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Oct. 14, 2000
WILLIAMSBURG, VA -- Matt Nagy threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns as Delaware, No. 4 in the SportsNetwork I-AA poll and No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Today I-AA Top 25, rallied from an early deficit to win at William & Mary, 28-17, in Atlantic 10 football action Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Blue Hens equalled their win total from each of the previous two seasons (both 7-4 marks) and remained unbeaten and atop the Atlantic 10 at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. It is the first time since 1986 that Delaware has won at Richmond and at William & Mary in the same season. The Blue Hens defeated Richmond last week, 24-17. The last time the Blue Hens were 7-0 to start the season was 1995, when they opened the year 9-0, en route to an 11-2 mark and an appearance in the NCAA I-AA quarterfinals. It is only the third time in Head Coach Tubby Raymond's 35-season tenure that the Blue Hens have opened the season 7-0 and just the seventh time in 109 seasons of Delaware football. The Blue Hens played from behind for the second straight week as William & Mary (3-4, 2-2 A-10) jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of Brett Sterba field goals. Sterba's first field goal of 53 yards tied a school-record to give William & Mary a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. His second came on the first play of the second quarter from 31 yards away. Delaware got on the board, however, with 11:11 remaining in the second quarter when Nagy threw the first of his three touchdown passes. Capping a seven-play, 81-yard drive, Nagy hit halfback Craig Cummings for a 28-yard touchdown to put the Blue Hens ahead to stay. Nagy's second TD of the day came when he hit halfback Butter Pressey on the first of two scoring strikes between the combo. This one, a 53-yard scoring pass to cap a four-play, 76-yard drive, gave Delaware a 14-6 lead. Pressey, a senior from Newark, DE, finished the day as Delaware leading receiver with four receptions for 93 yards. He also rushed 11 times for 28 yards. Sterba added another field goal just 16 seconds before intermission to close the Delaware lead to 14-9. However, Nagy's second scoring pass to Pressey and a two-point conversion on a Cummings run gave Delaware a 22-9 lead in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth, Scott Collins connected on a 19-yard field goal that capped a 16-play Delaware drive that covered 77 yards, but most importantly, consumed 8:17 of the clock. On its ensuing possession, the Tribe drove down the field to score on a 23-yard touchdown pass from David Corley to Danny Wade. William & Mary got the two-point conversion on a keeper by Corley to cut the Delaware lead to 25-17 with 3:44 remaining. The touchdown was the first that the Delaware defense has allowed in the second half this season. However, Delaware drove right back down the field. A 48-yard drive stalled, but was capped by Collins' second field goal of the quarter. This time a 20-yard chip shot by Collins gave Delaware an 11-point lead, 28-17, with 1:23 remaining. William & Mary moved the ball but was unable to score in the remaining time. The Delaware defense, which was ranked third in total defense and first in scoring defense in the nation entering the game, was led by Dan Mulhern's career-high 16 tackles and Brian McKenna's 14 tackles. Dominic Banks had a key interception in the end zone to thwart a William & Mary second half drive. Delaware's defense was not able to corral the quick Corley. Delaware managed just one sack, but did keep pressure on him most of the day as he completed 20 of 42 for 238 yards and also ran 13 times for 70 yards. Nagy finished the day 15 of 30 as he recorded his 17th career 200-yard passing game, extending his school record, and fifth 200-yard day this season. He is now second all-time at Delaware in touchdown passes with 44, passing Leo Hamlet's 42. Nagy, a senior from Manheim, PA, is three shy of the school mark held by Bill Vergantino. Fullback James O'Neal led Delaware's ground game with 75 yards rushing, putting him over 1,000 yards for his career. He is the 49th Blue Hen to top the career 1,000-yard mark and joins current Blue Hen backfield mates Pressey and Cummings in the elite group. O'Neal also caught three balls for 68 yards. Delaware will have next weekend off and hosts James Madison on Saturday, October 28, at 12 noon.
AGATE
SCORING DELAWARE..................0...14.....8....6...-
28 First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter
TEAM STATS.....................UD.............W&M First
Downs..................................20......................21 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: DELAWARE: James O'Neal 16-75, Craig Cummings 8-49, Butter Pressey 11-28, Matt Nagy 1-6; WILLIAM & MARY: David Corley 13-70, Hameen Ali 11-54, David Toal 1-44, Corey Howard 9-41, Komlan Lonergan 1-(-2), Rich Musinski 1-(-10). PASSING: DELAWARE: Nagy 15-30-2-271; WILLIAM & MARY: Corley 20-42-1-238. RECEIVING: DELAWARE: Pressey 4-93, O'Neal 3-68, Jamin Elliott 3-44, Brett Veach 3-33, Cummings 2-33. WILLIAM & MARY: Chris Rosier 6-61, Ali 4-48, Musinski 3-70, Howard 3-18, Danny Wade 2-30, Bryce Lee 1-8, Corey Paxton 1-3.
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