CAA Football Recap - Oct. 7
Rob Washburn
UAlbany, Campbell and Villanova earned CAA road victories, while Richmond outlasted Maine in a shootout. Rhode Island claimed the Governor's Cup for the fifth straight year and Delaware stayed unbeaten at home in non-conference action.
Campbell 30, Hampton 27
Box Score
Hajj-Malik Williams threw for 238 yards and 2 TD’s and Campbell added 202 yards on the ground as the Camels (3-3, 2-2 CAA) earned a 30-27 road victory over Hampton (3-2, 1-1 CAA). The Pirates got out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 45-yard TD run by Elijah Burris, but Campbell answered with a 2-yard scoring run from Na’Quari Rogers and a 7-yard TD catch by Ezeriah Anderson to go up 14-7 at halftime. Hampton tied the contest midway through the third quarter on a 22-yard TD catch from Evan King. A 12-yard Anderson touchdown reception late in the third period put the Camels back on top, and Campbell extended its lead to 30-14 early in the fourth quarter following a safety and a 7-yard Chris McKay scoring run. The Pirates battled back with a pair of fourth-quarter TD’s by Darran Butts (4-yard run) and Jordan Wimberly (17-yard catch) but could get no closer.
McKay finished with 97 rushing yards on 8 carries and Rogers added 90 yards for the Camels. Chaney Fitzgerald caught four passes for 107 yards. Hampton had two backs run for over 100 yards as Butts tallied 124 yards and Burris had 113. Defensively, Qwahsin Townsel made a game-high 17 tackles and 1.5 TFL for the Pirates and Cornelius Davis had eight stops for the Camels.
Richmond 42, Maine 31
Box Score
True freshman quarterback Camden Coleman passed for 365 yards and six touchdowns in his first career start to lead Richmond (3-3, 2-1) past Maine (1-5, 1-3 CAA), 42-31. Five of those scoring passes came in a wild first half that featured 59 combined points. Maine sprinted out to a 14-0 advantage as Derek Robertson connected with Joe Gillette on a 73-yard TD pass before the Black Bears scored on a 24-yard double pass from Montigo Moss to Tavion Banks. The Spiders stormed back behind Coleman, who fired TD passes of 65 yards to Brooks Heagarty, 56 and 13 yards to Nick DeGennaro and 13 yards to Quanye Veney to go up 28-17. Maine pulled within 28-24 as Gillette made a 50-yard TD catch, but Coleman capped the half with an 11-yard TD pass to Landon Ellis to put UR up 35-24 at the break. The Spiders added to their margin in the third quarter on a 2-yard catch by DeGennaro.
DeGennaro finished with 8 catches for 113 yards and 3 TD’s, while Aaron Banks made 10 tackles for the Spiders’ defense. For Maine, Roberston was 18-of-25 for 315 yards and 2 TD’s, while Gillette had 8 catches for 163 yards and 3 TD’s. Tyshawn Stewart had a career-high 10 tackles for the Maine defense.
UAlbany 24, Towson 17
Box Score
Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns and provided the winning score on a 6-yard run as UAlbany (4-2, 2-0 CAA) battled past Towson (2-4, 1-2 CAA), 24-17. Poffenbarger tossed scoring passes of 12 yards to Griffin Woodell and 2 yards to MarQeese Dietz to put the Great Danes ahead 14-3 midway through the second quarter. Field goals of 28 and 37 yards from Keegan Vaughan pulled the Tigers within 14-9 at halftime and they took the lead on a 1-yard Devin Matthews TD run with 4:02 to go in the third quarter. After UAlbany tied the game at 17-17 on a John Opalko field goal, Poffenbarger ended a 56-yard drive with his TD run with 9:02 to go. Towson drove to the UA 1-yard line in the final seconds, but was stopped on a fourth-down run.
Woodell ran for a team-high 76 yards and added four catches for 54 yards. Dylan Kelly had a monster day defensively with 23 tackles and a forced fumble. For Towson, Nathan Kent was 19-of-31 passing for 217 yards, with Carter Runyon making seven grabs for 74 yards. Defensively, Dion Crews-Harris had six tackles, 1.5 TFL’s and a fumble recovery.
Villanova 37, North Carolina A&T 14
Box Score
Villanova turned in a dominant first-half performance and earned a 37-14 road victory over North Carolina A&T (1-4, 0-2 CAA). The Wildcats had 373 yards of offense and held the Aggies to 54 yards in building a commanding 30-14 halftime advantage. A&T took an early 7-3 lead on a 94-yard kickoff return by Taymon Cooke, but VU answered with a 58-yard scoring pass from Connor Watkins to Jaylen Sanchez. The Aggies went back on top, 14-13, on a 25-yard run by quarterback Kevin White. However, the Wildcats took over from there, getting a 21-yard scoring run from DeeWil Barlee, a 9-yard TD catch by Rayjoun Pringle and Matthew Mercurio’s third field goal of the half to close the half. Watkins found Sanchez on a 59-yard TD passs in the third quarter to cap the scoring.
Watkins threw for 289 yards and 3 TD’s, with Sanchez making six catches for 158 yards and 2 TD’s. Danny Abraham had seven stops for a VU defense that held A&T to 172 total yards. White threw for 64 yards and ran for 44 to pace A&T offensively. Kade Moledor recorded 11 tackles.
Rhode Island 34, Brown 30
Box Score
Kasim Hill passed for 222 yards and three touchdowns as #25 Rhode Island (4-2, 2-1 CAA) held off Brown, 34-30, to claim the Governor’s Cup for the fifth straight season. In a back-and-forth game, the Rams went on top 13-10 early in the second quarter as Hill threw scoring passes of 50 yards to Kahtero Summers and 27 yards to Marquis Buchanan. After Brown went on top 17-13, URI quickly regained the lead after a 95-yard kickoff return by Randy Jordan. The Rams trailed 27-20 in the third period, but Hill connected on a game-tying 27-yard TD toss to Darius Savedge and Ja’Den McKenzie broke loose for a 50-yard TD run to make it 34-27. Holding a four-point advantage in the final minute, URI sealed the victory when Syeed Gibbs picked off his second pass of the game at the Brown 27-yard line.
McKenzie finished with 111 yards rushing and a TD on 12 carries, which Buchanan had five receptions for 84 yards. Linebacker Evan Stewart topped the URI defense with 13 tackles, while Gibbs had a career-high nine stops and 2.0 TFL’s to go along with his two interceptions.
Delaware 43, Duquesne 17
Box Score
Delaware (4-1, 2-0 CAA) responded to a second-quarter deficit with 28 unanswered points and cruised past Duquesne, 43-17. Trailing 17-15 late in the first half, Marcus Yarns had his second 1-yard TD run of the game to put the Blue Hens ahead 22-17 at the break. UD dominated the second half as Ryan O’Connor threw touchdown passes of 57 yards to Chandler Harvin, 7 yards to Joshua Youngblood and 34 yards to Phil Lutz while the Blue Hens’ defense pitched a shutout.
O’Connor finished 28-of-40 passing for 347 yards and 4 TD’s with Jojo Bermudez making seven grabs for 83 yards and a TD. The Blue Hens’ defense held the Dukes to 290 total yards and intercepted three passes. Jackson Taylor made a team-high 13 tackles with 2.5 TFL’s.
Virginia 27, William & Mary 13
Box Score
William & Mary (4-2, 2-1 CAA) jumped out to an early 10-point lead but dropped a 27-13 decision at ACC foe Virginia. Quarterback Darius Wilson ran for a team-high 74 yards and completed 14-of-18 passes for 72 yards to pace the Tribe offensively, while All-American John Pius had a huge game on defense with eight tackles, 3.0 TFL’s, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
W&M went up 6-3 at the end of the first quarter following field goals of 38 and 48 yards from Caden Bonoffski. Early in the second quarter, Pius sacked UVA quarterback Tony Muskett and returned the ball 57 yards to the 4-yard line. On fourth down, Martin Lucas plunged into the end zone from the 1-yard line to put the Tribe ahead 13-3. W&M was unable to get on the board the rest of the way, coming up short on 4
th-down conversions from the UVA 8 in the third quarter and the UVA 23 in the fourth quarter.
North Carolina Central 34, Elon 23
Box Score
Elon (3-3, 3-0 CAA) took an early 10-0 first-quarter lead, but North Carolina Central responded with 28 unanswered points and went to a 34-23 win in a Top 25 battle. The Phoenix got a 15-yard TD pass from Matthew Downing to Jordan Bonner and a 43-yard Jack Berkowitz field goal in the opening period. However, NCCU got a pair of scoring runs and a TD pass from quarterback Davius Richard to move on top 28-10 midway through the third quarter. The Phoenix twice rallied within 11 on a 1-yard TD run from reserve quarterback William Lankford and a 6-yard scoring toss from Justin Allen to Wayne Dixie III, but could get no closer.
Downing was 10-of-15 passing for 163 yards and a TD, while Lankford picked up a team-high 49 yards on the ground. Caleb Curtain led the Phoenix defense with seven stops.