Boxscore
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The major stories surrounding the pre-season for the University of Delaware football team revolved around the anticipation of watching highly-touted transfer quarterback Pat Devlin and the much-heralded Blue Hen defense.

So it came as little surprise that both stole the show in the Blue Hens' 2009 season-opening 35-0 victory over West Chester Friday night at Delaware Stadium before a sellout crowd of 22,006.

Devlin (at right), playing his first game at Delaware Stadium after serving as backup at Penn State the last two seasons, completed 12 of 15 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score and the UD defense held the Rams to just 176 total yards in pitching its first shutout at home since the 2000 season.

The Hens (1-0), who will host defending NCAA Division FCS national champion Richmond next Saturday, won their home opener for the fifth straight season and for the 18th time in the last 21 years while downing their local rival West Chester for the 16th straight time.

The Rams (1-1), ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II and coming off five straight NCAA playoff appearances, didn't pick up their first down until midway through the second quarter and never got closer than the Delaware 16-yard line.

"This was a great win for us," said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, whose team is looking to bounce back from an uncharacteristic 4-8 record a year ago. "We go back and take a look at the films and see what we have to work on and get ready for the defending national champions. West Chester is a very good Division II team but we did what we were supposed to do and worked out a lot of kinks."

The Blue Hens, who posted their first shutout since a 42-0 win over Northeastern back on Sept. 30, 2000, allowed just 10 first downs total for the game and held the Rams to just 92 yards on the ground and 84 yards through the air.

Devlin was the difference on the offensive end of the field as he completed 12 of 15 passes for 227 yards and hooked up with tight end Josh Baker on a seven-yard slant for a touchdown to open the scoring six minutes into the game, added a one-yard dive early in the second quarter, and hooked up with Tommy Crosby on a 31-yard bomb down the left sideline with 5:41 left in the second quarter to send the Hens into intermission up 21-0.

The Hens built the lead in the second half as redshirt freshman David Hayes scored on a six-yard burst up the middle less than two minutes into the second half and junior running back Phillip Thaxton capped the scoring on a 29-yard run around the left end with 8:12 to go in that same stanza.

Delaware, which scored at home for the 169th straight time at home since 1983, posted its highest single game scoring output since a 38-7 win over Albany last September. The 35-point, 403-total yard was nice to see for the Hens, whose 17.5 points and 275.8 yards per game averages last season where the lowest for the program since the early 1960's.

"I had a ton of fun tonight," said Devlin, who was the top backup at Penn State the last two seasons after an All-American high school career at Downingtown (Pa.) East High School where he threw for over 8,000 career yards. "It was great to run out on to the field with the fans cheering and the smoke blowing. I felt very comfortable out there. I just had to try to go out and execute and put the ball where it needed to be."

"Pat looked just like he does out on the practice field," said Keeler. "We came out with a conservative game plan and Pat responded to that and did a lot of good things. He is so poised and has such a great presence. He is very talented, is a great kid, and an outstanding leader. He brings so much to the table. We will certainly challenge him next week (vs. Richmond).

Mark Mackey caught five passes for 83 yards, Hayes finished with a team-high 57 yards rushing in his collegiate debut, and Thaxton finished with 51 yards to place the Blue Hen offense.

Defensively, the Hens posted three sacks and gained two turnovers, including an interception by junior Anthony Walters in the first quarter that setup Devlin's one-yard scoring run that gave UD a 14-0 lead.

Walters stepped in front of a pass by Joe Wright and dashed 33 yards to the Ram four-yard line. Devlin sneaked into the end zone four plays later.

Wright, a Delaware native coming off a 186-yard passing effort in the Rams' season-opening 43-0 win over Lock Haven last Thursday, connected on just 8 of 20 passes for 59 yards as West Chester struggled. Backup quarterback Scott Bradish, who began his career at Delaware before transferring, led the Ram running game with 39 yards.