On 10/25, would someone please tell me..
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ANNAPOLIS, MD -- In the 112 seasons of football at the University of Delaware, there have been some big wins. On Saturday, the Fightin' Blue Hens added another to the list.
Germaine Bennett rushed for 81 yards and the game-winning touchdown
Despite falling behind by two touchdowns midway through in the first quarter, Delaware took advantage of three turnovers and rallied to knock off Navy, 21-17, spoiling Homecoming for the Midshipmen and a crowd of 34,982, the second-largest crowd Delaware has ever played in front of.
Delaware, ranked No. 3 in The Sports Network I-AA Top 25, defeated an NCAA I-A opponent for the first time in nearly 11 years. The win was UD's first over a I-A team since October 24, 1992 when it defeated Navy, 37-21, in Annapolis. Ironically, that win was on Navy's Homecoming Day, as well.
"We had a great opportunity today," said Delaware coach K.C. Keeler. "We're in a national venue, in front of a great crowd and some people didn't think we had a chance. But we hung in there and got a great win.
"We put some things in the (defensive) package this week that we didn't do last week against Rhode Island that we thought we could do looking at the Navy films. I can't say enough about (defensive coordinator) Dave Cohen and that defensive staff. They did a great job preparing for this game.
"How big is it when you are down 14 points and your kids keep playing hard? They are on a mission and are a very focused group. After we got the score back to 14-14, we just tried to slug it out on defense and let the best team win.
"Overall, it was a great game all-around. I am so proud of these kids and have so much confidence in them. We'll enjoy the win today and get back to work tomorrow."
Making its first appearance against an NCAA I-A opponent since 1996 when it last played the Midshipmen, the Blue Hens rallied from a 14-0 first quarter deficit and held on through the final seconds to run their record to 8-0 on the season. The 8-0 mark is just the seventh time in UD history that the Blue Hens have begun the season with eight straight wins.
Navy, which owns a win over No. 25 Air Force earlier this season, fell to 5-3 with the loss and had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Midshipmen entered the game with the No. 1 rushing offense in I-A, averaging 321.3 yards per game. However, the Delaware defense held Navy to just 180 yards rushing, 58 of which came on Navy's opening possession.
Navy had one last chance to win in the final seconds. A pass interference penalty on 4th-and-9 gave Navy a first down at the Delaware 39. Navy quarterback Craig Candeto completed a pass to Jason Tomlinson to the Delaware 14 with nine seconds to go. Candeto then spiked the ball to stop the clock with six seconds remaining. Candeto threw for Tomlinson in the end zone on the next play, but Dave Camburn deflected the pass in the end zone as time expired.
Navy jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdowns just 68 seconds apart in the first quarter. Tony Lane capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive on the Midshipmen's opening possession to give them a 7-0 lead.
After Delaware went three-and-out, Navy took over at its own 34 yard line. On the first play, Candeto hit Eric Roberts on a play-action pass for a 66-yard touchdown to give the Midshipmen a 14-0 lead.
The turning point in the game may have come on the next possession when Delaware got a first down on a fake punt. Facing fourth-and-two at its own 40, Delaware called a direct snap to Sean Bleiler who raced for 24 yards to the Navy 36. The play kept alive a 15-play, 79-yard drive the culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by Antawn Jenkins on the first play of the second quarter. Brad Shushman added the PAT kick and Delaware trailed 14-7.
"We liked that fake punt going in," said Keeler. "I told Dave Cohen that I had called it (before it happened) and he wanted to choke me. But we needed a momentum shift and it paid off."
The Blue Hens then took advantage of a Navy turnover to tie the game going into halftime. On third and two, Candeto fumbled and it was recovered by Shawn Johnson at the Delaware 27. Andy Hall, who finished the game 15-of-23 for 84 yards passing, completed three straight passes before calling his own number on a five-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
"On the touchdown run, they blitzed us, so I tucked the ball under," said Hall. "Our wide outs took off up the field and the coverage followed them, which opened things up for me."
Delaware scored on its first possession of the second half to take the lead for good. After Sidney Haugabrook returned a Navy punt 12 yards to the Delaware 49, the Blue Hens marched eight plays in 3:44. Five of the plays on the drive were runs by Germaine Bennett, including a 28-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 at the Navy 28. Shushman added the PAT and Delaware had a 21-14 lead.
The Delaware defense played "bend-but-not-break" from there. Navy drove to the Delaware 23 to open the fourth quarter, but had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Eric Rolfs. After Delaware ran 6:49 off of the clock and turned the ball over on downs at the Navy 30, the Midshipmen drove down to the Delaware 38. However, Candeto's pass that was intended for Tony Lane was incomplete with 1:57 to play.
After Delaware handed the ball to Jenkins on three consecutive plays, Mike Weber's punt placed the ball on the Navy 21 with 1:28 left. Candeto marched the Midshipmen down the field with no timeouts to the Delaware 13. However, his pass for Tomlinson was knocked away by Camburn to end the game.
Sophomore linebacker John Mulhern had a hand in two of the three Navy turnovers, intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble. Delaware has forced nine turnovers in its last two games and 13 in the last four. Mulhern's interception thwarted a Navy drive to the Delaware 10 midway through the second quarter.
"When we came off the field, the coaches told us to relax (down 14 points)," said Mulhern. "We had to stick to our reads and just make the plays like we know how."
Navy outgained Delaware, 392-272, snapping Delaware's streak of eight consecutive games with 400 yards of total offense. However, Delaware held an important advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 31:19, and converting on 3-of-4 fourth-down conversions.
Delaware will host Maine next Saturday at Delaware Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
AGATE:
Germaine Bennett rushed for 81 yards and the game-winning touchdown
Despite falling behind by two touchdowns midway through in the first quarter, Delaware took advantage of three turnovers and rallied to knock off Navy, 21-17, spoiling Homecoming for the Midshipmen and a crowd of 34,982, the second-largest crowd Delaware has ever played in front of.
Delaware, ranked No. 3 in The Sports Network I-AA Top 25, defeated an NCAA I-A opponent for the first time in nearly 11 years. The win was UD's first over a I-A team since October 24, 1992 when it defeated Navy, 37-21, in Annapolis. Ironically, that win was on Navy's Homecoming Day, as well.
"We had a great opportunity today," said Delaware coach K.C. Keeler. "We're in a national venue, in front of a great crowd and some people didn't think we had a chance. But we hung in there and got a great win.
"We put some things in the (defensive) package this week that we didn't do last week against Rhode Island that we thought we could do looking at the Navy films. I can't say enough about (defensive coordinator) Dave Cohen and that defensive staff. They did a great job preparing for this game.
"How big is it when you are down 14 points and your kids keep playing hard? They are on a mission and are a very focused group. After we got the score back to 14-14, we just tried to slug it out on defense and let the best team win.
"Overall, it was a great game all-around. I am so proud of these kids and have so much confidence in them. We'll enjoy the win today and get back to work tomorrow."
Making its first appearance against an NCAA I-A opponent since 1996 when it last played the Midshipmen, the Blue Hens rallied from a 14-0 first quarter deficit and held on through the final seconds to run their record to 8-0 on the season. The 8-0 mark is just the seventh time in UD history that the Blue Hens have begun the season with eight straight wins.
Navy, which owns a win over No. 25 Air Force earlier this season, fell to 5-3 with the loss and had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Midshipmen entered the game with the No. 1 rushing offense in I-A, averaging 321.3 yards per game. However, the Delaware defense held Navy to just 180 yards rushing, 58 of which came on Navy's opening possession.
Navy had one last chance to win in the final seconds. A pass interference penalty on 4th-and-9 gave Navy a first down at the Delaware 39. Navy quarterback Craig Candeto completed a pass to Jason Tomlinson to the Delaware 14 with nine seconds to go. Candeto then spiked the ball to stop the clock with six seconds remaining. Candeto threw for Tomlinson in the end zone on the next play, but Dave Camburn deflected the pass in the end zone as time expired.
Navy jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdowns just 68 seconds apart in the first quarter. Tony Lane capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive on the Midshipmen's opening possession to give them a 7-0 lead.
After Delaware went three-and-out, Navy took over at its own 34 yard line. On the first play, Candeto hit Eric Roberts on a play-action pass for a 66-yard touchdown to give the Midshipmen a 14-0 lead.
The turning point in the game may have come on the next possession when Delaware got a first down on a fake punt. Facing fourth-and-two at its own 40, Delaware called a direct snap to Sean Bleiler who raced for 24 yards to the Navy 36. The play kept alive a 15-play, 79-yard drive the culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by Antawn Jenkins on the first play of the second quarter. Brad Shushman added the PAT kick and Delaware trailed 14-7.
"We liked that fake punt going in," said Keeler. "I told Dave Cohen that I had called it (before it happened) and he wanted to choke me. But we needed a momentum shift and it paid off."
The Blue Hens then took advantage of a Navy turnover to tie the game going into halftime. On third and two, Candeto fumbled and it was recovered by Shawn Johnson at the Delaware 27. Andy Hall, who finished the game 15-of-23 for 84 yards passing, completed three straight passes before calling his own number on a five-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
"On the touchdown run, they blitzed us, so I tucked the ball under," said Hall. "Our wide outs took off up the field and the coverage followed them, which opened things up for me."
Delaware scored on its first possession of the second half to take the lead for good. After Sidney Haugabrook returned a Navy punt 12 yards to the Delaware 49, the Blue Hens marched eight plays in 3:44. Five of the plays on the drive were runs by Germaine Bennett, including a 28-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 at the Navy 28. Shushman added the PAT and Delaware had a 21-14 lead.
The Delaware defense played "bend-but-not-break" from there. Navy drove to the Delaware 23 to open the fourth quarter, but had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Eric Rolfs. After Delaware ran 6:49 off of the clock and turned the ball over on downs at the Navy 30, the Midshipmen drove down to the Delaware 38. However, Candeto's pass that was intended for Tony Lane was incomplete with 1:57 to play.
After Delaware handed the ball to Jenkins on three consecutive plays, Mike Weber's punt placed the ball on the Navy 21 with 1:28 left. Candeto marched the Midshipmen down the field with no timeouts to the Delaware 13. However, his pass for Tomlinson was knocked away by Camburn to end the game.
Sophomore linebacker John Mulhern had a hand in two of the three Navy turnovers, intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble. Delaware has forced nine turnovers in its last two games and 13 in the last four. Mulhern's interception thwarted a Navy drive to the Delaware 10 midway through the second quarter.
"When we came off the field, the coaches told us to relax (down 14 points)," said Mulhern. "We had to stick to our reads and just make the plays like we know how."
Navy outgained Delaware, 392-272, snapping Delaware's streak of eight consecutive games with 400 yards of total offense. However, Delaware held an important advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 31:19, and converting on 3-of-4 fourth-down conversions.
Delaware will host Maine next Saturday at Delaware Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
AGATE:
delaware
delaware
would beat more than a handful of div.1a teams...they are a very good little club....they were down at one point 14-0 in this ballgame....they`ve been a solid program here in the east for a long time....
delaware
would beat more than a handful of div.1a teams...they are a very good little club....they were down at one point 14-0 in this ballgame....they`ve been a solid program here in the east for a long time....
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