By Rich Adragna
James Madison (3-0, 5-1)—The Dukes held a pesky Northeastern team scoreless in the second half to win by a 21-14 score. Although Rodney Landers passed for only 57 yards, he rushed for one touchdown and threw a pass for a score to Charlie Newman. Griff Yancey also had a rushing touchdown for JMU. Meanwhile the Dukes’ defense stood their ground in the second half to hold the Huskies scoreless and give them a victory. JMU will end their road trip with a showdown against Rhode Island this Saturday.
Massachusetts (2-0, 4-1)—The Minutemen, fourth-ranked in the FCS poll, were not in action last week. They return to action this week when they host Villanova.
Delaware (3-1, 5-1)—The first loss of the season for UDel, a 35-30 defeat to New Hampshire, cost them their top spot in the CAA. Omar Cuff rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the fourth quarter to get a Blue Hen comeback going. A strong effort by QB Joe Flacco, who threw for 419 yards and two touchdowns, wasn’t enough for the Blue Hens to avoid the upset. UDel will look to bounce back against a lackluster Northeastern squad at home on Saturday.
New Hampshire (1-2, 3-2)—Even without Ricky Santos behind center for most of the game, UNH still came away with a surprising victory over Delaware 35-30. The quarterbacking duties for the Wildcats were split between Santos and R.J. Toman, throwing for a combined 206 yards. Toman threw for two touchdowns, Santos rushed for one early in the game, and Keith LeVan, who caught both of those TD passes, threw for one of his own for 45 yards to boost the Wildcats’ offensive attack. UNH will take on Iona this Saturday for its Homecoming weekend.
Villanova (2-1, 4-2)—The Wildcats really ran wild last week, beating down William & Mary 63-24. The offense racked up 505 yards total (233 yards rushing, 272 yards passing) and Antwon Young threw for 216 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a TD. Chris Whitney and Phil Atkinson also threw for a touchdown each. Matthew Sherry rushed for two scores and 105 yards, and Angelo Babbaro had both a receiving and rushing touchdown. Villanova faces a tough task next week when they travel to Amherst to take on UMass.
Richmond (2-1, 3-2)—The Spiders suffered a very demoralizing loss to Towson last Saturday, giving up the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. Eric Ward threw for 188 yards and tossed an interception, while Tim Hightower rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown. Richmond will take on Stony Brook this weekend, hoping to alleviate whatever pain their crushing defeat gave them.
Rhode Island (0-2, 1-4)—The Rams will take on James Madison on Saturday after having last week off.
Northeastern (0-2, 1-4)—The Huskies kept their battle with powerhouse James Madison interesting, but didn’t seal the deal in their 21-14 loss. Anthony Orio connected twice to Brian Mandeville for touchdowns, one of which was in the final seconds of the first half to tie the game. However, they went scoreless in the second half as JMU took the lead and held their ground. Northeastern’s next match-up will be against Delaware this week.
Maine (0-3, 1-4)—The Black Bears never even put up a fight last Saturday against Hofstra as they were crushed 38-13. Two Bobby Donnelly field goals and Adam Farkes’ touchdown toss to Manzi Pierre was all Maine could put up on the scoreboard as they were beaten in every aspect of the game. The Black Bears will go up against William & Mary on Saturday to redeem themselves.
William & Mary (1-2, 3-3)—The Tribe were on the wrong end of a 63-24 beatdown against Villanova last Saturday. Jake Phillips threw for 291 yards and two TDs and rushed for a score of his own. However, he was also sacked five times by the Wildcats defense. Elliot Mack and Cameron Doshe caught Phillips’ passes for the touchdowns. The Tribe will next face Maine on Saturday.
Towson (1-3, 3-3)—Towson got back on track and earned its first conference victory of the season by upsetting nationally-ranked Richmond 23-21 on a last-minute drive. Sean Schaefer led the Tigers 67 yards down to the Richmond end zone and threw the game winning touchdown pass to Demetrius Harrison for 14 yards with no time left. Schaefer threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and RB Nick Williams also had a touchdown of his own. The Tigers will look to carry this momentum into next week, when they face first place Hofstra.