CAA Football Recap - Sept. 13
Rob Washburn
North Carolina A&T 33, Hampton 30 (2 ot)
Box Score
Wesley Graves’ five-yard TD run in the second overtime powered North Carolina A&T to a 33-30 double-overtime victory over Hampton. It was the Aggies’ first conference win as a CAA member.
Down 20-10 with 57 seconds left in regulation, A&T’s Noah Sanders fired a 41-yard TD pass to Jamison Warren. The Aggies then recovered an onside kick and tied the game at 20-20 on a 37-yard Andrew Brown field goal as time expired. The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime with A&T scoring on a 1-yard run by Sanders and Hampton answering with a 25-yard pass from Isaiah Freeman to Khaioz Watford. After the Pirates went ahead 30-27 in the second overtime on a 42-yard Brett Starling field goal, the Aggies earned the win on Graves’ run.
Graves finished with 87 yards rushing. For Hampton, Freeman ran for 126 yards and passed for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Harold O’Neal had 18 tackles for Hampton and Tim Alderman had seven stops and a sack for A&T.
Rhode Island 9, Holy Cross 7
Box Score
Garth White booted three field goals, including a 41-yarder with 2:23 to play, to lift Rhode Island to a 9-7 triumph at Holy Cross. The Rams are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2021.
White hit first-half field goals of 24 and 29 yards, but Holy Cross held a 7-6 advantage late in the fourth quarter. Starting at its own 9-yard line, URI quarterback Devin Farrell connected on passes of 35 and 24 yards to drive the Rams into field goal range for White. The URI defense, which recorded five sacks and pitched a second-half shutout, stopped the Crusaders on the ensuing possession to seal the win. Farrell passed for 271 yards, while Antwain Littleton ran for 94. Defensively, Rohan Davy and Moses Meus each had seven tackles and a sack.
Elon 37, Western Carolina 31
Box Score
Quarterback Landen Clark accounted for 377 yards of offense and four touchdowns, including a game-winning 10-yard scoring run with 4:53 to play, as Elon picked up a 37-31 victory at Western Carolina.
Clark threw TD passes of 78 yards to Zimere Winston and 35 yard to Landyn Backey and followed with a 10-yard scoring run to put the Phoenix ahead 20-7 midway through the second quarter. Elon got field goals of 48, 38 and 42 yards from Luke Barnes, but trailed 31-29 in the final period when Clark guided the game-winning 79-yard drive. WCU’s final drive was stopped on an interception by Elon’s Asher Cunningham. Clark threw for 305 yards and ran for 72, and Isaiah Fuhrmann added five receptions for 105 yards. Kahmari Brown had seven tackles, 3.0 TFL’s, a sack and three QB hurries for the Phoenix defense.
Stony Brook 41, Fordham 10
Box Score
Quarterback Chris Zellous generated 313 yards of offense and four touchdowns as Stony Brook rolled past Fordham, 41-18, for its first win of the season. The Seawolves piled up 441 yards on offense while forcing three turnovers defensively, highlighted by a 52-yard pick six by DeMario Crawford.
Zellous had an 8-yard TD run in the second quarter as Stony Brook built a 13-0 halftime advantage. Fordham closed within three midway through the third quarter before Zellous caught fire, connecting on a 93-yard TD pass to MarQeese Dietz followed by scoring strikes of 19 and 15 yards to Jayce Freeman to put the game in control. Dietz finished with six catches for 120 yards and Roland Dempster ran for 94 yards. Defensively, Dyshier Clary had eight tackles, 3.0 TFL’s and two sacks and Anthony Ferrelli had eight stops, 1.5 TFL’s, a forced fumble and an interception.
Bryant 42, Bentley 6
Box Score
Brennan Myer completed 25-of-33 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns as Bryant cruised past Bentley, 42-6, in its home opener.
The Bulldogs went on top early as a blocked punt by Andre Smith was returned two yards for a TD by Zyheem Collick. Myer fired scoring strikes to Tristen Riley (8 yards) and Collick (10 yards) to make it 21-0 at the half. Bryant added TD runs from Grant Robinson, Elijah Elliott and Dylan Kedzior in the second half. The Bulldogs’ defense allowed only 194 yards, with Dorian Helm making seven tackles.
Ball State 34, New Hampshire 29
Box Score
New Hampshire nearly erased a 13-point second-half deficit but fell 34-29 at Ball State. Wildcats’ quarterback Matt Vezza passed for 259 yards and a TD and ran for a team-high 78 yards and a score.
UNH took a quick 7-0 lead as Brandon Tighe returned a blocked punt by D.J. Johnson 30 yards for a TD. The teams traded scores in the first half with UNH getting a 13-yard TD catch by Chase Wilson and a 2-yard scoring run by Vezza to trail 28-21 at the half. Down by 13, the Wildcats got field goals of 52 and 29 yards by Nick Reed and a safety on a tackle in the end zone by Justice Akinmoladun to pull within five late in the game, but a final drive ended at the UNH 43. Caleb Burke and Wilson each made seven catches, while Trevor Barry recorded a team-best eight tackles.
Charlotte 42, Monmouth 35
Box Score
Despite seeing All-America quarterback Derek Robertson throw for 410 yards and four touchdowns, Monmouth suffered a 42-35 setback at FBS member Charlotte in a back-and-forth affair.
Neither team led by more than seven points all night as the squads traded touchdowns. The Hawks held a 14-7 halftime advantage after a 1-yard TD run by Elijah Jennings and a 15-yard scoring catch by Maxwell James. Robertson fired a pair of second-half TD strikes (29 and 4 yards) to Josh Derry, with the second one tying the contest at 35-35 with 3:19 to go. The 49ers regained the lead with 1:30 remaining and the Hawks were unable to answer. Derry finished with seven catches for 110 yards. Deuce Lee had 11 tackles for the Monmouth defense.
Furman 28, Campbell 24
Box Score
Quarterback Kamden Sixkiller completed 34-of-43 passes for a career-high 294 yards and a TD, however a Campbell game-winning drive came up 10 yards short as the Camels were edged 28-24 by Furman.
Randall King, who made 13 receptions for 105 yards, had a 4-yard TD grab to put Campbell ahead 7-3 early in the second quarter. The Camels added second-half scoring runs of 1 and 7 yards from J.J. Cowan to take a 24-18 advantage with 14:24 left in the game. Furman rallied to take the lead with 4:50 to go, but Campbell moved 65 yards to the Paladins’ 10-yard line in the final minute before the drive was halted. Kalen Villanueva and Brandon Guzman made seven stops apiece.
Stonehill 13, Maine 10
Box Score
Stonehill threw a game-winning 34-yard touchdown pass on a 4
th-and-21 play with 1:40 remaining to stun Maine, 13-10.
The Black Bears took a 7-6 halftime advantage, scoring their lone touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run by Molayo Irefin late in the second quarter. Maine extended the margin to four on a 22-yard Samuel Tremblay field goal with 2:19 left in the third period. The Black Bears’ defense, which held Stonehill to only 196 total yards, dominated all night until giving up the late score. Sincere Baines ran for a team-high 106 yards for Maine and Nicolas Kalume recorded two of the team’s four sacks.
New Haven 24, UAlbany 17
Box Score
UAlbany nearly erased a 24-point deficit but fell 24-17 to New Haven in its home opener.
The Great Danes dug a 24-0 hole in the second quarter but began the climb back on a 1-yard Griffin Woodell TD run just before the half. UAlbany got a 13-yard TD pass from Jack Shields to Tavahri Groves in the third quarter and a 45-yard James Bozek field goal with 5:59 remaining made it 24-17. The Great Danes drove to the New Haven 19-yard line in the final minute, but were unable to connect on the tying score. Shields passed for 396 yards and a TD with Carter Groves making nine catches for 119 yards. Ron Holmes had eight tackles and a TFL.
Penn State 52, Villanova 6
Box Score
Villanova held 2
nd-ranked Big Ten power to 21 first-half points before suffering a 52-6 setback.
The Wildcats were down just 21-0 at the break but the Nittany Lions tacked on 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull away. Villanova got on the game’s final play when Brandon Binkowski caught an 8-yard TD pass from Tanner Maddocks. Maddocks passed for 69 yards and David Avit ran for 53 yards on 10 carries. Shane Hartzell tallied nine tackles and Omari Bursey had an interception.
Maryland 44, Towson 17
Box Score
Towson reached the end zone on a pair of second-half touchdown passes but dropped a 44-17 decision at Big Ten member Maryland.
The Tigers fell behind 41-0 early in the third quarter but drove 75 yards in three plays and got a 19-yard scoring pass from Andrew Indorf to Lukkas Londono. Early in the fourth quarter, Jaceon Doss hauled in an 84-yard scoring strike from Nathan Kent. Towson finished with 230 passing yards against the Terps. Kaden White led the Tigers’ defense with seven tackles and a sack.
Virginia 55, William & Mary 16
Box Score
Reserve quarterback Noah Brannock threw for 111 yards and added a team-high 35 yards a TD on the ground, but William & Mary was beaten 55-16 at ACC member Virginia.
Trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter, the Tribe got on the board when Deven Thompson caught a 79-yard TD pass from Tyler Hughes. W&M tacked on another score late in the third quarter as Brannock capped a 53-yard drive with a six-yard TD run. Linebacker Luke Banbury tallied a team-high nine stops and a pass breakup for the W&M defense.