University of Delaware Athletics
Saturday, October 25
Williamsburg, Va.
12:30 PM
University of Delaware
17
at
31
#18 William & Mary
Delaware Football Falls to No. 18 William & Mary, 31-17
10/25/2014 3:41:00 PM | Football
Dave Brock, who had led the Hens to three wins in their last four CAA road games entering the contest. “We had some shots at them but we just weren't aggressive enough. I'm frustrated for our players, but we have to figure out how to do it better. Good teams know how to extend leads and William & Mary was able to do that today. We haven't been able to do that this year.”
Delaware quarterback Trent Hurley completed 24 of 36 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown but was picked off deep in William & Mary territory in the third quarter and was sacked five times. Michael Johnson caught eight passes for 53 yards while Jerel Harrison had six catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, and Wes Hills ran for a team-high 91 yards.
Defensively for the Hens, linebacker David Mackall registered a game-high 12 tackles and had one of Delaware's four sacks of Tribe quarterback Steve Cluley. Cluley completed 11 of 17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. The Tribe also got a big effort from cornerback DeAndre Houston-Carson, who intercepted a pass and blocked a punt that led to a Tribe touchdown.
After a scoreless first quarter, William & Mary struck first as Cluley hit fullback Darnell Laws on a one-yard scoring pass just 46 seconds into the second stanza. That score was set up when Carson-
Houston partially blocked a punt by Delaware's Eric Enderson and the Tribe took over at the UD 34-yard line.
But the Hens came back to knot the score at 7-7 as Hurley lofted a beautiful 31-yard pass into the hands of Harrison, who made a great over-the-shoulder grab in the end zone with 4:46 left for the Hens' first score of the day.
William & Mary, which gained just 121 yards in the first half, took a 10-7 lead into the break as Nick Dorka, filling in for injured starter John Carpenter, converted a 36-yard field goal with just six seconds left in the half.
The Tribe would then build on that lead in the third quarter as Saboor scored on a two-yard burst with 8:32 left in the stanza to cap a 66-yard drive and DeVonte Dedmon reached the end zone from 22 yards out on an end around with 1:52 remaining in the period to push the lead to 24-7.
“We were confident going into halftime,” said Mackall, whose 12 tackles were a season-high. “But they came out in the second half and executed and pounded the ball on us. They are a good team, but there is no excuse to let them run the ball the way they did.”
Delaware showed some life when Jalen Randolph broke free up the middle for a 49-yard scoring romp on the last play of the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-14, but the Hens could not sustain the momentum as Saboor came right back to score from two yards out with 9:23 left to play to push the margin to 31-14 and seal the victory.
The Blue Hens will look to snap the two-game losing streak this Saturday, Nov. 1, when they host Rhode Island for a CAA matchup at 12 noon at Delaware Stadium.
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Delaware failed to score in the first quarter for the first time since the season-opener vs. Pitt and for just the second time in the last 13 games dating back to last season
• The blocked punt was the first allowed by Delaware since the 2012 season, a span of 22 games and 115 punts
• William & Mary now leads the series by an 11-10 margin in Williamsburg
• Delaware WR Michael Johnson, who has now caught 33 passes in the last four games, has now caught a pass in 31 straight games
• Delaware QB Trent Hurley surpassed 6,000 career total offense yards and now ranks No .7 all-time at Delaware with 6,067 yards
Delaware quarterback Trent Hurley completed 24 of 36 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown but was picked off deep in William & Mary territory in the third quarter and was sacked five times. Michael Johnson caught eight passes for 53 yards while Jerel Harrison had six catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, and Wes Hills ran for a team-high 91 yards.
Defensively for the Hens, linebacker David Mackall registered a game-high 12 tackles and had one of Delaware's four sacks of Tribe quarterback Steve Cluley. Cluley completed 11 of 17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. The Tribe also got a big effort from cornerback DeAndre Houston-Carson, who intercepted a pass and blocked a punt that led to a Tribe touchdown.
After a scoreless first quarter, William & Mary struck first as Cluley hit fullback Darnell Laws on a one-yard scoring pass just 46 seconds into the second stanza. That score was set up when Carson-
Houston partially blocked a punt by Delaware's Eric Enderson and the Tribe took over at the UD 34-yard line. But the Hens came back to knot the score at 7-7 as Hurley lofted a beautiful 31-yard pass into the hands of Harrison, who made a great over-the-shoulder grab in the end zone with 4:46 left for the Hens' first score of the day.
William & Mary, which gained just 121 yards in the first half, took a 10-7 lead into the break as Nick Dorka, filling in for injured starter John Carpenter, converted a 36-yard field goal with just six seconds left in the half.
The Tribe would then build on that lead in the third quarter as Saboor scored on a two-yard burst with 8:32 left in the stanza to cap a 66-yard drive and DeVonte Dedmon reached the end zone from 22 yards out on an end around with 1:52 remaining in the period to push the lead to 24-7.
“We were confident going into halftime,” said Mackall, whose 12 tackles were a season-high. “But they came out in the second half and executed and pounded the ball on us. They are a good team, but there is no excuse to let them run the ball the way they did.”
Delaware showed some life when Jalen Randolph broke free up the middle for a 49-yard scoring romp on the last play of the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-14, but the Hens could not sustain the momentum as Saboor came right back to score from two yards out with 9:23 left to play to push the margin to 31-14 and seal the victory.
The Blue Hens will look to snap the two-game losing streak this Saturday, Nov. 1, when they host Rhode Island for a CAA matchup at 12 noon at Delaware Stadium.
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Delaware failed to score in the first quarter for the first time since the season-opener vs. Pitt and for just the second time in the last 13 games dating back to last season
• The blocked punt was the first allowed by Delaware since the 2012 season, a span of 22 games and 115 punts
• William & Mary now leads the series by an 11-10 margin in Williamsburg
• Delaware WR Michael Johnson, who has now caught 33 passes in the last four games, has now caught a pass in 31 straight games
• Delaware QB Trent Hurley surpassed 6,000 career total offense yards and now ranks No .7 all-time at Delaware with 6,067 yards
Players Mentioned
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