CAA Football Recap – Sept. 2
CAA Football Recap – Sept. 2
Hampton opened the season with a nationally televised victory over Grambling State, while Villanova and New Hampshire posted convincing wins on the road.
Hampton 35, Grambling State 31
Box Score
Quarterback Christopher Zellous accounted for 269 yards of offense and four touchdowns as Hampton edged Grambling State, 35-31, in the Brick City Classic in Harrison, N.J. Zellous was 14-of-21 passing for 155 yards and 2 TD’s and added a team-high 114 yards and 2 TD’s rushing on 15 attempts.
The Pirates took a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter on a 40-yard TD run by Darran Butts, who finished with 103 yards on 14 carries. Zellous fired TD passes of 41 yards to TK Paisant and 16 yards to Evan King to take a 21-9 halftime advantage. Grambling twice pulled within one score in the second half, but Zellous answered both times, reaching the end zone on a 22-yard run in the third quarter and following with an 11-yard TD run with 3:08 to go that made it 35-25. Qwahsin Townsel recorded a team-high 12 tackles for the Pirates defense.
Villanova 38, Lehigh 10
Box Score
Villanova sprinted out to a 31-3 halftime lead and cruised to a 38-10 triumph at Lehigh. The Wildcats piled up 412 yards of offense, with 284 coming on the ground, while their defense forced three turnovers that turned into points.
Jalen Jackson rushed for a team-high 144 yards and two TD’s on just eight carries, while DeeWil Barlee added 102 yards and a TD on 11 attempts. Jackson is the first VU player since 1947 to run for at least 140 yards on eight or fewer carries. Connor Watkins threw for 119 yards and a pair of scores.
Jackson’s 1-yard TD run put VU up 7-0 late in the first quarter. After forcing a Lehigh fumble, Watkins hit Rayjoun Pringle with a 28-yard scoring strike just two minutes later. A Ty Trinh interception late in the second quarter set up a 7-yard TD catch by Pringle and the Wildcats took a commanding 31-3 halftime advantage when Jackson scored from 46 yards out following a Tyrell Mims interception.
New Hampshire 51, Stonehill 17
Box Score
Quarterback Max Brosmer passed for 284 yards and a career-high five touchdowns as New Hampshire rolled over Stonehill. The five TD tosses went to five different receivers. All-American Dylan Laube contributed touchdowns on a punt return, reception and rush, all of which came in the first quarter.
After going up 7-0 on a Colby Ramshaw scoring catch, Laube tallied three TD’s in less than eight minutes. The senior returned a punt 58 yards for a score, caught a 23-yard TD pass and found the end zone on an 11-yard run that made it 27-0. Brosmer followed with a 69-yard strike to Heron Maurisseau early in the second quarter to put the contest away. The UNH special teams recovered a muffed punt and blocked two kicks.
Maryland 38, Towson 6
Box Score
Towson dropped a 38-6 decision at Big Ten foe Maryland. The Tigers fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter but held the Terps to 17 points the rest of the way.
Making his first career start, Towson quarterback Nathan Kent passed for 128 yards and picked up 41 yards on the ground. Devin Matthews ran for a team-high 48 yards and D’Kendall James caught four passes for 49 yards. Trailing 21-0, the Tigers put together a nine-play, 57-yard drive that was capped by a 36-yard Keegan Vaughan field goal. Vaughan tacked on a 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter after a 16-play Towson drive. Linebacker Mason Woods topped Towson defensively with eight tackles.
Marshall 21, UAlbany 17
Box Score
UAlbany led Marshall for more than three quarters, but was edged 21-17. The Great Danes’ defense posted a shutout in the first half and took a 3-0 lead into intermission on a 46-yard field goal by John Opalko. UAlbany extended its advantage to 10 midway through the third quarter on a 19-yard TD pass from Reese Poffenbarger to Jackson Parker.
The Thundering Herd cut the gap to three, but Poffenbarger broke loose for a 54-yard scoring run on 4th-and-1 to put UAlbany up 17-7 with 3:31 left in third period. Marshall responded with a pair of TD’s to go up by four with 12:53 remaining. The Great Danes drove to the Herd 38-yard line in the final minute, but was unable to score. Poffenbarger finished with 194 yards passing and 37 yards rushing. Dylan Kelly had 12 tackles for the Great Danes’ defense.
FIU 14, Maine 12
Box Score
Maine turned in a stellar effort defensively but was beaten 14-12 at FIU. The Black Bears limited the Panthers to 14 first downs and 20 yards rushing.
Maine trailed 7-0 early, but field goals of 48 and 28 yards from Cody Williams closed the deficit to 7-6. Down by eight in the third quarter, the Black Bears got a 5-yard TD run from Tristen Kenan but were unable to convert the two-point conversion. Maine got a big fourth-down stop and drove to the FIU 38-yard line in the waning minutes, but was unable to score. Quarterback Derek Robertson passed for 209 yards, while Kenan ran for 155 yards on 24 carries, which was the most for a Maine freshman since 2018.
Morgan State 17, Richmond 10
Box Score
Richmond was hurt by four turnovers and suffered a 17-10 setback to Morgan State. The Spiders got off to a fast start, as quarterback Kyle Wickersham scored on a 1-yard sneak to cap a 12-play, 75-yard season-opening drive. After the Bears pulled even in the first period, the two defenses took over.
After Richmond’s Marlem Louis recorded a sack and forced a fumble, the Spiders went up 10-7 on a 28-yard field goal by Andrew Lopez late in the third quarter. The Bears tied the game at 10-10 and then took advantage of a UR fumble to score the game-winning touchdown with 6:24 to play. Wickersham finished with 169 yards passing and 39 rushing. All-America linebacker Tristan Wheeler recorded a team-best 17 tackles and 3.0 TFL’s for the Spiders’ defense, which held MSU to 213 total yards.
FAU 42, Monmouth 20
Box Score
Marquez McCray passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns in his Monmouth debut, but the Hawks were beaten 42-20 at FAU. Monmouth fell behind 14-0, but cut the deficit in half on a 2-yard TD run by Sone Ntoh late in the first quarter. The Owls pushed their lead to 28-7 before McCray hit Asante Kearney with a 27-yard scoring strike just before halftime.
FAU tacked on 14 more points in the third quarter to take control. Dre Tucker caught a 16-yard TD pass from McCray with 7:19 remaining. Jaden Shirden ran for a team-high 66 yards on 24 carries and Dymere Miller had 10 catches for 78 yards. Defensively, Ryan Moran made 13 tackles for the Hawks.
