Coastal Athletic Association (CAA Sports)

CAA FOOTBALL RECAP - NOV. 7

11/7/2009 11:00:00 PM

 

#4 Villanova 21, #1 Richmond 20

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - Senior wide receiver Brandyn Harvey (Spring Valley, Calif.) made a running left-handed catch for a game-winning 29-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left and No. 4 Villanova (8-1, 5-1 CAA) upset defending national champion and No. 1 Richmond (8-1, 6-1 CAA) by a final of 21-20 on Saturday afternoon in front of 11,667 at UR Stadium. With the win, the Wildcats snapped the Spiders 17-game winning streak which dated to the middle of the 2008 regular season.

"The game pretty much went accordingly to what we expected coming in," Villanova head coach Andy Talley said. "I thought both teams were very evenly matched and we were comfortable playing here because we thought we had a chance to get after [Richmond] if we could shut down their running game. We maybe had an opportunity to close it out earlier but Richmond is a very good team and they were everything we thought they would be. We have a lot of respect for them. They did a great job and the game could have gone either way."

Villanova started the game-winning drive from its own 44-yard line after Richmond took its first and only lead of the game, 20-14, with 2:22 left. Three plays later, the Wildcats had no timeouts and were staring at a game-breaking 4th-and-11 play from the Spiders 29-yard line. That was when junior quarterback Chris Whitney (Warminster, Pa.) connected with Harvey for the most dramatic play of an evenly played game between two of the nation's top teams. The victory was Villanova's second ever against a team ranked No. 1 in the nation, with the other also being a victory against Richmond, 26-20 last season at Villanova Stadium.

In such a close encounter between the two teams this afternoon, the game was far from being decided after Harvey's touchdown. The Spiders drove 59 yards on seven plays to get into field goal range with 10 seconds to play. However, Richmond missed a 35-yard field goal attempt wide left on its last chance to reverse the outcome.

Just over a minute before Whitney and Harvey provided their own late-game heroics, Kendall Gaskins had given the Spiders the lead on a one-yard touchdown run with 2:22 to play. Richmond went 62 yards on nine plays to take the lead but, for the second time in the game, failed to convert an extra-point attempt due to a bad snap. The second failed PAT wound up being the difference in the game as the Spiders were left with only the six-point lead.

Whitney completed 21-of-34 passes for 277 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdown passes. It was the second time this season that he surpassed 200 passing yards and his final tally was just one yard off tying a single-game career high. Harvey had six receptions for 79 yards, none bigger than his late touchdown.

"The play was designed to go to me. [Whitney] saw me and I was open," Harvey said. "I should probably have caught the pass with two hands but you can't put your arms as far out as with one hand. Once I made the catch, I knew someone was behind me but I just wanted to make sure I scored."

"Like Brandyn said, the play was designed to go to him," Whitney added. "On fourth-and-10 I didn't have much choice but to go to him. We have counted on Brandyn all year. He is 6-4 and a big target. I thought I might have overthrown it at first but I am glad that it worked."

Earlier in the game, redshirt freshman wide receiver Dorian Wells (West Covina, Calif.) caught his first career touchdown pass with 3:33 left in the first quarter as Whitney led an 81-yard drive in 13 plays to open the scoring. The drive nearly stalled when Villanova faced a second-and-14 play from its own 14-yard line and Whitney threw an interception. However, a pass interference play was called against the Spiders and gave the Wildcats a first down at the 29-yard line. Villanova had six first downs on the scoring drive and never got to third down.

Following their first score, the Wildcats forced Richmond to go three-and-out on its next drive and Villanova took over possession at its own 45-yard line. Whitney threw a 15-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Norman White (Hammonton, N.J.) and pitched to junior running back Angelo Babbaro (Canfield, Ohio) for a 30-yard run during the Wildcats drive but, after starting the second quarter with first-and-goal at the Spiders four-yard line, Villanova eventually missed a 29-yard field goal.

As they would do throughout the entire game, the Wildcats did a good job of holding the ball in the first half. Villanova controlled possession for more than 17 minutes in the first half and xx minutes in the game.

Richmond finally got on the board with 5:58 left in the second quarter on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Eric Ward. The Spiders had third-and-seven from the Wildcats 48-yard line before Ward made consecutive passes to Kevin Grayson for 28 yard and Kevin Finney for 19 yards. He ran in his third score of the season on the next play, but the score remained 7-6 after a high snap prevented Richmond from converting either an extra point or a two-point conversion.

Late in the first half, Villanova went 78 yards on nine plays on a scoring drive that culminated with junior wide receiver Matt Szczur (Erma, N.J.) catching a 23-yard touchdown pass from Whitney.

The Wildcats maintained their lead until early in the fourth quarter, although the Spiders gained significant momentum late in the third period that led to their game-tying score. Villanova had second-and-seven at the Richmond nine-yard line when a pass by Whitney was intercepted by Patrick Weldon at the five-yard line. Weldon returned the interception 70 yards to the Wildcats 25-yard line.

In the fourth quarter, Ward threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Tre Gray with 12:53 left and then connected with Jordan Mitchell for a two-point conversion that tied the game at 14-14.

In a sequence indicative of the entire game, Villanova went three-and-out on its next drive to return the ball to the Spiders, but freshman defensive back Eric Loper (Sicklerville, N.J.) made an interception at the Wildcats five-yard line to initially prevent Richmond from gaining the lead. It was after the next Villanova drive also stalled that the Spiders took their only lead of the game.

Ward finished the day 23-of-35 for 297 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, while Gray caught six passes for 92 yards and the one score.

Villanova goes back on the road next Saturday for a 1 p.m. game against Towson.

#5 William & Mary 31, Towson 0

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Nov. 7, 2009)- The fifth-ranked William and Mary football team extended its winning streak to four games with a 31-0 victory against Towson at Zable Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The victory marked the Tribe's first shutout since blanking Liberty, 56-0, in 2005.

With the win, W&M improves to 8-1 and equals the program's best mark through nine games since 1986. Additionally, the College improves to 5-1 in league play for the second consecutive season. The triumph also secures head coach Jimmye Laycock's 10th eight-win season leading the Tribe.

W&M nearly doubled Towson's total yardage, outgaining the Tigers 396-201. Entering the game as the nation's top-ranked defense against the run, the Tribe posted another impressive showing by allowing just 72 yards on the ground. Additionally, the Tribe limited the Tigers to just 11 first downs.

Senior quarterback R.J. Archer threw for 206 yards accounted for two touchdowns - one through the air and one on the ground. Sophomore running back Jonathan Grimes led the Green and Gold with a game-high 91 rushing yards and a touchdown, while junior tailback Courtland Marriner also came up big with 65 rushing yards on nine carries (7.2 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Senior tight end Rob Varno registered a game-high four catches for 70 yards, while senior wideout Eric Robertson had a pair of catches for 48 yards and hauled in his first career touchdown catch.   

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Jake Trantin recorded a team-high eight tackles with an interception and a tackle for a loss, while junior linebacker Evan Francks tallied seven stops with a sack. Junior cornerback Terrell Wells earned his first career interception, which halted Towson's only trip into the Red Zone.

After holding TU to a three-and-out on its opening possession of the contest, the Tribe got on the scoreboard first when senior place-kicker Brian Pate capped off an 11-play, 57-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal from the left hash. Grimes had a key 3-yard rush on a fourth-and-one near midfield to keep the drive alive, while sophomore wide receiver Chase Hill (21-yard reception) and Marriner (17-yard run) helped set up the score.

W&M put itself in position to score again after stopping Towson on a fourth-and-one at the TU 29-yard line on the Tigers' next possession, but the Tribe lost 14 yards on the series and was forced to punt.

The College held Towson to just 36 yards of total offense in the opening quarter and yielded just one first down.

The Tribe increased its lead to 10-0 when Archer scored on an 8-yard quarterback keeper with 10:29 remaining in the second quarter. The 18-play, 68-yard drive that lasted more than 7 minutes looked to be stopped on just three plays after an incomplete pass to junior wide receiver Dohse on a third-and-9, but Towson was flagged with a personal foul after the play. Among the drive's key plays was a 3-yard rush by Archer on a fourth-and-one at the TU 43.

A 2-yard touchdown run by Grimes with 3:13 left in the opening half pushed the margin to 17-0. Grimes' score punctuated W&M's longest scoring drive of the season, which covered 92 yards in eight plays. Highlighting the drive were a 19-yard completion to Dohse and a 39-yard pass to Varno over the middle, which came on consecutive plays.

W&M outgained the Tigers, 208-100, in the first half and surrendered just four first downs. Additionally, the Tribe controlled the time of possession, 18:13-11:47.

The College added another score when Robertson hauled in a 25-yard touchdown, the first of his career, with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter. Dohse helped set up the score on the preceding play when he registered a 33-yard catch along the Tribe sideline.

Although the Tribe only outscored Towson 7-0 in the third quarter, W&M outgained the Tigers, 98-19, and surrendered just two rushing yards.

Towson's lone trip into the Red Zone came midway through the fourth quarter and was stopped when Wells intercepted Tommy Chroniger at the W&M 2-yard line.

Sophomore quarterback Terrance Schmand engineered the Tribe's final scoring drive, which covered 83 yards on 11 plays and ended with a 2-yard scamper by Marriner on a fourth-and-goal. It was the College's third touchdown drive of the afternoon that covered more than 80 yards.

The Tribe will close out its regular-season home slate next Saturday when it hosts No. 7/8 New Hampshire on Senior Day.

#8 New Hampshire 55, Rhode Island 42

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H.- Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.) ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns - and compiled 267 all-purpose yards - to lead the No. 8-ranked University of New Hampshire football team to a 55-42 victory against the University of Rhode Island in Saturday afternoon's CAA North division action at Cowell StadiuM.

New Hampshire utilized a balanced offense of 262 rushing yards and 234 passing yards to improve to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the CAA. URI, which compiled 535 total yards (424 passing), fell to 1-8, 0-6.

Kackert, who recorded a career high of 176 rushing yards last week vs. Northeastern, carried the ball just 15 times to compile 166 yards vs. the Rams; he had rushing TDs of 57 and 47 yards. Sean Jellison (Amherst, N.H.) had a pair of two-yard touchdown runs and also scored on a four-yard scamper; he finished the day with nine rushes for 22 yards.

R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) completed 15 of 27 passes for 234 yards, with TD passes to Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.) and Chris Jeannot (Moon Township, Pa.); Toman also carried the ball 16 times for 56 yards. Sicko had three catches for 41 yards, including the 27-yard scoring play, to move into the top 10 on UNH's list for career receptions; the senior tight end now has 142. J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.) was the Wildcats' top receiver with 65 yards on five catches.

URI quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne completed 24 of 45 passes for 424 yards and four TDs. His top target was Shawn Leonard, who had 10 receptions for 275 yards, including scoring plays of 30, 72 and 13 yards. Ayo Isijola was the Rams' top ground gainer with 66 yards on 13 carries.

Rhode Island opened the game with a long, effective drive of nine plays for 71 yards and took 3:56 off the clock as the Rams took the early 7-0 lead with 11:04 to play in the first quarter after the made PAT by Louis Feinstein.

However, the Wildcats responded 90 seconds later on their very first drive at 9:25 of the opening stanza when Kackert, a senior running back, ripped off a 53-yard TD run to tie things up at 7-7 after the PAT by senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome, N.Y.).

Rhode Island took the lead again at 4:11 of the first quarter when Feinstein booted a 39-yard field goal through the uprights to give the visitors a 10-7 lead.

A huge 46-yard pass play from Toman to junior wide receiver Kevon Mason (Quincy, Mass.) set up Jellison's first score of the game at 2:30 of the first quarter, and the Wildcats took the lead for the first time, 14-10.

UNH built its lead to 21-10 on a beautifu 24-yard touchdownl pass by Toman to Sicko at 13:08 of the second quarter to cap a 10-play, 76 yard drive.

UNH jumped out to a 28-10 lead with 5:47 left before the intermission when Jellison scored his second TD of the game from 2 yards out. The long drive lasted 13 plays for 81 yards and took 4:21 off the clock.

The Rams cut UNH's lead to 28-16 with just 27 seconds remaining before the half, as Anthony Ferrer dove in for the 1-yard score. However, the two-point conversion pass failed in the back of the end zone and the Wildcats took a 12-point lead into the locker room.

The Wildcats picked up the scoring in the second half with a 47-yard touchdown run by Kackert, his second long one of the day, with 14:04 remaining in the third quarter and the Wildcats led by 19 points, 35-16, after the PAT by Manning.

However, Rhode Island scored again on the next drive on a 30-yard TD pass by Paul-Etienne to Leonard and the UNH lead was cut to 35-23 with 9:55 to play in the third quarter.

Rhode Island's Paul-Ettiene threw another TD strike with 3:02 to play in the third quarter, this time for 20 yards to wide receiver Joe Bellini, and the Wildcats led by just five (35-30).

However, UNH got the ball on the URI 31 yard line after a 60 yard kick return by Kackert. Three plays later, Manning was forced to attempt a 42 yard field goal with 1:13 to play in the third and he put it through the uprights to give the Wildcats a 38-30 lead.

Junior linebacker Hugo Souza (Marshfield, Mass.) came up with a key interception to stop a driving URI offense and give the Wildcats the football on the URI 22 yard line. However, Rhode Island got the ball back with an interception by Victor Adesanya.

On the ensuing drive, Rhode Island's Leonard caught a pass from Paul-Etienne on a wide receiver screen and ran 72 yards for a touchdown to cut UNH's lead to 38-36 with 12:41 to play in the contest after the 2-point pass conversion failed.

On UNH's next drive, Jeannot was tightly covered but somehow battled the football away from a URI defender and completed a 53-yard touchdown reception from Toman to give the Wildcats a 45-36 lead with 11:38 remaining in the game after the PAT by Manning.

On URI's next drive, senior defensive end Kyle Maroney (Brockport, N.Y.) forced a fumble and senior linebacker Sean Ware (Bristol, Conn.) scooped it up and returned it to the URI 4 yard line with 10:43 to play in the contest. On the first play of the UNH drive, Jellison scored his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon to give the Wildcats a 52-36 lead with 10:39 to play in the fourth quarter.

Paul-Etienne and Leonard connected again, this time for a 13-yard touchdown play with 8:40 to play in the game, and once again the 2-point conversion failed and the lead decreased to just 10 points, 52-42 in favor of the 'Cats.

With 5:58 to play in the game, Manning kicked his second field goal of the game, this time a 47 yarder that put the Wildcats up 55-42 and secured the victory for UNH.) each led the Wildcats with 10 tackles on the afternoon.

The Wildcats will play a huge game next week when they travel to battle No. 5 William & Mary, a contest that will have major implications for the conference standings and the NCAA FCS Championship tournament. 

#23 Delaware 28, Hofstra 24

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. -- Senior running back Jerry Butler highlighted Senior Day by scoring two touchdowns, including the game-winner early in the fourth quarter, and linebacker Benard Makumbi came up with a big stop on a fourth down play inside Delaware territory in the final minute as the No. 23 ranked Blue Hens got by Hofstra for an important 28-24 Colonial Athletic Association football win Saturday afternoon at sunny Delaware Stadium.

Playing their final regular season game of the season, the Blue Hens (6-3, 4-3 CAA) bounced back from last week's tough 20-8 loss to James Madison and kept their post-season hopes alive as they jumped out to a

21-7 lead, fell behind in the second half, and rallied to down the Pride (4-5, 2-4 CAA) for the third straight time.

The win gave Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler his 150th career college coaching victory as he became only the 11th active NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision coach to reach the milestone.

Butler, a third-year transfer from Wisconsin and Delaware's third leading rusher on the season, took over the running chores and led the Hens to the victory. He rushed 18 times for a season-high 83 yards and scored two touchdowns, the second with 11:48 left in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner.

"In this league, every win is a great win," said Keeler, who improved to

150-57-1 all-time, including an eight-year mark of 62-36 at Delaware. "I was proud of the way we hung in there today and didn't panic. We managed the moment. It was Senior Day so it was an emotional day and it was rewarding to send those seniors out with a win in their final game here.

I know Jerry fed off that emotion today."

The Hens came up with one of their biggest stops of the season in the final minute on Hofstra's final drive of the day. On a fourth and one play at the Delaware 20-yard line with just 42 seconds left in the game, Hofstra quarterback Cory Christopher rolled to his right but was met hard by Makumbi, who drove him back five yards for a loss to preserve the win.

"I saw a window and I just took it," said Makumbi, who posted a team-high nine tackles including two for loss. "We expect our defense to make a stop like that. We know someone is going to get it done and that is our mindset."

Delaware, which clinched a .500 or better record for the 19th time in the last 23 years with the victory, overcame three turnovers and a sluggish second half to win for the fourth time in the last five outings. The Hens will need to close out the regular season with road wins over Navy next week and at long-time rival Villanova Nov. 21 to keep its hopes alive for one of 16 berths in the NCAA Division I playoffs.

Blue Hen junior quarterback Pat Devlin connected on 14 of 22 passes for

185 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted once. Hofstra's Christopher hit on 16 of 24 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown while backup Steve Probst was 5 of 11 for 83 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Weaver caught eight passes for a game-high 115 yards.

The tide turned in a big way in the fourth quarter when Hofstra had appeared to take a 31-21 lead on the second play of the stanza when safety Ray McDonough intercepted a tipped pass by Devlin and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. But the score was nullified due to an offsides penalty against Hofstra and the Blue Hens retained possession. Delaware then drove 93 yards on nine plays in 3:29 and scored what proved to be the game-winner when Butler bulled his way into the end zone from one-yard out on third down. The big play of the drive was a 72-yard pass and catch from Devlin to Phillip Thaxton down to the Hofstra three-yard line. Three plays later Butler scored his second touchdown of the day.

"Unfortunately, its not the first loss like this that we've had this year," said Hofstra head coach Dave Cohen, a former defensive coordinator at Delaware and now in his fourth season with the Pride.

"Losing like this hurts. We work too hard to give away wins."

Hofstra outgained Delaware 351-305 and did not have a turnover during the game but committed 12 penalties for 90 yards.

Delaware jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Butler capped the Hens' first drive of the day with a two-yard burst with 8:18 remaining and Devlin hit Tommy Crosby on a 16-yard scoring pass with 1:30 left with Crosby going high in the back of the end zone to pull down the ball. The 79-yard drive was highlighted by Butler's career-long 50 yard run on the first play. The running play was the longest of the season for the Hens.

Hofstra got on the board with 7:14 left in the second quarter when Probst hit Weaver on a three-yard pass play to cut the lead to 14-7, but the Hens came right back to go up 21-7 when Devlin hit senior Mark Duncan on a 10-yard scoring pass with just 31 seconds left before halftime. The touchdown catch was the team-high sixth for Duncan.

But the Pride wasn't finished. Hofstra defensive end Deron Mayo took the short kickoff by Delaware's Ed Wagner and returned it 32 yards to the Delaware 37-yard line. Christopher hit Weaver on an 18-yard pass play and later connected with Everette Benjamin on a 23-yarder down to the one. Benjamin then scored on a one-yard dive on the next play to narrow the gap to 21-14 at the break.

Delaware suffered through a sluggish third quarter that allowed Hofstra to gain the lead. Devlin was sacked by Tressor Baptiste and fumbled at Delaware's own 24-yard line on the opening drive of the second half.

Mayo recovered for the Pride and six plays later Henry Greco converted a 29-yard field goal to cut the gap to 21-17. Hofstra then took a 24-21 lead on its next drive when the Pride drove 78 yards and finished things off with Christopher hitting Anthony Nelson on a 14-yard scoring play with 4:55 left in the third stanza.

After Butler's second touchdown with 11:48 left to play gave the Hens the 28-24 lead, Hofstra had two more chance to win the game. The Pride gained just 10 yards on its next drive and had to punt, but got possession again with 7:08 left at its own 38-yard line. Hofstra drove down to the the Delaware 20-yard line on 10 plays, but couldn't finish things off as Makumbi stuffed Christopher on the pivotal fourth down play.

James Madison 22, Maine 14

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 7, 2009 - James Madison jumped out to a 22-0 lead through three quarters and held on for the 22-14 victory while benefitting from six Maine turnovers in a Colonial Athletic Association football contest Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

JMU won its second in a row to improve to 4-5 for the season and 2-4 in the CAA. Maine dropped to 4-5 on the season and 3-3 in the league.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Thorpe (Richmond, Va./Varina) had 216 total yards of offense in the JMU victory. He completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 133 yards and a score while also rushing 17 times for a net of 83 yards and a score.

Redshirt junior Jamal Sullivan (Ruther Glen, Va./Caroline) rushed 22 times for 83 yards as the pair accounted for 299 of JMU's 328 total yards. JMU led total offense 328 to 309 and forced four interceptions and two fumbles by the Black Bears compared to two turnovers committed on a pair of picks. The Dukes also held UM to 49 total yards rushing with a 195-49 advantage for the game.

Warren Smith completed 25 of 42 passes for 178 yards for Maine with one touchdown and three interceptions. Mike Brusko caught 12 passes, one short of the stadium record, for 90 yards while also throwing an 82-yard touchdown on a fake punt in the fourth quarter.

The Dukes took advantage of a series of first-half miscues by the Black Bears to build a 15-0 lead at the break. JMU opened the game's scoring on a safety in the second quarter when the snap on a punt went out of the end zone.

The ensuing free kick went out of bounds to set up JMU at the 50, and Thorpe had a career-long 42-yard burst to put the Dukes ahead 9-0. A pair of field goals set up by short fields after an interception and a fumble gave JMU the 15-0 lead at the half.

Maine opened the game with an impressive 14-play, 80-yard drive in 7:50 to the JMU eight-yard line. However, the Dukes came up with the stop on fourth-and-one, pushing Derek Session back for a loss of one.

JMU received the kick to open the second half and drove 66 yards on nine plays in five minutes, culminating in a 31-yard pass from Thorpe to sophomore running back Scott Noble (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) for a 22-0 lead.

Maine made the contest close in the fourth with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Brusko and the 82-yard pass by Brusko on a fake punt for a 22-14 score with 6:01 remaining.

JMU went three-and-out twice in the final six minutes, but the Dukes held the Black Bears to a total of 24 yards on their final two possessions before finally intercepting the game's final play.

Redshirt sophomore Pat Williams (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) led JMU with 11 total tackles while Vinson Givans had 15 for Maine.

JMU will be on the road next week for a noon kickoff at Massachusetts. The game will be televised on The Comcast Network.

Massachusetts 37, Northeastern 7

Box Score

AMHERST - Tony Nelson rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns as the Massachusetts Minutemen (5-4, 3-3 CAA Football) defeated the Huskies (1-8, 1-5 CAA Football), 37-7 at McGuirk Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Chad Hunte scored Northeastern's lone touchdown on a 51-yard interception return to open the fourth quarter. It was Hunte's first-career interception and the Huskies' longest interception return of the season.

UMass opened the scoring on its second possession of the day, courtesy of a 30-yard field goal by Armando Cuko. The Minutemen had advanced the ball to the Northeastern three yard line, but a nine-yard sack by Husky senior Mike Lukenda forced UMass to settle for the kick with 6:31 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Huskies' defense forced a fourth down on UMass' next possession, but a 32-yard run by senior Jeremy Miles on a fake punt kept the drive alive. Six plays later, Nelson powered the ball into the endzone on 4th and goal from the one yard line, putting UMass in front 10-0 just 40 seconds into the second quarter.

UMass tacked on another touchdown just over three minutes later as Nelson finished off a four-play, 56-yard drive from one yard out. Victor Cruz made a huge catch on the previous play, hauling in a 30-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Havens down the seam.

Havens hooked up with Cruz again on the following drive, connecting on an 11-yard scoring play to make it 24-0 with 2:57 left in the second quarter. Cruz accounted for 53 of the 88 yards on the drive, including a 32-yard catch and run down the left sideline on 3rd and 10 at the Northeastern 45. 

Cuko added another field goal with four seconds showing on the second quarter clock to make it 27-0 UMass at the half.

The Huskies' offense struggled to get going after 30 minutes totaling 55 yards on 27 first-half plays. John Griffin accounted for 95 percent of the team's total offense through the first two quarters, rushing for 52 yards on nine carries.

Nelson capped off an impressive day with his third rushing touchdown 8:27 into the third quarter, slashing across the goal line from nine yards out to make it 34-0. It was Nelson's third-career three-touchdown game.

The Huskies finally got on the board when Hunte stepped in front of a Scott Woodward pass and returned the interception 51 yards down the sideline for the score, cutting the UMass advantage to 34-7.

Cuko capped off the scoring with his third field goal of the game from 35 yards out to bring the score to 37-7 with 8:34 remaining.

Griffin finished with 58 yards on 11 carries. Quarterback Alex Dulski struggled to throw downfield against a tough UMass defense. He was 12-for-25 passing for just 69 yards. Besides Hunte's interception, three Huskies recorded 10-tackle days, including Phil Higgins (12), Jake Catlin (11), Chris Byrne (10)

The Huskies return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14 vs. Hofstra on Homecoming Day and Senior Day at Parsons Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.