NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware gave top-ranked New Hampshire all it could handle, but it was the arm and legs of quarterback Ricky Santos that finally led the Wildcats to the wild 52-49 Atlantic 10 Conference football victory over the No. 17 ranked Blue Hens in an NCAA I-AA top 20 slugfest Saturday night at Delaware Stadium.

Santos, a junior All-American, was too elusive for the Delaware defense all night as he led a UNH offense that piled up 516 yards as he completed 21 of 30 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns and ran 13 times for 110 yards and two more scores as the Wildcats (4-0, 1-0 A-10) remained unbeaten and won their conference opener. Santos also established a new UNH career record for passing yards as he pushed his total to 8,008 yards, breaking the previous mark of 7,742 by Bob Jean in 1985-88.

Delaware, which was hosting its first ever No. 1 ranked team at Delaware Stadium, fell to 2-2 (1-1 A-10) despite gaining a season-high 466 total yards of its own as quarterback Joe Flacco connected on 28 of 45 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Junior All-American running back Omar Cuff (at right) rushed for 109 yards and four touchdowns and caught eight passes for 79 yards and tight end Ben Patrick caught nine passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to lead the Blue Hen effort.

The two teams combined for 101 points, including 43 in the fourth quarter alone, 982 yards, and 50 first downs in a slugfest that wasn’t decided until UNH recovered an on-side kick in the final seconds. The 52 points was the most allowed by Delaware since 1998 and the most allowed at home since a 58-55 win over West Chester in 1994.

“We just couldn’t find a way to win this game tonight,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, who entered the game 11-1 all-time vs. top 10 opponents. “We are a program that doesn’t accept moral victories but I told our kids that I’m proud of the way they played and they should be proud too. They battled all night and we grew up some today. Some guys took on bigger roles today and I saw some positive things but it was frustrating to see how many tackles we missed. But we have a lot of football left to play.”

Chris Ward added 81 yards on the ground for New Hampshire and clinched the win when he rambled 45 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 left to put the Wildcats up 52-42. Wildcat wide receiver David Ball caught seven passes for 126 yards but was stopped in his bid to record his NCAA I-AA record 51st career touchdown reception. He remained tied with former Mississippi Valley State and National Football League standout Jerry Rice.

The first half ended in a 21-21 tie as Cuff scored two touchdowns, including one one a 39-yard scamper, and Flacco hit Patrick on a 10-yard scoring pass and Santos scored on a one-yard run and threw scoring tosses of 28 yards to Chad Kackert and 11 yards to Aaron Brown.

Delaware took a 27-21 lead early in the third quarter as Flacco hit Kervin Michaud on an eight-yard scoring pass just under five minutes in, but UNH’s Corey Graham returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and Tom Manning booted a 41-yard field goal to send the Wildcats up 28-27 heading into the final frame.

The final quarter was a wild affair as the teams combined for six touchdowns, including four in the final five minutes. The Blue Hens took their final lead just under two minutes into the stanza when Cuff scored his third touchdown of the night on a one-yard run for a 34-31 Delaware lead.

But New Hampshire came back to take the lead for good as Santos hit Ward on a 13-yard scoring toss with 10:54 left and scored on his own nine-yard scamper six minutes later for a 45-34 lead with 4:40 left.

Delaware never gave in as the Hens stormed right back as Rashaad Woodard’s 76-yard kickoff return set up Cuff’s fourth touchdown, a three-yard burst with 3:20 left cut narrow the margin to 45-42. But Ward came back to clinch the victory as he got loose on a 45-yard run and scored with 2:41 left for a 52-42 lead. A 10-yard pass from Flacco to Aaron Love with 56 seconds left cut the margin to 52-49 but it was too little too late.

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