Black Bears’ deficit to three, but a 53-yard grab by Easton put UAlbany ahead 24-14 at the half. Scoring runs of 11 and 12 yards by Aden in the third quarter put the Great Danes in control. MarQeese Dietz (7 rec., 150 yds) and Easton (4 rec., 129 yds) had big days for UA offensively, while Ori Jean-Charles made 10 stops defensively. For Maine, Derek Robertson passed for 220 yards and 3 TD’s, with Monios making 10 grabs for 96 yards.
William & Mary 31, Monmouth 28
Box Score
Darius Wilson threw a go-ahead 10-yard TD pass to JT Mayo with 6:14 to go and Gent Veizi blocked a field goal in the final seconds as William & Mary (5-3, 3-2 CAA) held off Monmouth (3-5, 2-3 CAA), 31-28. The Hawks went on top early on a 1-yard TD run by Sone Ntoh, but the Tribe closed the half with 21 unanswered points on a TD run (5 yards) and reception (16 yards) by Malachi Imoh and a 1-yard fourth-down scoring run by Martin Lucas. The Hawks battled back behind Jaden Shirden, who broke loose for TD runs of 45 and 75 yards to pull Monmouth within 24-21 late in the third period. A 16-yard TD catch by Dymere Miller put MU on top with 9:20 remaining before Mayo’s go-ahead TD grab. The Hawks drove to the W&M 10-yard line, but Veizi blocked a game-tying field goal attempt with eight seconds left.
Wilson finished 24-of-33 passing for a career-high 283 yards and 2 TD’s. The Tribe also got 112 rushing yards from Imoh and six catches for 113 yards for Sean McElwain. For Monmouth, Shirden rushed for 251 yards and 2 TD’s on 21 carries, while Jake Brown had a game-high 12 tackles defensively.
Rhode Island 34, New Hampshire 28 (ot)
Box Score
Ja’Den McKenzie rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns, including a 1-yard scoring run in overtime, to lift Rhode Island (5-4, 3-3 CAA) over New Hampshire (4-4, 2-3 CAA), 34-28. UNH went up 14-7 in the second quarter as Max Brosmer hit Dylan Laube with a 6-yard pass before running in from 20 yards out. The Rams tied it up on a 44-yard scoring catch from Kahtero Summers before a Nick Mazzie field goal gave the Wildcats a 17-14 halftime advantage. McKenzie contributed TD runs of 4 and 1 yard to put URI ahead 28-20 early in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats tied it on a 13-yard Logan Tomlinson TD catch and 2-point conversion with 9:06 remaining. URI had a field goal blocked on the final play of regulation, but a missed UNH field goal in overtime set the stage for McKenzie’s winning score.
Kasim Hill passed for 280 yards for URI, with Summers making eight catches for 115 yards. Evan Stewart had nine tackles for the Rams’ defense. Brosmer was 41-of-60 passing for 456 yards and 2 TD’s, with Laube making 12 catches for 128 yards.
Hampton 26, North Carolina A&T 24
Box Score
Chris Zellous passed for 198 yards and 2 TD’s and added a team-best 89 yards on the ground to push Hampton (4-4, 2-3 CAA) past North Carolina A&T (1-7, 0-5 CAA), 26-24. The Aggie needed just over a minute to grab a 7-0 lead on a 46-yard TD catch by Taymon Cooke. However, the Pirates responded with 19 unanswered points that included scoring passes of 22 yards to Kymari Gray and 1 yards to TK Paisant. A 75-yard scoring pass from Kevin White to Kenji Christian pulled A&T within 19-14 in the third quarter, but Ramon Copeland returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a TD. The Aggies got within two when David Laney had an 82-yard pick six with 10:01 to play, but the Pirates forced a fumble with 3:35 remaining and ran out the clock.
Along with Zellous, Elijah Burris ran for 63 yards for the HU offense and Qwahsin Townsel made a team-best 10 tackles defensively. For A&T, White was 10-of-15 passing for a career-high 211 yards, while Christian rushed for 81 yards. Avarion Cole had nine tackles and 2.0 TFL’s on defense.
Villanova 48, Stony Brook 13
Box Score
Villanova (6-2, 4-1 CAA) piled up 556 yards of offense and scored five touchdowns of 20 or more yards in a 48-13 victory over Stony Brook (0-8, 0-6). Wildcats’ quarterback Connor Watkins was 13-of-19 passing for a career-high 361 yards and 4 TD’s and receivers Rayjoun Pringle (5-196 yds), Jaylan Sanchez (4-103 yds) and Jaaron Hayek (5-102 yds) all went over the century mark with a TD.
The game was tied 7-7 after a 12-yard TD catch by SBU’s Dez Williams in the first quarter before VU began its big-play barrage. The Wildcats got TD grabs of 43 and 20 yards from Hayek, a 44-yard run from Jalen Jackson and a 76-yard strike to Pringle to go up 34-7 at halftime. The Wildcats added a 24-yard TD grab by Sanchez midway through the third quarter. Freshman Anthony Johnson had another big day for the Seawolves, making 11 receptions for 90 yards.
Richmond 44, Campbell 13
Box Score
Richmond’s defense recorded four sacks, forced three turnovers and held Campbell to its lowest point total of the season as the Spiders (6-3, 5-1) increased their winning streak to four by beating the Camels (4-4, 3-3 CAA), 44-13. The game was tied 10-10 midway through the third quarter when Richmond took the lead on a 21-yard TD run by Savon Smith. Campbell cut the deficit to three heading into the fourth quarter, but a 42-yard pick six by the Spiders’ Wayne Galloway turned the momentum. Smith followed with a 9-yard scoring run and Richmond added a 32-yard TD catch by Milan Howard and a 3-yard Fonnae Webb TD run to pull away.
UR’s Kyle Wickersham passed for 161 yards and 2 TD’s and Smith ran for 51 yards and 2 TD’s. Tristan Wheeler recorded 12 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble defensively and Marlem Louis had two sacks and two forced fumbles. For Campbell, quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams threw for 173 yards and a TD and ran for a team-best 47 yards. Monchovia Gaffney made eight stops.