CAA Football Recap – Oct. 3

UNH 30, Elon 23

Box Score

Brooks Bentley passed for a season-high 301 yards and two touchdowns as UNH (2-4, 1-2 CAA) held off Elon (4-2, 2-2 CAA), 30-23. The effort offset a huge day for Elon freshman running back Kamerin McDowell-Moore, who rushed for 279 yards and 2 TD’s on 29 carries.

UNH took advantage of an Elon muffed punt to take an early 7-0 lead on Barry Kleinpeter’s 1- yard run. The Phoenix pulled within 13-10 on McDowell-Moore’s 5-yard scoring run, but Lucas Glassburn kicked his third field goal of the first half to put the Wildcats ahead 16-10 at the half. Bentley connected with Joquez Smith on a 27-yard TD toss midway through the third period to extend the UNH lead to 13. However, Elon battled back as McDowell-Moore broke loose for a 40-yard TD run and Luke Barnes tacked on a field goal to make it 23-20 going into the final period. UNH extended its margin to 10 on a 15-yard Drew Danson scoring grab with 14:55 to play. Elon pulled within seven on a Barnes field goal and drove to the UNH 7-yard line in the final seconds but couldn’t convert a pass as time expired. For UNH, Ja’Carree Kelly made nine catches for 82 yards and Trevor Barry had eight tackles and a TFL. For Elon, Kenaz McMillian had five receptions for 93 yards and Brodie Carroll recorded 10 tackles and a TFL.



Monmouth 41, Towson 40

Box Score

Gavin Nelson made eight receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard scoring grab with 5:09 remaining, as Monmouth (4-2, 3-0 CAA) edged Towson (0-6, 0-2), 41-40.

The two teams traded scores throughout the first half, with Monmouth getting a 4-yard TD run from Kenny Smith, Jr. and a 6-yard scoring catch from Greg Genross, but Towson countered as Andrew Indorf fired TD passes to Aaron Enterline (9 yards) and Xavier Pugh (6 yards) before Kemarrion Battles reached the end zone on an 8-yard run to put the Tigers ahead 20-17 at the half. A sensational one-handed TD grab by Cleveland Charlton pushed Towson’s lead to 10, but Monmouth bounced back with a 13-yard Nelson TD catch, a 36-yard Sky Sholder field goal and a 71-yard pick six by from Amori McNeil to go up 34-27 with 14:37 remaining. The Tigers evened the score at 34-34 on Pugh’s 1-yard TD run before Nelson’s 41-yard grab put Monmouth on top. The Tigers answered again on an 8-yard TD catch by Charlton with 1:41 left, but the extra point try went wide and Monmouth was able to run out the clock. Monmouth quarterback Frankie Weaver threw for 218 yards and 3 TD’s and Jaeden Jones made a team-high 11 tackles. For Towson, Indorf passed for 279 yards and 4 TD’s with Enterline making six catches for 154 yards. TJ Sands made a career-high 17 stops for the Tigers.

Sacred Heart 24, Maine 16

Box Score

Poochie Snyder passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns and added a team-high 73 yards on the ground as Sacred Heart (2-3, 2-2 CAA) battled past Maine (1-5, 1-2 CAA), 24-16.

The Black Bears took a 9-0 advantage early in the second quarter following field goals of 42, 45 and 37 yards from Samuel Tremblay. However, Sacred Heart was able to rally for a 14-9 lead at the half following a 3-yard scoring run from Dean Hangey and an 11-yard TD toss from Snyder to Jason Palmieri with 19 seconds on the clock. The Pioneers opened the second half with a 75-yard drive capped by a 6-yard TD catch by Brendan Errity to go up by 12. A 2-yard TD run by Nick Laughlin brought Maine within 21-16 with 12:03 to go, but SHU tacked on a 40-yard field goal from Ryan Bocklet. The Black Bears drove into Pioneers territory twice in the final five minutes but turned the ball over on downs. Palmieri finished with six catches for 73 yards and Myles Hamilton had seven tackles, 3.5 TFL’s and two sacks for the SHU defense. For Maine, Caden Drezek threw for 141 yards while Noah Carpenter had nine stops and 1.5 sacks for the defense.

Bryant 31, North Carolina A&T 30

Box Score

Nicholas Stoyanovich kicked a 25-yard field goal with two seconds left as Bryant (4-1, 2-0 CAA) scored 10 points in the final 39 seconds to rally past North Carolina A&T (1-5, 1-2 CAA), 31-30.

A&T took a 30-21 lead with 2:18 remaining on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Kevin White to Michael Carlock-Williams. Bryant answered with a 75-yard drive capped by a 5-yard shovel pass from Brennan Myer to Kendrick Agenor on fourth down with 39 seconds to play that trimmed the deficit to two. The Bulldogs then recovered an onside kick and hit a 20-yard pass to Jose Leon to set up the game-winning kick. A&T sprinted out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead as White threw TD passes to Carlock-Williams (5 yards) and Amonte Jones (10 yards), but Bryant cut the deficit on half on Jordan Bennett’s 10-yard scoring run. Three field goals from A&T’s Asher Holland offset a 1-yard TD run from Agenor to put the Aggies ahead 23-14 with 7:13 left. However, Bennett scored on a 1-yard run to pull Bryant within two with 3:30 on the clock. Myer finished with 215 yards passing and Leon had eight catches for 96 yards. For A&T, White threw for 181 yards and 3 TD’s and ran for 63.



Rhode Island 13, Brown 10

Box Score

Ty Groff booted a 43-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining to lift Rhode Island (3-3, 1-2 CAA) past Brown, 13-10, to give the Rams the Governor’s Cup for the seventh time in the past eight years.

Groff kicked a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter to give URI a halftime lead, but a Brown third-quarter field goal tied the game at 3-3. After the Bears took advantage of a Rams’ turnover to move on top 10-3 early in the fourth period, URI responded with a 68-yard catch by Marquis Buchanan followed by a 12-yard Alex McClelland TD run to even the contest at 10-10 with 12:05 to go. URI’s defense forced a big 3-and-out in the final minute and a Buchanan catch and a personal foul set up Groff’s game-winner. Buchanan finished with five catches for 90 yards and Gabe Winowich ran for 85 yards. Rohan Davy made eight tackles for a URI defense that held Brown to 35 rushing yards.



UAlbany 28, Delaware State 7

Box Score

UAlbany’s defense held Delaware State to 192 total yards and Rahshan La Mons tallied 156 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns as the Great Danes (3-3, 1-1 CAA) downed the Hornets, 28-7.

La Mons put UAlbany up 7-0 on a 6-yard TD catch midway through the first quarter, and then had a 2-yard scoring run late in the first half that was set up by his 25-yard punt return to make it 14-3 at the break. The Great Danes added a 3-yard TD run from Joey Koch late in third quarter and then put the game away on a 12-yard TD toss from Aiden Semo to BJ Norman with 11:16 remaining. Dillon Dunathan had 11 tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and a sack for the UAlbany defense and Shawan Lewis added two sacks and an interception. Koch ran for a team-high 77 yards on 16 carries.

Campbell 38, North Carolina Central 31

Box Score

Kamden Sixkiller threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jyron Walters with 7:28 remaining as Campbell (5-1, 2-0 CAA) held off North Carolina Central, 38-31. JJ Cowan rushed for 139 yards and a TD for the Camels.

Campbell led 24-14 after high-scoring opening quarter on rushing touchdowns from Sixkiller (1 yard) De’Von Thomas (32 yards) and Cowan (3 yards). Thomas added another score early in the second quarter, but NCCU reeled off 17 unanswered to tie the game at 31-31 in the third quarter. Campbell responded with an 11-play drive in the fourth quarter capped by the Walters TD and then stopped a late charge from the Eagles. Sixkiller finished with 226 yards passing and Charles Battaglia paced the defense with 12 tackles.



Howard 27, Hampton 13

Box Score

Freshman quarterback Xavier Brookins passed for 193 yards and a touchdown in his first extended playing time but Hampton (1-5, 0-2 CAA) dropped a 27-13 decision to Howard in the Battle of the Real HU.

The Pirates trailed 14-3 when Brookins entered the game in the second quarter and he guided Hampton on an 83-yard drive capped by a 32-yard TD pass to Nare Means to cut the deficit to four. Howard converted a pair of field goals, but the Pirates answered with a 39-yard Brett Starling field goal to make it 20-13 with 11:34 to go. However, the Bison got a 59-yard scoring pass and kept the Pirates off the board the rest of the way. Noah Colon had four catches for 73 yards for Hampton, while Cole Smith and Cam Sturdifen had eight tackles apiece.