University of Massachusets Athletics
LIVE GAME BLOG: UMass Hosts Delaware
October 04, 2008 | Football
AMHERST, Mass. - Welcome back to UMass football and the live game blog from McGuirk Alumni Stadium. It is a perfect New England football day, 60 degrees, partly cloudy with a breeze. Not to mention a battle of Top 20 FCS teams in UMass and Delaware, winners of two of the last 10 NCAA championships.
Live from the McGuirk press box, I'm Dave Gunn from the UMass media relations office providing all the latest info on the UMass-Delaware game.
Here are the official pregame notes supplied in the press box.
WEATHER: Partly Cloudy, 61 degrees, 14 mph WNW
TWO-DEEP CHANGES
For Delaware:
85-Martwain Johnson will start at one of the wide receiver sports in place of 21-Mark Duncan
11-Matt Marcorelle is doubtful (game-time decision) with a hamstring injury, if he doesn't start, 53-John Higginson (Amherst native) will start at left end
For UMass:
63-Sean Calicchio is probable (game-time decision) with an ankle injury at center. Note on the flip card Rob Getek is No. 71 not 77, at right guard. Also, note UMass' linebacker line-up is correct on the flip card, which is different from the game notes with several changes.
3:30 p.m.
It's a crazy gameday environment surrounding McGuirk Stadium today. The parking lots are packed with tailgaters. In fact, on my way over from No. 17 field hockey's 5-1 win vs. Siena at Garber Field, I stopped and enjoyed a bratwurst with some tailgaters in the yellow lot. The line at the student entrance is wrapped all the way across the north end of the stadium right now as the stadium continues to fill up.
3:36 p.m.
The four living members of the University of Massachusetts Athletic Hall of Fame 2008 induction class of five: Jack Canniff (ice hockey coach 1967-79), Thomas Coburn (Class of 1974, men's soccer), Edward McGrath (Class of 1949, soccer, basketball, baseball), Ron Wayne (Class of 1971, cross country, track and field) performed the ceremonial coin flip. Delaware won the toss, and deferred to the second half.UMass will receive.
3:40 p.m.
On the opening kickoff, freshman Tyler Holmes made his debut for the Minutemen, breaking his redshirt. He is the second true freshman to play this season, following Korrey Davis. Holmes played in high school for UMass wide receivers coach Brian Crist's father, David, at Blacksburg (Va.) High School.
3:43 p.m.
UMass strikes first! Liam Coen found Jeremy Horne deep down the middle for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Armando Cuko's extra point is good and UMass is on top, 7-0, with 12:52 left in the first.
That was Coen's 10th TD pass of the year. It was Horne's fourth TD catch of season. He is now one behind Tony Nelson in the battle for team-lead in touchdowns.
3:47 p.m.
On third and four for the Blue Hens, Michael Hanson sacked Robby Schoenhoft, an offsides penalty on UMass gave Delaware a first down.
3:54 p.m.
In other CAA Scores:
Northeastern 35, Towson 17, Final
Rhode Island 37, Brown 13, 4th
Villanova 38, William & Mary 28, 4th
James Madison 49, Hofstra 0, 4th
Richmond 49, VMI 10, 4th
4:00 p.m.
After a time-consuming 15-play drive, Delaware scores on a 8-yard TD pass from Schoenhoft to Robbie Agnone. A 9:09 drive for the Blue Hens went 79 yards and ties the game at 7-7 with 3:43 left in the first.
4:05 p.m.
On third and eight, Victor Cruz made a great catch on 28-yard pass to get the ball down to the Delaware 26.
The stands on the UMass side of the field are jam-packed and the Delaware side of the field has now almost reached capacity with a mix of Delaware and lots of UMass fans. A big crowd here for the first home game in over a month.
4:09 p.m.
On fourth and six at the Delaware 22, Coen's pass fell incomplete. Delaware will take over on downs.
Lots of UMass football alums in the house today. Breyone Evans, Matt Stolte, Biff Gotthrer, Brad Listorti, Tracy Belton, Rasheed Rancher, Brandon Freeman, Mike Omar, and Christian Koegel are all down on the sideline.
First quarter ends with the score knotted, 7-7, and with Delaware facing a third and seven at its own 26.
4:15 p.m.
UMass forced a punt and Sean Smalls returned the ball 14 yards to the Delaware 45. UMass' longest punt return of the season.
UMass ran a trick play with Joe Sanford throwing a pass deep to Tony Nelson, who caught the ball at the 10-yard line, and was stripped of the ball and Charles Graves recovered and returned the ball to the UMass 41 where the Blue Hens will take over.
4:25 p.m.
On third and two, Tony Nelson ran the ball 38 yards, down to the Delaware 18-yard line. He has three carries for 57 yards on the drive.
4:27 p.m.
UMass turns the ball over in the red-zone for the second time. Liam Coen's pass into the end zone was tipped into the air by Victor Cruz and intercepted by Fred Andrew for a touchback.
4:30 p.m.
Lots of other sports here on campus today. As I already mentioned, field hockey defeated Siena, 5-1, earlier today in the only other official game here today. Softball is hosting Holy Cross in a fall-ball doubleheader. Hockey holds its exhibition game tonight in the Mullins Center practice rink against New Brunswick at 6:30. Men's soccer is also holding an exhibition match, taking on a club team from Toronto at Rudd Field.
4:35 p.m.
Total yards so far today:
UMass: 253
Delaware: 94
4:37 p.m.
Coming into today, Delaware opponents this year had only one carry over seven yards, today Tony Nelson has four carries over seven yards himself.
UMass is driving at the Delaware 37.
4:40 p.m.
UMass' third turnover in Delaware territory today. Liam Coen's pass to Matt Silver was intercepted by Brian Brown and Delaware gets the ball back at its own 18-yard line.
4:45 p.m.
Pass on third and 10 by Schoenhoft was incomplete, but Corey Davis was called for a personal foul giving the Blue Hens a first down and keeping the drive alive for them. First down at their own 32.
4:47 p.m.
UMass forces a punt and takes over at its own 26-yard line with 1:21 left in the half.
4:55 p.m.
Two sideline passes to Jeremy Horne and a 9-yarder over the middle to Joe Sanford moves the ball to the Delaware 34 with 57 second left.
4:55 p.m.
Armando Cuko's 45-yard field goal attempt, which would have been a career-long, falls short and right, giving Delaware the ball back with five seconds. The Blue Hens kneel on it and the score at halftime is 7-7.
4:58 p.m.
The Delaware band takes the field first at halftime, welcomed by a mix of boos and polite cheers from the crowd.
5:07
The UMass band takes over on the field or the rest of halftime, putting on a spectacular show as usual.
Halftime stats:
Coen is 12-for-21 for 176 yards with two interceptions and one TD. Schoenhoft is 4-for-8 for 35 yards and one TD.
Horne leads UMass with five catches for 91 yards and a score, while Agnone has two for 21 and score.
Tony Nelson has 87 yards on nine carries, while Smith leads Delaware with 33 yards on eight carries.
Total Yards: UMass 301, Delaware 104
First Downs: UMass 11, Delaware 7
Penalties: UMass 3-25, Delaware 3-25
Possession: UMass 11:47, Delaware 18:13
5:20 p.m.
Brian Smith, assistant coach with the New York Jets and a UMass alum, is down on the sideline as he enjoys his bye week.
Second half is underway, as Delaware is in UMass territory.
Attendance today is 16,422. It's the 13th largest crowd all-time. It's also the biggest regular season crowd since Nov. 26, 1974 vs. UConn. The Minutemen drew a crowd of 17,000 vs. UNH in the 2006 NCAAs.
5:25 p.m.
On third and seven at the UMass 33, the Minutemen brought the blitz and forced a bad throw. Delaware went for it on fourth down after calling timeout and Josh Jenning sacked Schoenhoft to give UMass the ball.
Josh Jennings now has 14 tackles, setting his career-high.
5:32 p.m.
Two Tony Nelson carries put him over 100 yards for the game. This is his fourth-career 100-yard game, third this season.
5:39 p.m.
UMass' drive stalled at the Delaware 36. Following Brett Arnold's first punt of the game, UMass' defense forced a punt and Sean Smalls' return combined with a 15-yard late hit out of bounds penalty gives UMass the ball at the Delaware 43.
5:40 p.m.
UMass' fourth turnover in Delaware territory. Liam Coen's pass on second and nine was intercepted at the 20-yard line by Charles Graves and her returned the ball to the UMass 42. This is Coen's second career three-interception game. The first was in the NCAAs last year at Southern Illinois.
5:47 p.m.
UMass moves the chains on Ian Jorgensen's first catch of the game, a 4-yarder giving the Minutemen the ball at their own 45 with under two minutes left in the third.
5:48 p.m.
Liam Coen's 10-yard pass to Jeremy Horne just put Horne over 100 yards for the day. It's his second-career 100-yard game. He has seven catches thus far.
That was followed by freshman Korrey Davis' longest career run, an 18-yarder taking the ball down to the Delaware 32.
5:52 p.m.
The third quarter ends on an 11-yard carry by Korrey Davis, giving the Minutemen a first down at the Delaware 21-yard line.
Total Yards:
UMass: 402
Delaware: 146
5:56 p.m.
UMass went didn't gain any ground on its three downs from there. Armando Cuko splits the uprights with a 38-yard field goal and UMass leads, 10-7, with 12:55 left.
6:00 p.m.
A note from former UMass SID Howie Davis, UMass has had only one snap inside the red-zone, while turning the ball over four times in the red-zone.
6:01 p.m.
The big play UMass has been waiting for just happened! Jeromy Miles intercepted Schoenhoft's pass at the UMass 48 and took it all the way down the far sideline for the 52-yard touchdown. It was UMass' first interception return for TD since Sean Smalls' 90-yarder last season vs. Towson (9/15). UMass now leads, 17-7, with 10:57 left.
6:11 p.m.
UMass' defense has six three-and-outs forcing punts against Delaware today. In the first four games, UMass had just nine.
6:17 p.m.
UMass forced another three-and-out, and the Minutemen have the ball and are looking to use some clock. Currently, UMass has the ball at the Delaware 49 with five and half minutes left.
6:27 p.m.
The Minutemen have run out the clock on offense and come away with a great 17-7 victory. UMass improves to 3-2 on the season, including 2-0 at McGuirk.
Great weather, great crowd, and a great game today. Thanks for checking out today's blog everybody and I look forward to bringing you more next Saturday from Northeastern. Good night.
