2 0 0 0


1 9 9 9



1 9 9 8


 


Blue Hens Overpower Portland State 49-14 in NCAA I-AA Playoffs;
Host Lehigh Next Week

November 25, 2000

 

Matt Nagy

Craig Cummings

NEWARK, DE -- Senior quarterback Matt Nagy threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns and led an offense that piled up 620 yards of total offense as No. 2 ranked University of Delaware overpowered No. 15 Portland State 49-14 in an NCAA I-AA football first round playoff game Saturday at Delaware Stadium.

The Blue Hens (11-1), in the tournament for the first time since 1997 when they advanced to the semifinals, will host undefeated and No. 10 seed Lehigh (12-0) next Saturday, Dec. 2, in a quarterfinal game at Delaware Stadium. Lehigh upset No. 7 Western Illinois 37-7 Saturday.

Delaware, the nation's No. 2 ranked scoring team (41.4 ppg) and No. 16 ranked team in total offense (445.9), surpassed the 500-yard mark for the fifth time this season with a balance of 357 yards rushing and 263 yards passing. Four different UD runners rushed for 60 yards or more. The Blue Hen defense held the high-powered Viking attack to just 338 total yards. Portland State, a former NCAA Division II power, was making its first I-AA playoff appearance after moving up to the classification in 1996.

Nagy completed 14 of 23 passes for 263 yards, his 21st career 200-yard game, and broke his own school record for passing yards in a season at 2,981 yards. He also threw a touchdown pass for a school record 13th straight game and upped his UD record touchdown passes to 27 this season. Junior spread end Jamin Elliott caught five passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and senior halfback Craig Cummings rushed for a team-high 84 yards and two scores.

"To win like we did today really gives us a lot of momentum heading into the rest of the playoffs," said Nagy after the game.

"After the Villanova game last week, we wanted to come out and establish ourselves on the first series," said Delaware defensive end Mike Cecere. "Stopping them on their first drive (on a fourth and one) was very big for us."

Portland State tailback Chip Dunn, a Walter Payton Award candidate and the nation's No. 2 leading rusher with 1,792 yards entering the game, was held to just 53 yards rushing and did not score a touchdown. Quarterback Jimmy Blanchard threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns with Orshawante Bryant catching 13 passes for 128 yards.

The Blue Hens controlled the game from the outset, jumping out to a 21-0 lead as fullback James O'Neal (83 yards rushing) scored from 15 yards out with 8:33 left in the opening quarter for a 7-0 lead. Nagy hit Brett Veach on a nine-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter and Cummings, who went over 2,000 career yards rushing on the day, scored on a 20-yard run four minutes later for the 21-0 lead.

Portland State, which was averaging 35.6 points and 433.3 yards per game this season, finally got on the board with 6:23 left in the first half on an eight-yard pass from Blanchard to Bryant.

Delaware didn't waste any time in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 65-yard scoring bomb from Nagy to Elliott just 1:33 into the half. Scoring runs of seven yards by freshman Antawn Jenkins (63 yards) and five yards by Cummings later in the half upped the Blue Hen lead to 42-7.

"Our heads are spinning a little bit," said Portland State head coach Tim Walsh. "They were able to do pretty much anything they wanted to do. They kept us off balance the entire day. The rest of the nation better watch out."

Portland scored with 8:19 left to play on a one-yard toss from Blanchard to Taylor Teigen, but the Hens capped the scoring on an 11-yard run by Butter Pressey with 4:46 left to play.

 

AGATE:

Portland State.....0.....7.....0.....0.......- 14
Delaware............7....14...21.....7.......- 49

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter
Delaware- O'Neal 15 run (Collins Kick) 8:33 remaining

2nd Quarter
Delaware- Veach 9 pass from Nagy (Collins Kick) 13:07
Delaware- Cummings 20 run (Collins Kick) 9:34
PSU- Bryant 8 pass from Blanchard (Frantz Kick) 6:23

3rd Quarter

Delaware- Elliott 64 pass from Nagy (Collins Kick) 13:27
Delaware- Jenkins 7 run (Collins Kick) 8:23
Delaware- Cummings 5 run (Collins Kick) 6:15

4th Quarter
PSU- Teigen 1 pass from Blanchard (Frantz Kick) 4:01
Delaware- Pressey 11 run (Collins Kick) 3:33

Attendance: 12,945

TEAM STATS..........PSU................UD
First Downs......................17.....................30
Rushes-Yards...............22-66...............54-357
Passing Yards.................272....................263
Passes......................37-25-0..............23-14-1
Total Yards....................336....................620
Punts............................5-39................5-39.5
Fumbles-Lost..................1-0.....................0-0
Penalties-Lost................5-40...................6-74
Possession Time...........27:32..................32:28
Third Downs.............2 of 11................9 of 13
Sacks By........................0-0....................1-10

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: Portland State: Dunn 14-53, Blanchard 2-10, Robinson 1-4, Washington 1-2, Bryant 1-0, Jakubowski 2-0, Tuipolutu 1-0. Delaware: Cummings 11-84, O'Neal 12-83, Pressey 8-67, Jenkins 11-63, Patrick 7-34, Veach 1-12, Howard 1-10, Irvin 2-3, Mieczkowski 1-1.

PASSING: Portland State: Blanchard 37-25-0-272. Delaware: Nagy 23-14-1-263

RECEIVING: Portland State: Bryant 13-128, Floyd 5-76, Jackson 4-50, Dunn 1-10, Hester 1-7, Teigen 1-1. Delaware: Elliott 5-146, Cummings 3-54, O'Neal 2-32, Veach 2-14, Jenkins 1-12, Pressey 1-5.

- DDD -