CAA Football Recap - Oct. 19
Rob Washburn
Maine 35, Villanova 7
Box Score
Maine’s defense forced four turnovers and made seven sacks as the Black Bears (4-3, 2-2) beat #5 Villanova (5-2, 2-1 CAA), 35-7. It was the highest ranked team that Maine has defeated since 2018.
Maine took a quick 8-0 advantage on a 55-yard TD pass from Carter Peevy to Joe Gillette. Following a VU fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Peevy hit Molayo Irefin with an 18-yard scoring strike. The Black Bears expanded their first-quarter lead to 21-0 after Devin Vaught returned a John Costanza blocked field goal 70 yards for a score. Later in the period, a Vaught interception set up a Brian Fis-Santana TD run to make it 28-0 at the half. Peevy finished 16-of-18 passing for 173 yards and 3 TD’s, including a 5-yarder to Montigo Moss in the 3
rd period. Maine’s defense, which held VU to 214 yards, got seven tackles and two sacks from Izaiah Henderson and six tackles, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery from Xavier Holmes. Ethan Potter tallied 10 tackles for the VU defense.
Rhode Island 26, New Hampshire 9
Box Score
Rhode Island (6-1, 3-0 CAA) used big plays on defense and special teams to defeat New Hampshire (4-3, 2-1 CAA), 26-9, and earn its first victory in Durham, N.H. since 1995. The Rams’ defense recorded four sacks, forced two turnovers and held UNH to 231 total yards, while the special teams contributed a touchdown and safety.
UNH held a 3-2 halftime lead after a 45-yard Nick Mazzie field goal and a Rams safety that came on a Moses Meus’ blocked punt. URI went ahead on a 20-yard Ty Groff field goal and extended the advantage when Freddie Camp recovered a muffed punt in the end zone. URI’s offense put the game away with a 57-yard TD catch by Marquis Buchanan and a 3-yard run by Tommy Smith with 4:02 to play. Rhody’s Malik Grant ran for 127 yards on 25 carries, while Devin Hightower had eight tackles and 3.0 TFL’s. For UNH, Logan Tomlinson made eight catches for 57 yards and TD.
Stony Brook 52, Towson 24
Box Score
Tyler Knoop completed 34-of-40 passes for a career-high 387 yards and a program-record six touchdowns as Stony Brook (5-2, 2-1 CAA) rolled to a 52-24 road win at Towson (3-4, 1-2 CAA).
Towson jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead as Devin Matthews broke loose for a 75-yard TD run on the first offensive play of the game, but SBU responded with scoring receptions of 10 and 19 yards by Jasiah Williams. The Tigers went back on top, 17-14, on a 1-yard TD run by Tyrell Greene, Jr. early in the second quarter, but Knopp threw TD passes to Cal Redman (7 yards) and Jayce Freeman (21 yards) to go up 28-17 at the half. The Seawolves extended their margin on a 22-yard TD grab by Freeman and Knoop connected with Williams for the third time on a 20-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Williams finished with 9 catches for 93 yards and 3 TD’s, while Roland Dempster ran for 103 yards. For Towson, Greene rushed for 115 yards on 16 carries.
Monmouth 55, Bryant 17
Box Score
Monmouth (4-3, 2-1) piled up 584 yards of offense, including 328 on the ground, as the Hawks downed Bryant (2-5, 0-3 CAA), 55-17. Sone Ntoh had four rushing TD’s while TJ Speight caught two TD passes and ran for a score.
The Hawks sprinted out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead on a pair of Ntoh TD runs (5, 1) and a 64-yarder by Speight. Bryant got on the board on an 86-yard kickoff return by Keylijah Williams, but MU responded with a 16-yard TD grab by Tre Neal to go up 27-10 at halftime. MU pulled away in the second half as Ntoh added scoring runs of 5 and 2 yards and Speight added TD catches of 7 and 10 yards. MU quarterback Derek Robertson passed for 237 yards and 2 TD’s with Rodney Nelson running for 101 yards on 16 carries. For Bryant, Landon Ruggieri made five receptions for 95 yards and Fabrice Mukendi ran for 77 yards.
Hampton 59, North Carolina A&T 17
Box Score
Hampton (4-3, 1-2 CAA) overcame an early 14-point deficit to earn a convincing 59-17 victory at North Carolina A&T (1-6, 0-3 CAA).
The Aggies turned a pair of Pirates’ turnovers in the first four minutes into touchdowns as Cameren Dalrymple found the end zone from five yards out and Justin Fomby hit Daniel Coles with a 17-yard strike. Hampton rebounded with 21 second-quarter points as JaQuan Snipes had an 18-yard TD run, followed by scoring grabs of 40 yards by Dorrian Moultrie and 58 yards by Brennan Ridley. Up 31-17 entering the fourth quarter, Hampton tallied 28 points in less than six minutes. Donovan Shepard (29 yards) and Tymere Robinson (8 yards) had TD runs and the Pirates added scores on a Joseph Henry fumble recovery on a kickoff and Tre Everett III pick six. Snipes ran for 71 yards and 2 TD’s and Ridley had six catches for 98 yards. For A&T, Ger-Cari Caldwell made five catches for 98 yards.
Richmond 28, Delaware 9
Box Score
Quarterback Camden Coleman passed for 194 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a team-high 79 yards and a TD as Richmond (5-2, 3-0 CAA) extended its winning streak to five with a 28-9 triumph over Delaware (6-1, 3-1 CAA). The Spiders’ defense made four sacks, forced two turnovers and held the Blue Hens to 36 yards rushing.
After falling behind 3-0, UR reeled off 21 unanswered points. Coleman capped a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run and then connected with Nick DeGennaro on a 23-yard scoring pass. A 1-yard TD run by Zach Palmer-Smith increased the Spiders’ advantage to 21-3 with 11:14 to go in the second quarter. The Blue Hens trimmed the deficit as Phil Lutz caught a TD pass for a 7
th straight game on a 12-yarder from Zach Marker, but a 6-yard TD grab by the Spiders’ Matt Robbert made 28-9 at the half. Neither team was able to score in the second half. Carter Glassmyer had a team-best eight tackles for UR and Quantraill Morris-Walker picked off a pass. Marker finished with 251 yards passing for the Delaware offense and Ty Davis made eight tackles and 2.0 TFL’s for the defense.
William & Mary 35, Campbell 28
Box Score
William & Mary (5-2, 2-1 CAA) rushed for 355 yards and held off Campbell (2-5, 0-3 CAA), 35-28. Leading the ground attack for the Tribe was Bronson Yoder with 131 yards and a TD and Malachi Imoh with 122 yards and a TD.
W&M went out to a 14-0 advantage on scoring runs from Imoh (33 yards) and Darius Wilson (1 yard), but Campbell answered later in the period on a 21-yard TD reception by VJ Wilkins. An 11-yard TD catch by JT Mayo put W&M ahead by 14, but the Camels pulled even at 21-21 midway through the third quarter following TD grabs of two yards by Wilkins and 19 yards by JJ Cowan. W&M regained the lead when Yoder’s 6-yard run capped a 98-yard drive early in the fourth quarter and a 6-yard TD grab by Hollis Mathis made it 35-21 with 7:39 to go. Campbell rallied as Chad Mascoe, who finished 30-of-39 passing for 320 yards and 4 TD’s, hit Sincere Brown with an 11-yard scoring strike with 1:56 left, but W&M recovered the ensuing onside kick. Jalen Brooks made 19 tackles, 3.0 TFL’s and a sack for the CU defense, while Quinn Osborne had eight stops for W&M.
Elon 30, UAlbany 14
Box Score
Chandler Brayboy returned two kickoffs for touchdowns to lead Elon (2-5, 1-2 CAA) past UAlbany (3-4, 1-2 CAA), 30-14. Brayboy’s 94-yard return in the first quarter tied the game at 7-7 and he put the Phoenix in control with a 93-yarder in the third period.
UA jumped on top on Jojo Uga’s 2-yard TD run before Brayboy answered with his first return. The Phoenix moved ahead 14-7 on a 1-yard TD catch by Cody Hardy on the final play of the first quarter. Elon expanded its advantage to 24-7 on an 8-yard scoring run by TJ Thomas on the opening drive of the second half, but UAlbany was able to climb back on an 9-yard TD reception by Caden Burti. Brayboy’s second return accounted for the game’s final points. Thomas finished with 138 yards and a TD on the ground. For UAlbany, Myles Burkett was 18-of-35 passing for 214 yards and a TD.