NEWARK, DE -- Backup quarterback Dennis Davis threw for 266 yards and scored the game’s only touchdown late in the third quarter as Hofstra upset No. 13 University of Delaware in an Atlantic 10 Football Conference defensive struggle at soggy Delaware Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Hens, who lost their second straight game to fall to 2-3 (0-2 A-10), drove down to the Hofstra four-yard line in the final minute of play but quarterback Sonny Riccio threw three straight incomplete passes to preserve the win for the Pride.

Heavy rains that started Friday evening and dropped over an inch of rain on the Delaware Stadium surface made for muddy conditions that caused both offensive units to sputter all afternoon. A light but steady rain fell for most of the contest. The teams combined for just 32 first downs and 576 total yards, including just 62 on the ground, and punted a total
of 17 times.

Hofstra (3-2, 1-1 A-10), which snapped a two-game losing streak, defeated the Blue Hens for just the second time in eight tries at Delaware Stadium. Davis, subbing for starter Anton Clarkson who was out with a shoulder injury suffered last week, hit on 26 of 41 passes for 266 yards, connecting with Devale Ellis eight times for 116 yards and
with Marques Colston eight times for 50 yards.

Riccio hit on 20 of 50 passes for 248 yards but the Blue Hen offense could manage just 17 first downs and 73 yards rushing. Delaware sophomore running back Omar Cuff, who entered the game as the leading rusher and scorer in the Atlantic 10, was held to just 35 yards rushing on 18 carries but did catch eight passes for 105 yards. Cuff, who had scored an NCAA I-AA leading 11 touchdowns this season and was averaging 130.2 yards per game, had a streak of six straight 100-yard rushing efforts snapped.

Hofstra got on the board first when Rob Zarrilli converted his ninth straight field goal attempt, nailing a season-high tying 48 yarder with 1:22 left in the second quarter. But the Hens came right back and drove 75 yards, sending the game into intermission tied at 3-3 as Zach Hobby kicked a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

The Hens upped the lead to 6-3 on Hobby’s 25-yard field goal with 5:13 remaining in the third stanza, capping a 72-yard drive that was highlighted by a 34-yard pass play from Riccio to Cuff and a 26-yard completion from Riccio to tight end Steve Selk. But Hofstra scored what proved to be the game-winner on its next possession, driving 56 yards in
seven plays and capping the drive on Davis’ four-yard run up the middle. Davis hooked up with Ellis four straight times during the series for 54 yards to highlight the pivotal drive.

Delaware had the chance to win the game in the closing minutes. After gaining possession on their own 33-yard line with 2:52 remaining, Riccio drove the Hens into Hofstra territory, hitting Aaron Love and Brian Ingram on two big third down plays. The Hens had a first and goal opportunity at the Hofstra four-yard line, but Riccio ran for four yards
and misfired on his next two passes. On fourth down, Riccio dropped back to pass but slipped as he was passing and the ball landed well short of the goal line.

“We are very disappointed,” said Delaware fourth-year head coach K.C. Keeler, who lost for just the third time in 27 games at Delaware Stadium as head coach. “Two weeks in a row now we needed to make a big play near the end of the game and didn’t. In the past it seems as if we always made those big plays at the end. It was a very tough loss but our kids kept battling. Our lockerroom is about as quiet as I’ve ever heard it.”

“Any time you get out of here (Delaware Stadium) with a win, there’s nothing like it,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Gardi, whose team lost to defending I-AA national champion James Madison 42-10 last week. “It hasn’t been too often for us. This was a defensive win and probably the best we’ve played on defense all season. It’s the most fun we’ve ever
had when scoring 10 points.”

Delaware had a streak of 35 straight games scoring 10 or more points snapped and a streak of scoring 20 or more points at home stopped at 26. The Hens failed to score a touchdown for the first time in 116 games since a 27-0 setback to Villanova in 1996 and had their nine-game home winning streak snapped.

The Blue Hen defense held Hofstra to just 15 first downs and 255 total yards, including -11 yards on the ground as the Hens posted four sacks. The -11 yards rushing was the 10th lowest total allowed by Delaware in school history and was the best defensive showing by UD since holding Northeastern to -26 yards in 1997. The game marked the first time in school history that the Hens held an opponent to negative rushing yardage but still lost, snapping a streak of 13 straight victories.

Linebacker John Mulhern (above) led the Delaware defense with 12 tackles including two sacks, while Erik Johnson recorded five tackles and intercepted a pass. Hofstra’s Cole Haley had a team-high eight tackles.

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