CAA Football Recap - Nov. 9
Rob Washburn
Delaware 24, Rhode Island 21
Box Score
Marcus Yarns rushed for a career-high 174 yards and a touchdown as Delaware (8-1, 5-1 CAA) edged Rhode Island (8-2, 5-1 CAA), 24-21, ending the Rams’ seven-game winning streak. UD linebacker Gavin Moul sealed the victory by intercepting a pass with 34 seconds to play.
A 1-yard TD run by quarterback Nick Minicucci gave the Blue Hens an early 7-0 lead. However, Rhode Island was able to answer quickly as Marquis Buchanan caught a 22-yard scoring pass from Hunter Helms, and Devin Hightower returned a fumble 21-yards for a TD 13 seconds later to put URI ahead, 14-7, late in the first quarter. Yarns evened the game with a 27-yard TD run early in the second quarter and 25-yard Nate Reed field goal put the Hens ahead 17-14 at the half. UD pushed its advantage to 24-14 on a 7-yard TD catch by Jake Thaw late in the third quarter, but URI battled back within three on a 20-yard scoring grab by Greg Gaines with 6:23 to go. The Rams got the ball back with less than a minute left, but Moul’s interception ended the threat. Minicucci finished with 187 yards passing for UD and Helms threw for 181 yards for URI. Hightower recorded a team-best 10 tackles for the Rams and Dillon Trainer had eight stops and 2.0 TFL’s for the Hens.
Richmond 27, Campbell 24
Box Score
Brandon Peskin kicked a game-winning 36-yard field goal with one second to play as Richmond (8-2, 6-0 CAA) took over sole possession of first place in the CAA with a 27-24 victory at Campbell (3-7, 1-5 CAA).
Campbell built a 17-7 halftime lead behind a 90-yard kickoff return for a TD by Randall King and a 40-yard Connor Lytton field goal. The Spiders pulled even in the third quarter on a 1-yard scoring run from Zach Palmer-Smith and a 36-yard Peskin field goal. The Camels went back on top as Sincere Brown caught a 14-yard TD pass from Mike Chandler II with 9:59 remaining, but Richmond responded with a 76-yard drive and tied the game on a 9-yard TD pass from Cam Coleman to Ja’Vion Griffin. The Spiders’ defense was able to make a 4
th-down stop with 1:56 to go, and then drove into position for Peskin’s game-winning kick. Coleman passed for 252 yards and 2 TD’s and added 55 yards on the ground, while Matthew Traynor led the Spiders’ defense with 12 tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and an interception. For Campbell, Chandler passed for 128 yards and a TD and ran for 121 yards and a TD.
Elon 40, William & Mary 34
Box Score
Onuma Dieke caught a 15-yard TD pass from Matthew Downing with five seconds to play to lift Elon (4-6, 3-3 CAA) over William & Mary (6-4, 3-3 CAA), 40-36. Downing finished with 315 yards and four touchdowns through the air and added another on the ground.
In a game that featured four lead changes in the final nine minutes, William & Mary took a 28-27 lead on a 16-yard run by Darius Wilson with 8:58 to play. Elon responded with a 69-yard scoring drive capped by a 1-yard Downing run to go back on top, 33-28 with 5:12 to go. The Tribe answered by driving 78 yards and regained the advantage, 36-33, on Bronson Yoder’s 3-yard run with 1:31 left. However, the Phoenix was able to move down the field, including converting a 4
th-and-17 situation, and tallied the winning score on Dieke’ s leaping grab in the corner of the end zone. Along with Downing’s big day, Rushawn Baker ran for 167 yards for Elon. Wilson passed for 181 yards and ran for 87 for W&M, while Sean McElwain made a pair of TD catches.
Stony Brook 24, UAlbany 6
Box Score
Roland Dempster ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns and Stony Brook’s defense forced four turnovers as the Seawolves (8-2, 5-1 CAA) claimed the Golden Apple by defeating UAlbany (3-7, 1-5 CAA), 24-6.
SBU went ahead 7-0 on its opening drive on Dempster’s 2-yard run. However, UAlbany closed within 7-6 at the half following a 23-yard TD pass from Van Weber to Caden Burti. The Seawolves took advantage of a UA fumble to add a 41-yard Enda Kirby field goal in the third quarter. After making a fourth-down stop, SBU was able to put together a 10-play, 90-yard drive capped by a 20-yard TD toss from Tyler Knoop to Jayce Freeman to go up 17-6 with 11:51 remaining. An interception by SBU’s Tyson McCloud set up Dempster’s 4-yard TD run with 2:41 to play. Knoop finished with 229 yards passing, while Weber threw for 201 yards. Defensively, Ron Holmes made 14 tackles for the Great Danes and Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu had 11 stops for the Seawolves.
Towson 27, Hampton 10
Box Score
Towson (5-5, 3-3 CAA) sprinted out to a 27-0 halftime lead and went on to a 27-10 triumph over Hampton (5-5, 2-4 CAA). Tigers’ quarterback Sean Brown threw for 141 yards and a touchdown and added a TD on the ground, while Daniel Raymond contributed a 62-yard pick six.
Towson went on top 14-0 in the first quarter after Brown scored on a 12-yard run and then connected on an 8-yard TD pass to Carter Runyon less than three minutes later that was set up by an interception by the Tigers’ Myles Brodie. Towson added to its advantage in the second quarter following field goals of 24 and 32 yards by Keegan Vaughan and Raymond’s pick six. Hampton cut into the deficit with a third-quarter field goal by Brian Csehoski and a 3-yard TD run by Chris Zellous with 2:14 remaining. Zellous passed for 132 yards and ran for 33, while Ja’Quan Snipes added 80 yards on the ground. Will Middleton made 10 tackles for the TU defense and Nchabanu Fortaboh had 1.5 sacks.
Maine 38, Bryant 26
Box Score
Carter Peevy passed for 269 yards and four first-half touchdowns as Maine (5-5, 3-3 CAA) built a 35-0 halftime advantage and held off Bryant (2-8, 0-6 CAA), 38-26.
Peevy hit Joe Gillette (48 yards) and Nick Laughlin (36 yards) with first-quarter TD throws to put the Black Bears up 14-0, and a Xavier Holmes interception set up a 15-yard scoring run by Brian Santana-Fis. Scoring passes of 79 and 3 yards to Montigo Moss made it 35-0 at the half. The Bulldogs rallied in the second half as freshman Brennan Myer threw four touchdown passes, including two to Landon Ruggieri (15 and 5 yards) and one apiece to Drew Montez (23 yards) and Tristen Riley (5 yards). Moss finished with seven catches for 122 yards, while Santana-Fis ran for 104 yards. Myer threw for 251 yards, while CeeDee Doby had 11 tackles for the Bryant defense.
UNH 33, Monmouth 20
Box Score
Seth Morgan threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns and Nick Mazzie booted four field goals to push UNH (6-4, 4-2 CAA) past Monmouth (4-6, 2-4 CAA), 33-20. The Wildcats’ defense held the Hawks to 313 yards and forced three fumbles.
The teams traded touchdowns over the opening 20 minutes. Morgan threw 5-yard TD passes to Colby Ramshaw and Logan Tomlinson, while Monmouth got a 36-yard scoring reception by TJ Speight and an 18-yard TD run by Sone Ntoh. Field goals of 42, 35 and 35 yards from Mazzie followed by an 11-yard Denzell Gibson TD run increased the UNH lead to 30-14 through three quarters. An 8-yard TD pass from Derek Robertson to Tra Neal cut the Hawks’ deficit to 10, but the Wildcats were able to put together a seven-minute drive and add a 31-yard Mazzie field goal. Tomlinson made 10 catches for 115 yards and Gibson rushed for 88 yards on 16 carries. For Monmouth, Robertson passed for 198 yards and 2 TD’s, while Ryan Moran had 12 tackles and 2.5 TFL’s.
Villanova 31, North Carolina A&T 3
Box Score
Quarterback Connor Watkins accounted for 198 yards of offense and three touchdowns as Villanova (8-2, 5-1 CAA) pulled away for a 31-3 victory over North Carolina A&T (1-9, 0-6 CAA). Shane Hartzell contributed eight tackles and 2.0 sacks for a Wildcats’ defense that limited the Aggies to 169 total yards.
Villanova took a 10-0 lead following an 18-yard TD catch by Jaylan Sanchez and a 33-yard Ethan Gettman field goal. A&T answered with a 34-yard field goal by Andrew Brown to close within 10-3 at halftime. Villanova put the game away by scoring touchdowns on its first three drives of the second half. Watkins contributed scoring runs of 13 and 12 yards and David Avit added a 1-yard TD run with 11:22 to play. Watkins threw for 167 yards, with Devin Smith making seven catches for 68 yards. A&T was paced offensively by quarterback Braxton Thomas with 49 yards rushing and 30 yards passing. Steven Davis II recorded a team-high 10 tackles for the Aggies.