|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
Oct. 7, 2000
RICHMOND, VA -- Senior quarterback Matt Nagy found spread end Jamin Elliott for an 83-yard touchdown pass with just 1:12 remaining as seventh-ranked Delaware rallied from a 17-0 deficit to No. 16 Richmond, 24-17, in Atlantic 10 Football action Saturday afternoon. Nagy, a native of Manheim, PA (Manheim Central HS) hit Elliott on a hitch-and-go pattern down the left sideline on first-and-10 to break the 17-17 tie. Nagy finished the day 15 of 33 passing for 274 yards and two touchdowns. It was his 16th career 200-yard passing game. Elliott, a junior from Portsmouth, VA (Churchland HS) caught five of those balls for 126 yards, his second 100-yard game of the season and the third of his career. The 83-yarder was the longest completion between the duo.
Richmond had two chances to tie the game. On their first possession, the Spiders marched to midfield, thanks in part to a Delaware personal foul for a late hit out of bounds. With 50 seconds left and Richmond in possession of the ball at their own 43, Mike Adams batted a Sean Gustus pass down on first down. Gustus' pass was broken up on second down by Monderio Pinckney. Gustas then found a receiver on third down, but Adams pushed him out of bounds at the Delaware 49 to force fourth-and-two. Femi Ayi then swatted away the fourth down pass to end the Richmond threat with 29 seconds remaining. The Blue Hens were forced to punt with 10 seconds left, but Gustus, who also returns punts for the Spiders because of injuries, let the punt roll down inside the Richmond 5 as the clock ticked down to just two seconds left. A desperation pass by Gustus was intercepted by Bashawn Dixon as time expired. Delaware moved to 6-0, 3-0 in Atlantic 10 action with the win. It is the first time since 1995 that the Blue Hens have opened the season with six straight wins. The Blue Hens won their first nine games that season and finished 11-2. The Spiders (3-2, 1-1 Atlantic 10) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the game's opening possession. Gustus (9-14 passing for 109 yards, 22 rushes for 78 yards) scampered 25 yards on an option keeper for the game's first score, which snapped Delaware's shutout string at 10 quarters (156 minutes). It also marked the first time this season that the Blue Hens have trailed in a game. Richmond increased the lead to 10-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Doug Kirchner with eight seconds left in the first quarter, capping a 10-play, 32-yard drive. While Richmond's offense jumped up quickly, its defense stuffed Delaware's high-octane offense. The Blue Hens, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in total offense in I-AA averaging 497.6 yards per game, failed to record a first down in the first quarter and managed just six yards in total offense. Menawhile, the Richmond lead extended to 17-0 when Gustus found a wide-open Boyd Ouden for a 52-yard scoring pass with 13:18 left in the second quarter. Delaware then began its rally as 14 second-quarter points cut the deficit to three before intermission. The first score came on the very next possession in the form of an 18-yard touchdown pass from Nagy to tight end Greg Penecale. The score, which came with 10:03 left in the quarter and capped an eight-play, 62-yard drive. The Blue Hens closed to within 17-14 just before half when fullback James O'Neal (15 carries, 45 yards; 22 shy of 1,000 for his career) broke through on a six-yard touchdown run. Scott Collins added the PAT and Delaware was within three with 51 seconds left in the first half. After a scoreless third quarter, Collins added a 27-yard field goal with 12:49 remaining to tie the game and set the stage for the Nagy to Elliott game-winner. Delaware held a slight advantage in total offense, 335-319, for the game. However, Richmond was held to 114 yards of offense after jumping to its early 17-point lead. The Spiders were also hurt by an 0-for-12 on third down conversions. Delaware, which was 10th in Division I-AA in total rushing averaging 258 yards rushing per game, was held to just 61 yards on 34 carries by the Richmond defense. The win avenged a 45-6 loss at Richmond two years ago. Delaware will head back to Virginia next Saturday when they travel to William & Mary for a 1 p.m. contest. Delaware junior linebacker Darrell Edmonds paced the UD defense with a career-high 17 tackles while Dan Mulhern added 12. AGATE DELAWARE.....0.....14.....0....10.....-
24 Scoring FIRST QUARTER SECOND QUARTER FOURTH QUARTER Attendance: 13,100 TEAM
STATS...............UD..........UR
RUSHING - DELAWARE: O'Neal 16-45, Pressey 6-24, Cummings 7-11, Nagy 4-(-14), TEAM 2-(-5). RICHMOND: Gustus 22-78, Diggs 9-43, Turner 8-35, Fulton 6-30, Purnell 6-28, TEAM 2-(-4). PASSING - DELAWARE: Nagy 15-33-1-274. RICHMOND: Gustus 9-14-1-109. RECEIVING - DELAWARE: Elliott 5-126, Veach 5-77, Cummings 2-30, Penecale 1-18, Pressey 1-14, O'Neal 1-9. RICHMOND: Turner 3-19, Millard 2-23, Ouden 1-52, Tolhurst 1-10, Gustus 1-2, Dantzler 1-1.
|
