CAA Football Recap - Sept. 28
Rob Washburn
Richmond 27, Elon 17
Box Score
Richmond’s defense forced three turnovers, highlighted by a 55-yard pick six by Quantraill Morris-Walker, and recorded three sacks as the Spiders (3-2, 1-0 CAA) defeated Elon (1-4, 0-1 CAA), 27-17, for their third straight win. CJ Fraser had nine tackles, a forced fumble and an interception for UR.
The Spiders went up 13-0 in the second quarter on the Morris-Walker pick six and a pair of Brandon Peskin field goals. Elon cut into the deficit on a 46-yard scoring run from Rushawn Baker, but a 6-yard TD run from Cam Coleman just before halftime and a 56-yard TD burst by Zach Palmer-Smith on the opening drive of the third quarter put UR in control, 27-7. A 10-yard TD catch by TJ Thomas brought the Phoenix within 10 early in the fourth quarter, but they would get no closer. Palmer-Smith finished with a career-high 167 rushing yards and Coleman threw for 203 yards. Elon reserve QB Jack Salopek passed for 187 yards.
Maine 34, UAlbany 20
Box Score
A 78-yard pick six by Maine’s Jamaree Gibson with 1:46 remaining sealed a 34-20 road victory for the Black Bears (3-2, 1-1 CAA) over #21 UAlbany (1-3, 0-1 CAA). It was Maine’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2021.
Maine’s Carter Peevy was 20-of-24 passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns. His 2-yard scoring toss to Cooper Heisey put the Black Bears up 19-14 with 1:58 left in the third quarter and he and Heisey connected again on a 2-yard TD to make it 27-14 with 7:04 to go. UAlbany cut the deficit to seven on a 32-yard scoring strike from Myles Burkett to Seven McGee with 5:20 remaining before Gibson ended the Great Danes’ potential game-tying drive. Burkett finished 19-of-32 passing for 202 yards and 2 TD’s.
William & Mary 49, Hampton 7
Box Score
William & Mary (4-1, 1-0 CAA) rolled up 632 yards of total offense, including 434 yards on the ground, as the Tribe topped Hampton (3-2, 0-1 CAA), 49-7, in the conference opener for both teams. W&M quarterback Darius Wilson was 16-of-19 passing for 198 yards and a TD and ran for 82 yards and a score.
Hampton grabbed a 7-0 first-quarter lead on a 5-yard Elijah Burris scoring run, but the Tribe drew even as DreSean Kendrick made a one-handed TD grab. W&M made it 21-7 at the half after TD runs of 14 yards by Malachi Imoh and 36 yards by Bronson Yoder. The Tribe put the game away as Wilson reached the end zone from 5 yards away late in the third quarter and Imoh had a 4-yard scoring run. Yoder ran for 117 yards, while reserve quarterback Tyler Hughes rushed for 130 yards and 2 TD’s in the fourth period.
Monmouth 63, Fordham 21
Box Score
Sone Ntoh rushed for 136 yards and equaled a program record with 5 TD’s as Monmouth (3-2, 1-0 CAA) cruised past Fordham, 63-21. The Hawks also returned two kickoffs for scores.
Monmouth set a school record with 49 first-half points, which started when Makhi Green returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a TD. The Rams drew even at 7-7, but Monmouth took over from there as Ntoh had scoring runs of 1, 3, 64 and 7 yards in the first half. The Hawks also got a 26-yard rushing TD from Rodney Nelson and a 79-yard kick return for a TD by TJ Speight. Monmouth ran for 407 yards with Nelson (128 yds) and Jamir Barnes (134 yds) joining Ntoh over the century mark.
Campbell 44, Delaware State 41
Box Score
Chad Mascoe hit Sincere Brown on a 2-yard TD pass with 42 seconds remaining as Campbell (2-3, 0-2 CAA) rallied past Delaware State, 44-41. Brown finished with five catches for 133 yards and 3 TD’s with Mascoe going 18-of-26 passing for 323 yards.
The Camels trailed 21-10 in the second quarter, but Campbell got TD catches from Aiden Valdez (5 yards) and Brown (57 yards) and a pair of Connor Lytton field goals to go up 31-28 early in the fourth period. DSU went ahead 41-37 with 1:56 to go before Campbell drove 79 yards in five plays for the go-ahead score. The Hornets missed a 49-yard field goal in the final seconds. Jojo Pace had 10 tackles and an interception for the Campbell defense.
Stony Brook 22, Morgan State 3
Box Score
Roland Dempster ran for 158 yards and 3 TD’s as Stony Brook (4-1, 1-0 CAA) pushed its winning streak to four for the first time since 2018 with a 22-3 victory over Morgan State. The Seawolves’ defense held MSU to 259 yards, tallied nine tackles for loss and forced two turnovers.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first quarter, Stony Brook went ahead for good in the second quarter with scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards by Dempster and a 28-yard Enda Kirby field goal. Dempster capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run midway through the third period. SBU finished with 287 rushing yards, with Johnny Martin adding 90 yards on the ground. Tyson McCloud recorded a team-high 10 tackles for SBU.
Delaware 49, Sacred Heart 0
Box Score
Delaware (4-0, 1-0 CAA) held Sacred Heart to 129 total yards and recorded its first shutout since 2021 as the Blue Hens dominated Sacred Heart, 49-0. Quarterback Zach Marker was 17-of-27 passing for 183 yards and 3 TD’s.
Delaware sprinted out to a 35-0 halftime advantage. Marker had scoring passes of 45 yards to Phil Lutz and 7 yards to Caleb Fauria and TD runs by Saeed St. Fleur (4 yds) and Quincy Watson (4 yds). Ethan Saunders also returned a fumble 20 yards for a TD. Sean Wilson tacked on a receiving and rushing TD in the second half. Anthony Crenshaw led the defense with eight tackles.
Villanova 24, LIU 10
Box Score
Freshman David Avit rushed for a career-high 160 yards and a TD as Villanova (4-1, 1-0 CAA) topped LIU, 24-10. Isaiah Ragland added a pair of scoring runs as the Wildcats piled up 264 yards on the ground.
VU built a 17-0 halftime edge as Ragland found the end zone from 1 and 12 yards out and Ethan Gettman booted a 24-yard field goal. Avit pushed the lead to 24-0 early in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard TD run that was set up by a Shane Hartzell fumble recovery. Hartzell recorded a team-high seven tackles for a Wildcats defense that limited LIU to 176 total yards.
South Carolina State 45, North Carolina A&T 25
Box Score
Justin Fomby passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns, but North Carolina A&T (1-4, 0-1 CAA) dropped a 45-25 decision at South Carolina State.
The game was tied 10-10 at the half as Andrew Brown kicked a 30-yard field goal and Fomby hit Ger-Cari Caldwell with a 26-yard TD pass. A 29-yard scoring strike from Fomby to Anthony Rucker put A&T on top, 17-10, early in the third quarter, but SCSU reeled off 28 unanswered points. Cameren Dalrymple rushed for 93 yards on 11 carries for the Aggies.