5STRAIGHTWINSOVERFBSOPPONENTS,BACK-TO-BACKCAANORTHDIVISIONCHAMPIONS
2009 game summaries
UNH 44, DARTMOUTH 14
UNH 57, TOWSON 7
Game Three • September 26, 2009 Cowell Stadium - Durham, N.H.
Game Four • October 3, 2009 Unitas Stadium - Towson, Md.
DART (0-2, 0-0) UNH (3-0, 0-0) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
12:17 10:14 07:16 02:41 07:39 03:16 11:11 07:36 01:03
UNH DART UNH UNH DART UNH UNH UNH UNH
7 20
7 0
0 8
0 16
- -
14 44
Kackert 4 yd run (Manning kick) Reilly 10 yd pass from Jenny (Schmidt kick) Kackert, Chad 15 yd run (Manning, Tom kick) Toman 7 yd run (Manning kick blocked) Murphy 12 yd pass from Jenny (Schmidt kick) Wright 15 yd pass from Decker (Jellison pass from Decker) Decker 33 yd run (Manning kick blocked) Vasso 34 yd interception return (Manning kick) Manning 24 yd field goal
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING UNH - Chad Kackert 12-71 yds, 2 TD PASSING UNH - R.J. Toman 9-13-0, 154 yds RECEIVING UNH - Mickey Mangieri 2-88 yds
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs................................... Rushes/Yardage............................. Passing Yardage............................ Pass Comp./Att./INT..................... Total Offense................................. Punts/Average............................... Fumbles/Lost................................ Penalties/Yards..............................
DART 22 35/148 166 20/30/2 314 3/36.7 3/3 5/33
1st 2nd 3rd
11:06 08:53 07:42 07:28 07:16 12:35 09:17 00:00 12:47 07:06 00:58
UNH UNH UNH UNH UNH TOW UNH UNH UNH UNH UNH
30 0
10 7
17 0
0 0
- -
57 7
Kackert 7 yd run (Manning kick) Sicko 8 yd pass from Decker (Manning kick) Team safety Jellison 81 yd kickoff return (Manning kick) Vasso 31 yd interception return (Manning kick) Blake 24 yd pass from Athens (Magas kick) Decker 1 yd run (Manning kick) Manning 27 yd field goal McGuinness 96 yd interception return (Manning kick) Jeannot 4 yd pass from Decker (Manning kick) Manning 24 yd field goal
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING UNH - Dontra Peters 13-50 yds PASSING UNH - Kevin Decker 11-19-0, 140 yds, 2 TD RECEIVING UNH - J.T. Wright 2-61 yds UNH 27 39/269 259 20/29/1 528 2/37.5 0/0 9/90
DURHAM, N.H. - The No. 6-ranked UNH football team put together a 24-0 scoring run in the second half to keep the Granite Bowl Trophy at home after posting a decisive 44-14 victory over Dartmouth in front of a home crowd of 8,271 at Cowell Stadium on Sept. 26. The Wildcats, now 3-0 overall in 2009, were led by sophomore backup quarterback Kevin Decker (Armonk, N.Y.), who threw for a touchdown and ran for another to put the game away for UNH in the second half. For the Big Green, now 0-2 overall this season, sophomore running back Nick Schweiger recorded the first 100 yard rushing game for Dartmouth since October of 2007. He finished the day with 26 carries for 119 yards. The victory gave the Wildcats the lead in the all-time series, which now stands at 18-17-2. The game was still in question into the third quarter as the Wildcats led 20-14, but then UNH junior starting quarterback R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) left the game with a toe injury. The Big Green was driving quickly down field, but gave up a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive back Ryan Hinds (Toronto, Ont.), which gave UNH the ball on its own 12 yard line. UNH took advantage of the turnover with a long, sustained 13-play, 88 yard drive that was capped by a beautiful 15-yard touchdown pass by Decker to senior wide receiver J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.). Decker completed a two-point conversion pass to junior running back Sean Jellison (Amherst, N.H.) and UNH held a 28-14 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter. UNH took control of the game for good at 11:11 of the fourth quarter after Decker ran to the sideline, tip-toed along it, and then dove into the end zone on a 33-yard touchdown scamper to give the Wildcats a commanding 34-14 advantage. Junior defensive back Dino Vasso (Crum Lynn, Pa.) added an exclamation point to the Wildcat run with 7:36 left to play when he grabbed his second interception of the game and ran it back 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats the 41-14 lead with just 7:36 remaining in the contest. UNH senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome, N.Y.) finished the scoring with a 24 yard field goal with 1:03 to play in the game as he completed the 24-0 run by the ‘Cats. The contest began wildly as UNH started the scoring at 12:17 after a long and effective opening drive for the ‘Cats that went eight plays for 70 yards and was capped off by a 4 yard TD run by senior running back Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.), who was playing in his first game after suffering a pulled hamstring during fall preseason practice. UNH led 7-0 after the PAT. The Big Green responded quickly, however, taking advantage of a 58 yard kickoff return by Shawn Abuhoff. Quarterback Alex Jenny completed a 10 yard TD pass to wide receiver Michael Reilly and the game was tied (7-7) with 10:14 remaining in the first stanza. UNH answered. The Wildcats took a 14-7 lead at 7:16 of the first quarter following another TD run, this time for 15 yards. by Kackert, his second of the game and season as he scampered in for the score. The Wildcat defense came up with a forced fumble by sophomore safety Ryan McGuinness (Howell, N.J.), which was recovered by Hinds. The offense took over once again, and Toman completed a beautiful pass to sophomore wide receiver Mickey Mangieri (Bedford, N.Y.) for 65 yards that could have been a touchdown had it not been stopped by a Big Green touchdown saving tackle. UNH still managed to score on the drive with a 7 yard touchdown run by Toman with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter and UNH was up by a 20-7 margin after a blocked PAT. The Big Green took advantage of a key UNH penalty and made the Wildcats pay when Jenny completed a 12 yard TD pass to wide receiver Niles Murphy that made the game close again, as UNH’s lead was narrowed to 20-14. The Big Green was driving again late in the first half, but an outstanding interception by Vasso in the UNH end zone in the closing seconds allowed UNH to hold the lead heading into the lockerroom at the half. Looking at the statistics for the day, Kackert led UNH in rushing with 12 carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Decker completed 9 of 14 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and Toman completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards. UNH had 10 different players rush the football and 11 players made catches. Senior tight end Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.) led all UNH receivers with five catches for 53 yards. UNH was led defensively by Vasso, who collected two interceptions and seven tackles and by linebackers Devon Jackson and Sean Ware, who each had a team-high eight tackles. Jenny had a solid day at quarterback for Dartmouth completing 20 of 29 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns and wide receiver Scott Tanner led the Big Green with six catches for 48 yards. UNH outgained the visitors on the afternoon (528 yards to 314 yards) and the UNH defense recorded five turnovers in the contest.
WWW.UNHWILDCATS.COM
UNH (4-0, 1-0) TOW (1-3, 0-1)
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs................................... Rushes/Yardage............................. Passing Yardage............................ Pass Comp./Att./INT..................... Total Offense................................. Punts/Average............................... Fumbles/Lost................................ Penalties/Yards..............................
UNH 16 45/136 149 12/20/0 285 5/26.0 1/1 11/65
TOWSON 13 37/94 107 9/29/6 201 5/28.0 2/2 8/60
TOWSON, MD. - The No. 6 UNH football team jumped out to a 30-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on its way to a 57-7 Colonial Athletic Association victory at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium on Oct. 3 in front of an attendance of 8,026. Leading the squad was sophomore quarterback Kevin Decker (Armonk, N.Y.) who earned the first start of his career after replacing junior R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.), who missed the game due to a “turf toe” injury. Decker finished the day with two touchdown passes and he ran for another, while also completing 11 of 19 pass attempts for 104 yards. The UNH defense also got the job done for the Wildcats, creating eight turnovers, six of them interceptions. Two of the pickoffs were returned for touchdowns by Wildcat defenders. The Wildcats improved to 4-0 overall on the season and are now 1-0 in the CAA, while the Tigers fall to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the CAA. UNH’s first posession started on the Towson 20 yard line after a blocked punt by sophomore Kyle Flemings (Forty Fort, Pa.). Five plays, 1:35 later senior running back Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.) put the Wildcats on the scoreboard with a 7 yard run giving UNH the early 7-0 lead with 11:06 to play in the first quarter. On Towson’s next drive, junior safety Hugo Souza (Marshfield, Mass.) intercepted a pass on the Towson 32 yard line, Four plays later, Decker completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.) with 8:53 remaining in the first quarter and the Wildcats led by a 14-0 margin. UNH recorded a safety following a Towson high snap. Tiger kicker Bill Shears kicked the football out of the end zone illegally resulting in the safety and UNH led 16-0 with 7:42 left in the first quarter. On the next kickoff, junior Sean Jellison (Amherst, N.H.) returned the ball 81 yards for a touchdown to make it 23-0 in favor of UNH with 7:28 remaining in the first quarter. It was the first kick return for a touchdown in Jellison’s UNH career. On the next drive for Towson, junior defensive back Dino Vasso (Crum Lynne, Pa.) intercepted a pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown to give UNH a 30-0 advantage with 7:16 remaining in the opening stanza. It was the second interception for a touchdown this season for Vasso, who also returned a pick 34 yards for paydirt vs. Dartmouth on Sept. 26. The 30 points scored by UNH in the first quarter was short of the all-time mark of 35 points scored by the Wildcats in 1975 in the second quarter vs. Northeastern. The ‘Cats went on to defeat the Huskies, 56-7. Towson got on the board at 12:35 of the second quarter when quarterback Peter Athens completed a 24 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Alex Blake and the Tigers closed the gap to 30-7. Decker completed an 8 play 51 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown run at 9:17 of the second period and the Wildcats took a commanding 37-7 advantage. The drive took 3:11 off the clock. Junior defensive end Lance Mailloux (Bedford, N.H.) knocked the ball loose on a Towson pass and senior defensive end Dan Ruhl (Sanibel Island, Fla.) fell on the football to set up a 27-yard field goal by senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome, N.Y.) with 0:00 remaining to send the Wildcats to the locker room with a commanding 40-7 lead. In the first half alone, UNH outgained Towson (162 yards to 103) and the defense recorded four interceptions and one fumble recovery for five turnovers. Towson blocked a UNH punt and took over on the UNH 8 yard line. However, sophomore safety Ryan McGuinness (Howell, N.J.) picked off a pass on the left sideline and returned the football 96 yards giving the Wildcats a 47-7 lead with 12:47 remaining in the third quarter. It was the second interception returned for a touchdown in the contest for UNH and his first career interception return for a touchdown. Decker threw his second touchdown pass of the game with 7:06 to play in the third quarter after 4 yard toss to sophomore tight end Chris Jeannot (Moon Township, Pa.) in the back of the end zone to push the UNH lead to 54-7. Manning kicked his second field goal of the day, a 24-yarder with 58 seconds to play in the third quarter and UNH led 57-7, the final score. The running game was led by redshirt freshman Dontra Peters (Annapolis, Md.) who had 13 carries for 50 yards. Looking at the receivers, UNH was led Sicko with three catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. In addition senior wide receiver J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.) made two catches for 61 yards. On the defensive side of the football, junior linebacker Devon Jackson (Williamstown, N.J.) led the squad with 10 tackles (7-3-10).
2010 UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOTBALL 2009 New Hampshire Football 51 • 51 •