Blue Hen Football
Season in Review
#16 Villanova DELAWARE
41 10
2013 Spring Game Blue 38, White 6
Nov. 17, 2012 • Delaware Stadium (19,523)
May 5, 2013 • Delaware Stadium (2,000)
NEWARK, Del. -- A frustrating 2012 season for the Blue Hens ended on a down not as No. 16 Villanova scored 27 unanswered points in the second half and rolled to a 41-10 victory over Delaware. Delaware trailed just 14-10 at halftime and was down by a single touchdown heading into the fourth quarter before Villanova put the game away on an 11-yard by QB John Robertson and two interception returns for touchdowns over the final four minutes. The Blue Hens managed their only points on a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Michael Johnson just four minutes into the game and on a 30-yard field goal by Sean Baner 4:17 before halftime. The field goal was Baner’s 18th of the season, just three shy of the UD single season mark. The Blue Hens could not contain the Villanova running game, which picked up 305 yards on the day, surpassing that mark for the fourth time in the last five games and for the fifth time overall this season. CAA rushing leader Kevin Monangai picked up 146 yards and scored a touchdown while Robertson, a strong candidate for CAA Rookie of the Year honors, ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and completed 15 of 21 passes for 193 yards and another score. Delaware managed just 283 total yards on the day as the Hens were held to 84 yards rushing and 199 yards through the air. QB Trent Hurley completed 23 of 35 passes for 188 yards but was intercepted three times and sacked three times. Julian Laing led the UD running game with 75 yards while Nihja White completed his outstanding Delaware career with career-high 12 catches for 88 yards. He finished the season with 57 catches and became the first player in UD history to reach the 50-reception mark in three seasons. Senior LB Paul Worrilow closed out his career with a team-high 12 tackles while sophomore LB Patrick Callaway (bottom right) recorded 10 tackles. Villanova piled up 498 total yards, the second highest mark against the Hens this season, but it was the Wildcat defense that assured the win. Wildcats kicker Mark Hamilton booted field goals of 28 yards midway through the third quarter and 37 yards just two minutes into the final stanza to up the lead to 20-10. Delaware was driving early in the fourth quarter but Ronnie Akins intercepted Hurley in the end zone with 7:13 left to play and the Wildcats followed with an 80-yard drive capped by Robertson’s 11-yard scoring run with 5:13 left to push the advantage to 27-10. Akins struck again when he returned an interception 45 yards for a score with 3:47 left to play and two minutes later Eric Loper sealed the win with a 42-yard interception return for a score.
NEWARK, Del. -- WR Rob Jones and RB Julian Laing stole the show as they catapulted the Blue team to a 38-6 victory over the White team during the annual Blue-White Spring Scrimmage at Delaware Stadium. The annual game closed a month of spring practice under new head coach Dave Brock. The Blue team included the first team offense and first team defense while the White team featured the second team on both sides of the ball. The game consisted of two 12-minute quarters and one 25-minute quarter with a running clocks. Jones, who missed most of the 2012 season with a knee injury, closed out an outstanding spring as he threw a 70-yard scoring strike to Mike Milburn to open the scoring for the Blue team and then caught a 40-yard scoring pass from QB Trevor Sasek. Laing rushed 17 times for 153 yards and scored on runs of 12 yards and one yard, while Pierce added 67 yards on nine carries and scored on a one-yard dive. Sasek hit on 9 of 13 passes for 142 yards. For the White team, QB Justin Burns completed 9 of 20 passes for 128 yards with sophomore Rickey Bell hauling in three passes for 68 yards. RB Brandon Favro notched his team’s only points when he scored on a one-yard dive early in the second period. After the White team jumped out to the 6-0 lead, it was all Blue from there starting with Jones’ scoring bomb to Milburn. Jones took the handoff on the end around, stopped, a fired a spiral to a wide-open Milburn who sprinted down the right sideline untouched for the Blue team’s initial points. Blue kicker Brandon Tuozzolo followed with a 30-yard field goal that was set up when LB Eric Patton caused a fumble at the White 30-yard line. Pierce added a one-yard dive to give the Blue team a 17-6 lead after two periods before three more touchdowns in the third period, including two touchdown runs by Laing and a 40-yard scoring pass from Sasek to Jones, put the game away. Patton, Patrick Callaway, Josh Plummer, Karon Gibson, and All-CAA DT Zach Kerr each led the Blue with four tackles apiece with Kerr adding a sack for nine yards. Redshirt freshman LB Brandon Snyder and redshirt freshman DB Mark Doe, a converted wide receiver, led the White with nine tackles each with redshirt freshman Khaliq Gatson adding eight tackles and the game’s only interception.
Villanova...........................7 Delaware...........................7
7 3
3 0
24 0
- -
41 10
Villanova - White 13 pass from Robertson (Hamilton kick), 11:34 left (1st Quarter) Delaware - Johnson 94 kickoff return (Baner kick), 11:22 (1st Q) Villanova - Monangai 7 run (Hamilton kick), 6:32 (2nd Q) Delaware - FG Baner 30, 4:17 (2nd Q) Villanova - FG Hamilton 28, 6:26 (3rd Q) Villanova - FG Hamilton 37, 13:30 (4th Q) Villanova - Robertson 11 run (Hamilton kick), 5:13 (4th Q) Villanova - Akins 45 interception return (Hamilton kick), 3:47 (4th Q) Villanova - Loper 42 interception return (Hamilton kick), 1:14 (4th Q)
VU TEAM STATISTICS UD 24..................................First Downs................................. 19 47-305................................ Rushes-Yards................................ 31-84 15-21-193......................................Passing..................................... 24-38-199 498.................................Total Offense................................ 283 4-41.8...................................Punts-Avg. ................................. 6-36.0 2-2.................................Fumbles-Lost................................ 0-0 5-47...............................Penalties-Yards.............................. 6-47 30:51............................Time of Possession........................... 29:09
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: Rushing: Villanova, Kevin Monangai, 24-146, John Robertson, 17-134, Austin Medley, 5-28, Aaron Wells, 1-(-3); Delaware, Julian Laing, 18-75, Trent Hurley, 9-12, Andrew Pierce, 2-4, Tim Donnelly, 1-0, Team, 1-(-7); Passing - Villanova, Robertson, 15-21-1-193; Delaware, Hurley, 23-35-0-188, Donnelly, 1-3-0-11; Receiving - Villanova, Norman White, 5-44, Joe Price, 3-38, Gary Underwood, 2-31, Dorian Wells, 2-16, Monangai, 2-1, Poppy Livers, 1-63; Delaware, Nihja White, 12-88, Michael Johnson, 4-48, Mike Milburn, 3-26, Nick Boyle, 2-13, Stephen Clark, 1-10, Jerel Harrison, 1-7, Laing, 1-7. 84
2013 Delaware Football Media Guide
White.................................0 Blue....................................0
6 17
0 21
- -
6 38
White - Favro 1 run (Favro run failed), 11:53 left (2nd Quarter) Blue - Milburn 70 pass from Jones (Baner kick), 11:37 (2nd Q) Blue - FG Tuozzolo 30, na (2nd Q) Blue - Pierce 1 run (Baner kick), na (2nd Q) Blue - Laing 12 run (Baner kick), 20:06 (3rd Q) Blue - Jones 40 pass from Sasek (Tuozzolo kick), 12:27 (3rd Q) Blue - Laing 1 run (Baner kick), 4:02 (3rd)
BLUE TEAM STATISTICS WHITE 14..................................First Downs................................. 5 32-260................................ Rushes-Yards................................ 20-21 10-14-212......................................Passing..................................... 9-20-128 472.................................Total Offense................................ 149 0-0.................................Fumbles-Lost................................ 1-1 2-20...............................Penalties-Yards.............................. 0-0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: Rushing - Blue, Julian Laing, 17-153, Andrew Pierce, 0-67, Stephen Clark, 3-22, Rob Jones, 1-14, Trevor Sasek, 2-4; White, Brandon Favro, 17-17, Will Ross, 1-3, Ryan Cobb, 1-2, Justin Burns, 1-(-1). Passing - Blue, Sasek, 9-13-142-1, Jones, 1-1-70-0; White, Burns, 9-20-128-0. Receiving - Blue, Mike Milburn, 1-70, Jones, 2-54, Michael Johnson, 2-48, Laing, 2-16, Clark, 1-15, Pierce, 1-9; White, Rickey Bell, 3-68, Jerel Harrison, 2-32, Chris Cordivari, 2-19, Joe Fortunato, 1-7, Favro, 1-2. Punting - Eric Enderson, 9 for 39.0 avg. Defensive Leaders: Blue - Karon Gibson - 4 tackles (2 solo), 1 TFL; Zach Kerr - 4 (4), 2 TFL, 1 QB (9); Eric Patton - 4 (2), 1 FR; Patrick Callaway - 4 (1); Josh Plummer - 4 (1); Derrick Saulsberry - 3 (1); Vince Hollerman - 3 (2), 1 PB; Kennedy Ogbanna - 3 (0); Jordan Thomas - 3 (3), 1 TFL; Kivar Thurman - 2 (0), 1 PB; Blair Menefee - 1 (1), 1 PB Travis Hawkins - 0 (0), 2 PB. White - Mark Doe - 9 tackles (5 solo); Brandon Snyder - 9 (4); Khaliq Gatson - 8 (5), 1 Int. for 10 yards; Christopher Mauro - 5 (3); Jake Campbell - 5 (0), 2 PB; Sam Miller - 4 (2), 1 PB; Keith Green- 3 (0), 1 TFL; Brandon Henderson - 2 (1); Troy Catalano - 2 (1), 1 TFL; Christopher Lail - 1 (0).