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University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Amherst, Mass.
University of Massachusetts
39
vs
38
UConn
Minutemen finish with big comeback
November 18, 1996 | Football
UM edges by UConn for winning mark
Marty Dobrow | Daily Hampshire Gazette
AMHERST – The talent level was not overwhelming. The number of bad mistakes was way too high. And the final record of the 1996 University of Massachusetts football team was a mediocre 6-5.
But at their best, the Minutemen had one defining characteristic that made the year memorable, even, in some senses, inspiring: a bone-hard resiliency. They kept coming. They kept trying. They refused the temptation to pack it in when that must have loomed as an easy prospect.
On Saturday, the UMass resiliency saw its finest hour as the Minutemen staged a stirring come-from-far-behind 39-38 victory over arch-rival Connecticut. The Minutemen had to come from 19 points down in the fourth quarter to win, and finally did so with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Smith to Erik Henry on a 4th and 19 with 31 seconds remaining.
The victory salvaged both a winning record a sense of positive feeling from a season that appeared headed for the thud of four straight defeats.
"In 30 years, I've never been in one like that," said coach Mike Hodges. "It was just amazing. We didn't send these seniors out as champions, but I'll tell you what: We sent them out with a memory that they'll never ever forget. Ever. The feelings in that locker room and on that sideline were just amazing."
"There's a lot of joy," said co-captain Kory Blackwell, who put an emphatic stamp on his final collegiate game with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown, the score that set up the game-winner. "It's unexplainable. I'm very proud of my team. I'm very proud of my coaches. It just feels good."
UMass appeared to be done when Dak Newton returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown with 12:36 left, extending UConn's lead to 38-19. Earlier squandered opportunities by the Huskies (fumbling on the UMass 1, missing a 21-yard field goal) appeared irrelevant.
UMass closed to 38-25 on a one-yard pass from Smith to Bryan Healey with 8:36 left.
Blackwell then turned up the heat with his shot-from-a-cannon punt return with 6:04 remaining. Suddenly, the score was 38-32.
UMass got the ball back with 4:25 left on its own 35. Two plays later, the Minutemen appeared to have blown the final chance when Kevin Bannister picked off an underthrown Smith pass, but on his return Bannister coughed up the ball, and UMass' Matt Alegi inhaled it for a bizarre 15-yard gain.
Again, it seemed over after a strange play when Smith's pass was batted back to the quarterback who made the reception for an 11-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Minutemen faced a desperate 4th and 19 from the 20.
The circumstances were almost identical to UMass' victory over Richmond early in the year, facing a 4th and 19 with the clock ticking down. Then, Smith hit Henry for a TD over the middle to force overtime.
This time, talking into the headset during the timeout, Smith asked for the same play. "Just send Henry over the middle, and I promise I'll get him the ball," the freshman signal caller said.
That's exactly what happened. And after a clutch extra point from Matt Murphy the deed was done.
"Right now i'm in shock," said Henry. "We were just trying to stay positive on the sidelines."
UConn coach Skip Holtz, grappling with the bitter ending of a disappointing 5-6 season, heaped credit on UMass.
"They got down and just kept fighting and fighting," said Holtz. "They believed, and they found a way to win."
"They play like crazy and they believe in one another," added Hodges. "And they always believe that they have a chance, as long as there's time on the clock."
About the Archives
This is a digitized version of a press release from the University of Massachusetts archives, before the start of online publication. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, UMass does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other items. Please send reports of such problems to the appropriate sport contact in the UMass Athletic Communications office.
AMHERST – The talent level was not overwhelming. The number of bad mistakes was way too high. And the final record of the 1996 University of Massachusetts football team was a mediocre 6-5.
But at their best, the Minutemen had one defining characteristic that made the year memorable, even, in some senses, inspiring: a bone-hard resiliency. They kept coming. They kept trying. They refused the temptation to pack it in when that must have loomed as an easy prospect.
On Saturday, the UMass resiliency saw its finest hour as the Minutemen staged a stirring come-from-far-behind 39-38 victory over arch-rival Connecticut. The Minutemen had to come from 19 points down in the fourth quarter to win, and finally did so with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Smith to Erik Henry on a 4th and 19 with 31 seconds remaining.
The victory salvaged both a winning record a sense of positive feeling from a season that appeared headed for the thud of four straight defeats.
"In 30 years, I've never been in one like that," said coach Mike Hodges. "It was just amazing. We didn't send these seniors out as champions, but I'll tell you what: We sent them out with a memory that they'll never ever forget. Ever. The feelings in that locker room and on that sideline were just amazing."
"There's a lot of joy," said co-captain Kory Blackwell, who put an emphatic stamp on his final collegiate game with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown, the score that set up the game-winner. "It's unexplainable. I'm very proud of my team. I'm very proud of my coaches. It just feels good."
UMass appeared to be done when Dak Newton returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown with 12:36 left, extending UConn's lead to 38-19. Earlier squandered opportunities by the Huskies (fumbling on the UMass 1, missing a 21-yard field goal) appeared irrelevant.
UMass closed to 38-25 on a one-yard pass from Smith to Bryan Healey with 8:36 left.
Blackwell then turned up the heat with his shot-from-a-cannon punt return with 6:04 remaining. Suddenly, the score was 38-32.
UMass got the ball back with 4:25 left on its own 35. Two plays later, the Minutemen appeared to have blown the final chance when Kevin Bannister picked off an underthrown Smith pass, but on his return Bannister coughed up the ball, and UMass' Matt Alegi inhaled it for a bizarre 15-yard gain.
Again, it seemed over after a strange play when Smith's pass was batted back to the quarterback who made the reception for an 11-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Minutemen faced a desperate 4th and 19 from the 20.
The circumstances were almost identical to UMass' victory over Richmond early in the year, facing a 4th and 19 with the clock ticking down. Then, Smith hit Henry for a TD over the middle to force overtime.
This time, talking into the headset during the timeout, Smith asked for the same play. "Just send Henry over the middle, and I promise I'll get him the ball," the freshman signal caller said.
That's exactly what happened. And after a clutch extra point from Matt Murphy the deed was done.
"Right now i'm in shock," said Henry. "We were just trying to stay positive on the sidelines."
UConn coach Skip Holtz, grappling with the bitter ending of a disappointing 5-6 season, heaped credit on UMass.
"They got down and just kept fighting and fighting," said Holtz. "They believed, and they found a way to win."
"They play like crazy and they believe in one another," added Hodges. "And they always believe that they have a chance, as long as there's time on the clock."
About the Archives
This is a digitized version of a press release from the University of Massachusetts archives, before the start of online publication. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, UMass does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other items. Please send reports of such problems to the appropriate sport contact in the UMass Athletic Communications office.
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