University of Massachusets Athletics
LIVE BLOG: UMass Football At Northeastern
October 11, 2008 | Football
Oct. 11, 2008
3:05 p.m.
Liam Coen kneels on it and the clock runs out. UMass escapes with a hard-fought and well-earned 28-24 victory.
UMass now heads home to prepare for Richmond next week's Homecoming game. Next Saturday's game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. at McGuirk Stadium, hope to see you there.
Thank you everyone for checking out today's blog. I hope it helped you enjoy the game more and I'll be typing to you again next week.
See ya.
3:03 p.m.
On third and five Coen hit an open Joe Sanford for the first down and NU has just one timeout left with a minute left so that play should do it.
2:58 p.m.
On fourth and three at the 43, Orio fumbled the snap and Jeromy Miles, coming on a blitz, recovers and UMass takes over at the 50. 1:30 left and Huskies have all three timeouts.
2:55 p.m.
Broomfield broke the first play for a 31 yard pickup to take the bakk into UMass territory to the 49. It was another direct snap play. Under four minutes left.
2:51 p.m.
Tony Nelson continues to get stronger as the UMass line wears down their counterparts. Nelson went 27 yards on third and two to take the ball down to the five.
On first and goal, Nelson never got the handoff as the ball squirted into the end zone and NU recovers for a touchback.
2:47 p.m.
On NU's second play of the drive, a short pass was completed and Corey Davis stripped the ball and recovered it to give UMass the ball back and the chance to take total control of the game.
2:42 p.m.
Tony Nelson breaks a run up the middle for 30 to give UMass the ball at the 5-yard line. He is over 100 yards now and has been handed the ball a career-high 30 times.
Coen completes the drive by taking it in himself from three yards out to give the Minutemen the lead. It's Coen's second rushing TD of the year and third in his career.
UMass has come back from four deficits today.
UMass 28, Northeastern 24, 6:42 left.
2:40 p.m.
After converting on third down in its first set of downs, Sean Smalls broke up a pass down the sideline and following the punt UMass takes over at the NU 48 with 8:49 to go.
2:35 p.m.
UMass' fourth down luck ended with Tony Nelson being dropped for a three yard loss on fourth and goal at the one to give NU the ball back on a play that could have changed the game.
2:31 p.m.
UMass goes for it on fourth and one at the 11. Coen runs a naked bootleg and is brought down right by the stakes. A measurement gives UMass the first down and the Minutemen are 2-for-2 on fourth down today and 7-for-11 on the season.
2:28 p.m.
Out of town scores:
UNH 28
W&M 28
4th
Hofstra 31
Bucknell 14
halftime
2:24 p.m.
Cruz' ninth catch of the game moves UMass down to the NU 21-yard line where it will have a first down.
Northeastern 24, UMass 21, end of third
2:21 p.m.
First play of the UMass possession Liam Coen finds Victor Cruz for a 20 yard pickup. That puts Cruz over 100 yards for the second time in his career. He has eight catches for 115 yards.
His first 100-yard game was his 262-yard school-record setting effort at James Madison earlier this season.
2:17 p.m.
The Huskies march right back down the field and score on a Anthony Orio touchdown run. The key play was the one before the TD when Orio scrambled nine yards on a broken play on third down to keep the drive going.
Northeastern is now 6-for-9 on third down conversion in the game.
Northeastern 24, UMass 21, 2:47 left in the third.
2:10 p.m.
With a 19-yard carry to take the ball into UMass territory, Alex Broomfield goes over 100 rushing yards. He is the fourth rusher to go over 100 against UMass this season. In 13 games last year, UMass allowed only three 100-yard rushers.
2:05 p.m.
Cuko's kickoff dropped to the turf at about the 15 yard line as there was miscommunication between the returns. The ball bounced back towards UMass' coverage and Kurt Filler recovered it for the Minutemen.
The drive was short-lived as Nate Thellen picked off Coen in the end zone on a pass intended for Julian Talley. It's Thellen's NCAA-leading fifth interception.
2:00 p.m.
Liam Coen engineers a drive the Minutemen desperately needed. Taking them down the field in 5:51 to take the lead back on another Zardas plunge from two yards out.
Northeastern was flagged for pass interference for the third time in the end zone today to help set up the score.
Zardas, with two touchdowns today, is scheduled as the guest on next week's Bud Light UMass Football Show at the Hangar. He and Josh Maurer now have plenty to talk about.
UMass 21, Northeastern 14, 9:09 left in third
1:50 p.m.
The UMass band got this crowd going at haltime, we'll see if that energy can carry into the second half. I even saw people in Northeastern shirts chanting "Go, Go U, Go UMass, GO UMASS" with the band and UMass fans.
A quick penalty , illegal block on UMass on the kickoff return gives UMass its ninth penalty of the day.
1:48 p.m..
A few key halftime stats:
Total Offense
NU: 301
UMass 223
Rushing Yards
NU: 151
UMass: 73
Penalties
UMass 8-64
NU 4-35
1:28 p.m.
UMass went with a pooch kick on the kickoff and it was returned to the NU 49-yard line. A 26-yard pass down the middle, a spike to kill the clock, and a UMass penalty set up a 37-yard field goal as time expired and sends Northeastern into halftime with the lead and erases the momentum the Minutemen had stolen.
Northeastern 17, UMass 14, halftime
1:23 p.m.
Fullback Chris Zardas pounds it in for the score to tie the game. It's his first TD of the season and first career rushing score. Last season he scored twice, both on passes.
UMass 14, Northeastern 14, 23 second left in half.
1:20 p.m.,br> Tony Nelson picked up a big fourth and two for UMass with the clock winding down. UMass followed with a pass towards Joe Sanford in the end zone, but there was some miscommunication as Sanford stopped on the route. NU's Nate Thellen, brother of UMass true freshman Darren Thellen and the nation's leader in interceptions, dropped the interception in the end zone to keep UMass' drive alive. A pass interference call in the end zone followed to give UMass first and goal at the two with 31 seconds left.
1:12 p.m.
Other CAA score:
UNH 21, William & Mary 7, second quarter
1:02 p.m.
On third and 28, Coen was flushed from the pocket and ran 22 yards, resulting in a Brett Arnold punt. It was the longest rush of Coen's career. His previous long was 15, which he had in his first game at quarterback of the Minutemen, at Colgate in 2005.
12:58 p.m.
After a third and 15 pass to Cruz for a first down, the UMass offense goes backwards. A holding call was followed up by just the fourth sack of Liam Coen this season. It was the first time Coen has been sacked with center Sean Calicchio on the field. Another holding call followed to give UMass a second and 28 situation.
12:52 p.m.
Anthony Orio found Rob Theoudele down the right sideline and the 6-4 senior went 80 yards for the score. Sean Smalls was called for pass interference on the play, but obviously it was declined.
It was the first 80+ yard pass play by a UMass opponent since David Corley to Rich Musinski went 86 yards for William & Mary on Aug. 31, 2000.
Northeastern 14, UMass 7, 12:16 left in second
12:47 p.m.
Congratulations to a couple of UMass teams that won Atlantic 10 games yesterday. Women's soccer defeated Xavier, 1-0, at Rudd Field. Therese Smith scored the game's lone goal. The Minutewomen are back home on Sunday afternoon.
17th ranked field hockey travelled down to Richmond and defeated the Spiders 3-1 yesterday. Katelyn Orlando scored twice and Katie Kelly scored the third in the win. UMass hosts Saint Louis on Sunday at noon.
12:43 p.m.
After a 23-yard pass to Victor Cruz, Liam Coen finishes the first quarter a perfect 4-for-4 for 60 yards. UMass will start the second quarter facing second and 13 at its own 40.
UMass 7, Northeastern 7, End of First
12:37 p.m.
Northeastern is able to move the ball down the field again on the UMass defense using a variety of unorthodox plays, inlcuding screens, option passes, and direct snaps (i.e. Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins). The drive stalls at the UMass 20 and Mat Johnson's 37-yard attempt hit off the crossbar and is no good. UMass takes over.
12:32 p.m.
That was Nelson's seventh rushing touchdown and eighth overall this season. It was his first trip to the end zone in almost a month, as he went scoreless in UMass' last two games combined with the bye week. His last score was on Sept. 13 at James Madison when he had two.
12:28 p.m.
Horne ran another end-around (right to left both times) and picked up nine yards this time to take it down to the six yard lines. Three Tony Nelson rushes later, UMass is in the end zone and this game is tied.
UMass 7, Northeastern 7, 6:41 left in the first.
12:25 p.m.
Jeremy Horne ran 10 yards on an end-around to give UMass a first down inside Northeastern territory. He now has three carries for 19 yards on the season.
12:14 p.m.
A 41-yard rush by Greg Abelli on a reverse moved the Huskies deep into UMass territory and a 23-yard TD run by Alex Broomfield gives the Huskies an early 7-0 lead.
It is the first points Northeastern has scored at home against UMass since 2004. In 2006 here at Parsons Field, UMass shutout the Huskies 7-0 in a rainstorm. .That is the last time UMass shutout an opponent.
12:12 p.m.
Josh Jennings is out on the field for the Minutemen starting at linebacker (has already made one tackle). He missed most of practice this week after his father, who was at Saturday's game vs. Delaware, sadly passed away on Sunday.
12:05 p.m.
It feels like a home game here. With the UMass band playing the fight song, the Minutemen take the field to loud cheers from the UMass fans that outnumber the Northeastern fans in attendance. The Huskies followed the Minutemen onto the field to much quieter cheers.
11:55 a.m.
A few roster changes for UMass. Starters, OT Ben Coblyn, DE Michael Hanson are not playing today. Brian Ostaszewski will get the start at right tackle. It will be his second career start. He started at Holy Cross. Bob McLaughlin is getting the start at defensive end. This will be his first career start.
For Northeastern, starting wide receiver Tony Lott is out and Rob Theoudele is starting in his place.
It's feeling warmer than the forecasted 65 degree high as we near kickoff time.
11:35 a.m.
Both teams are on the field warming up. UMass arrived with all the players almost fully dressed in uniform due to the limited facilities here. Most just had to put on the their shoulder pads and they were ready to go. Athletic trainers Jen Brodeur and Bob Kuzmeski taped players on tables set up outside next to the concession stands.
The UMass band has arrived. They are taking up about one third of the stands on the side of the field opposite the press box, which is also the UMass sideline.
This week's edition of UMass Football Weekly is now playing in the video player on the front page of our website.
10:45 a.m.
Welcome back to the UMass Football Live Blog! This is Dave Gunn from the UMass Media Relations office . Jason Yellin and I will be bringing you all the added information and tidbits you'll be looking for as you follow the action by watching the video and/or listening at UMassAthletics.com. The broadcast team of Josh Maurer, Matt Goldstein, and Adam Frenier will be broadcasting the action on WRNX 100.9 FM as well as here at UMassAthletics.com.
Today's game between the Minutemen (3-2, 1-1 CAA) and Northeastern (2-3, 1-0 CAA) is being played at cozy Parsons Field in Brookline, Mass. The field, situated in a residential community, doubles as the Huskies' baseball field as well. The football field stretches across the right field and center field portions of the outfield and temporary seating is put in on the side opposite the press box (the seats you see in the photo on the front page of the site). The surface is SprintTurf, which is similar to the FieldTurf at McGuirk Stadium, just with slightly shorter "grass".
It's a beautiful fall day here with blue skies and temperature at gametime is forecast for 65 degrees. It should be a perfect day for football.
