Rhode Island, Villanova Advance To Second Round Of FCS Playoffs
Rob Washburn
Rhode Island and Villanova pulled out exciting wins on Saturday to advance to the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs.
Rhode Island 21, Central Connecticut State 17
Box Score
Malik Grant rushed for a career-high 223 yards on 29 carries as Rhode Island (11-2) battled past Northeast Conference champion Central Connecticut State, 21-17, for its first FCS playoff win since 1985. The Rams advance to play 7
th-seeded Mercer at 2 p.m. next Saturday.
URI jumped out to a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter as Hunter Helms connected with Tommy Smith on a 38-yard scoring pass. On the ensuring CCSU possession, Emmanuel Gomes picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards for a score, upping the Rams’ advantage to 14-0. The Blue Devils used TD catches in the second and third quarters to tie the contest at 14-14, but Smith found the end zone on a 6-yard run out of the Wildcat formation to put URI on top, 21-14, with 9:42 remaining. The Rams’ defense came up big the rest of the way, holding CCSU to a field goal after it drove to the URI 4-yard line and then getting an interception from Westley Neal, Jr. off a tipped pass with 38 seconds left. Helms finished with 208 yards passing, while A.J. Pena led the URI defense with five tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and 1.5 sacks.
Villanova 22, Eastern Kentucky 17
Box Score
Villanova’s defense pitching a second-half shutout to help the Wildcats (10-3) rally for a 22-17 victory over Eastern Kentucky. Villanova advances to play 6
th-seeded UIW at 2 p.m. next Saturday.
EKU sprinted out to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage, but a fumble on a punt attempt resulted in a safety to get Villanova on the board. On the ensuing drive, Devin Smith caught a 13-yard TD pass from Connor Watkins to trim the deficit to 14-9. The Colonels upped their lead to eight at the half, but the Wildcats opened the second half with a 56-yard drive capped by a 5-yard James Welde TD catch to make it 17-16. A 42-yard Ethan Gettman field goal with 14:37 remaining gave VU its first lead of the game, and the Wildcats’ defense stopped an EKU drive with a fumble recovered by Brendan Bell. A 31-yard field goal by Gettman put the Wildcats ahead by five with a minute to go, but EKU drove to the VU 10-yard line in the waning seconds before the Wildcats got a final stop. Watkins passed for 177 yards and 2 TD’s and ran for 42 yards, while David Avit tallied 94 yards on the ground. Richie Kimmel had eight tackles and a forced fumble for the VU defense.
Lehigh 20, Richmond 16
Box Score
Richmond (10-3) had its 10-game winning streak come to an end after Lehigh scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull out a 20-16 victory.
The Spiders had to settle for field goals of 25, 27 and 21 yards from Sean O’Haire after driving into the red zone and held a 9-7 halftime lead. Neither team scored in the third quarter, but UR’s Jabril Hayes intercepted his second pass of the game early in the fourth quarter to give the Spiders good field position. On 4
th-and-1, Cam Coleman hit Sean Clarke with a 7-yard TD pass to put UR on top, 16-7, with 10:36 remaining. However, Lehigh responded with a 65-yard TD run and a 54-yard scoring pass on its next two drives and then forced a Spiders’ turnover on downs with 4:05 to go. A UR fumble on a muffed punt sealed the Lehigh victory. Coleman passed for 199 yards and a TD and Zach Palmer-Smith ran for 107 yards for UR. Jeremiah Grant recorded eight tackles, 3.0 TFL’s and a sack.
UT Martin 41, New Hampshire 10
Box Score
New Hampshire (8-5) saw its season come to a close following a 41-10 loss to UT Martin. The Wildcats’ offense was held to six first downs and 124 total yards in the contest.
UT Martin went on top 7-0 midway through the first quarter, but New Hampshire answered quickly as Caleb Mead returned the ensuing 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. The Skyhawks took control from there, using a big second quarter to take a 27-7 advantage into halftime. UNH trimmed the deficit with a 41-yard field goal from Nick Mazzie midway through the third quarter but could get no closer. Ryan Toscano recorded 18 tackles and a TFL for UNH defensively.