CAA Football Recap - Sept. 7
Rob Washburn
Campbell 24, #17 Western Carolina 16
Box Score
Quarterback Chad Mascoe, Jr. accounted for 319 yards of offense and three touchdowns as Campbell (1-1) earned a 24-16 road victory at #17 Western Carolina. It was the first win ever for the Camels over a nationally ranked FCS opponent.
After falling behind 10-0 early in the second quarter, Mascoe found the end zone on a 1-yard run and then connected with VJ Wilkins on a 45-yard TD pass to put Campbell ahead to stay. Wilkins added a 3-yard TD catch midway through the third quarter to make it 24-10. The Camels’ defense took over from there, holding WCU to 287 total yards and forcing five turnovers, including four interceptions. Mascoe was 18-of-29 passing for 306 yards and Sincere Brown had four catches for 108 yards. Jalen Brooks made a team-high 12 tackles and picked off a pass.
UNH 21, Holy Cross 20
Box Score
Isaac Seide rushed for a career-high 161 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with 9:18 to go as UNH (1-1) edged Holy Cross, 21-20. Wildcats’ QB Seth Morgan was 17-of-22 passing for 158 yards, including touchdown passes of 12 and 2 yards to Logan Tomlinson.
Trailing 20-14 entering the fourth quarter, Seide’s 1-yard TD run capped a 58-yard drive. The Wildcats sealed the victory when Brendan Tighe intercepted a pass at midfield with 27 seconds remaining. Wande Owens tallied a team-high 10 tackles for UNH and Tighe added eight stops.
Stony Brook 37, Stonehill 10
Box Score
Roland Dempster ran for a career-high 160 yards and three touchdowns as Stony Brook (1-1) rolled past Stonehill, 37-10, in its home opener. Freshman quarterback Malachi Marshall threw for 161 yards in his first career start and the Seawolves’ defense forced three turnovers.
Dempster had scoring runs of 17 and 15 yards in the opening four minutes of the game to put SBU ahead to stay. Marshall found Cole Bunicci on a 63-yard scoring strike to give the Seawolves a commanding 23-0 halftime advantage. Rudy Silvera and Jaxon Witherspoon picked off passes for SBU and Sebastian Regis returned a fumbled 69 yards for a TD in the third quarter.
Hampton 33, Virginia Union 21
Box Score
Elijah Burris rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns as Hampton (1-1) used a second-half surge to defeat Virginia Union, 33-21. Quarterback Chris Zellous added 177 yards through the air and ran for 37 yards and 2 TD’s.
The Pirates trailed 21-12 early in the third quarter but closed within two on a 1-yard TD run by Zellous. In the fourth quarter, Burris capped a 93-yard drive with a TD from a yard out and then put Hampton in control on a 21-yard scoring run with 3:32 to go. Will Hicks paced the HU defense with eight tackles and Jordan White tallied seven tackles and an interception.
Towson 14, Morgan State 9
Box Score
Carlos Davis threw for 209 yards and a touchdown and Towson’s defense held Morgan State to 249 total yards as the Tigers (1-1) held off the Bears, 14-9, to claim the Battle for Greater Baltimore. Devin Matthews added 95 yards on the ground for Towson on only 11 carries.
Davis, who was 21-of-28 through the air, hit Sam Reynolds with a 5-yard TD toss in the first quarter to put Towson ahead 7-3. The Tigers added a 6-yard scoring run from Christopher Watkins just before halftime. MSU cut the margin to five on a 74-yard TD pass on the second play of the second half, but the Towson defense, which finished the night with five sacks and 13 TFL’s, pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Will Middleton had seven tackles and a sack for Towson and Evan Rutkowski contributed five tackles, 2.5 TFL’s, a sack and a forced fumble.
#5 Villanova 28, Colgate 3
Box Score
Connor Watkins passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns and added another TD on the ground as #5 Villanova (2-0) pulled away for a 28-3 victory at Colgate. The Wildcats’ defense held Colgate to 264 yards and kept the Raiders out of the end zone.
Watkins, who was 18-of-28 passing, connected with Devin Smith on a 71-yard TD strike in the first quarter and the duo combined for an 8-yard TD early in the fourth quarter that put the Wildcats ahead 21-3. Watkins capped the scoring with a 13-yard run. Smith finished with six receptions for a career-hjgh 116 yards. Linebacker Brendan Bell led the VU defense with 10 tackles and a TFL and Ty Trinh had six stops, a TFL and an interception.
Elon 41, North Carolina Central 19
Box Score
TJ Thomas, Jr. ran for 152 yards and a TD and Elon’s defense picked off three passes as the Phoenix (1-1) posted a 41-19 victory over North Carolina Central. Elon quarterback Matthew Downing was 19-of-28 passing for 237 yards and a TD and he ran for a score.
Elon sprinted out to a 24-0 halftime lead as Downing hit Jamarien Dalton with a 19-yard TD pass and Thomas broke loose for a 74-yard scoring run. The Eagles got within 24-13, but a 40-yard pick six from Jesse Powell III with 9:55 to play put the Phoenix back in control.
North Carolina A&T 27, Winston-Salem State 20 (ot)
Box Score
Wesley Graves found a gap for a 16-yard touchdown run in overtime after Andrew Brown kicked a game-tying 31-yard field goal with one second left in regulation as North Carolina A&T (1-1) battled past Winston-Salem Sate, 27-20 in overtime.
A&T built a 17-6 lead in the third quarter following a 5-yard TD pass from Kevin White to Laquan Veney. However, the Rams rallied and went ahead 20-17 with 3:52 to go. The Aggies drove 61 yards to set up the game-tying field goal by Brown, and then Graves, who finished with 106 yards rushing, went untouched for a score on the first possession of overtime. The A&T defense was able to stop WSSU on three plays from inside the 4-yard line to secure the victory.
Bryant 21, Franklin Pierce 17
Box Score
Landon Ruggieri caught three touchdown passes from Jared Guest, including the game-winner with 4:02 remaining, as Bryant (1-1) topped Franklin Pierce, 21-17, in its home opener.
Ruggieri had a 30-yard scoring grab to give the Bulldogs an early lead and followed with a game-tying 20-yard grab in the third period. With Bryant down three, Guest hit Ruggieri with a 9-yard toss in the corner of the end zone for the game-winner with 4:02 to play. Guest finished 26-of-41 passing for 282 yards and Ruggieri had nine receptions for 129 yards.
#19 Lafayette 40, Monmouth 35
Box Score
No. 19 Lafayette scored two touchdowns in the final minute to stun Monmouth (0-2), 40-35. In a game that was tied four times, the Hawks took their first lead, 35-28, on a Sone Ntoh 17-yard run with 1:54 remaining. Lafayette pulled within one after a touchdown with 53 seconds left, but Monmouth stopped the two-point conversion. However, the Leopards were able to recover an onside kick and then hit a 42-yard scoring pass with 36 seconds on the clock.
Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson was 24-of-36 passing for 355 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. TJ Speight had three catches for 97 yards, including an 89-yarder for a score. Emmanuel Lane topped the Hawks’ defense with nine tackles and two pass breakups while Damir McCrary added six stops, a sack and a forced fumble.
Minnesota 48, Rhode Island 0
Box Score
Big Ten member Minnesota pulled away in the second half for a 48-0 victory over Rhode Island. The Rams (1-1) were down just 10-0 late in the first half, but the Gophers tallied 31 points over the final 30 minutes.
Linebacker Cole Brockwell paced the URI defense with 13 tackles and AJ Pena added seven tackles and a sack. The Rams’ offense was limited to 134 yards and six first downs. Quarterback Devin Farrell passed for 76 yards with Marquis Buchanan making five receptions for 64 yards.
Wofford 26, #14 Richmond 19
Box Score
Richmond (0-2) built a nine-point lead late in the second quarter but couldn’t overcome four turnovers in a 26-19 setback to Wofford.
The Spiders went up 12-3 on an 8-yard TD run by Aziz Foster-Powell with 2:23 to go in the first half, but the Terriers responded with 23 unanswered points, including a TD with 6:03 remaining. Richmond trimmed the deficit to seven on a 3-yard run by reserve quarterback Cam Coleman with 3:48 to go but could get no closer. Starting QB Kyle Wickersham ran for a team-best 100 yards on 16 carries but was picked off three times. Linebacker Wayne Galloway made eight tackles, including a sack for a safety in the first quarter.
West Virginia 49, #16 UAlbany 14
Box Score
Despite 306 passing yards from Myles Burkett, #16 UAlbany (1-1) was beaten 49-14 at Big 12 member West Virginia. Seven McGee made four receptions for 90 yards.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Great Danes were able to answer back. Griffin Woodell finished an 87-yard drive with a 7-yard TD run and UAlbany closed within 21-14 late in the second quarter when Burkett found Jacari Carter on a 33-yard scoring pass. WVU broke a long scoring run just before halftime and then outscored UA 21-0 in the second half. Dontae Lunan had 11 tackles for the Great Danes’ defense and Ron Holmes and Thomas Joe-Kamara added 10 stops apiece.
Coastal Carolina 40, #14 William & Mary 21
Box Score
Darius Wilson threw for 165 yards and a TD and added a rushing score, but William & Mary (1-1) was beaten 40-21 at Coastal Carolina.
The Tribe fell behind 21-0 early in the second quarter before Wilson connected with DreSean Kendrick on a 62-yard TD strike. The Chanticleers were able to extend their advantage to 37-7 in the third quarter, but W&M got scoring runs of 19 yards from Wilson and four yards from reserve quarterback Tyler Hughes. Jalen Jones and Quinn Osborne made eight tackles apiece for the W&M defense.
#3 Montana State 41, Maine 24
Box Score
Carter Peevy threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns, but Maine (1-1) was unable to overcome an early deficit in a 41-24 loss at #3 Montana State.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 35-0 advantage midway through the second quarter before Peevy hit Montigo Moss with a 5-yard TD pass. The Black Bears tacked on second-half touchdowns on a 19-yard run by Trevin Ewing and a 25-yard reception by Declan McDevitt. Tavion Banks ran for 74 yards on eight carries. Kesean Dyson recorded a team-best eight tackles for the Black Bears.