Football Holds On For Exciting 24-21 Win Over Rhode Island

Saturday, November 9

Newark, DE

1 PM

University of Delaware

Rhode Island

Photo by: Mikey Reeves

Football Holds On For Exciting 24-21 Win Over Rhode Island

11/9/2024 4:07:00 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

NEWARK, Del. - Marcus Yarns had a career day, and the University of Delaware football team remained undefeated at home with a 24-21 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon in front of 17,326 fans at Delaware Stadium. With the win, the Blue Hens improve to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in CAA play, while the Rams fall to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in conference action.

HENS HIGHLIGHTS

Nick Minicucci set career-highs with 25 completions on 34 pass attempts for 187 yards. He passed for one touchdown and ran for another.
Marcus Yarns ran for a career-high 174 yards on a personal-best 23 carries and a touchdown.
Phil Lutz caught five passes for 89 yards, while Jake Thaw also had five catches and a score.
Delaware's defense held Rhode Island to 300 total yards and just seven points after halftime.
Dillon Trainer led the defense with eight tackles and tied a personal best with 2.0 TFLs.
Gavin Moul had four tackles, a TFL and sealed the victory with a late interception.

HOW IT HAPPENED

A 44-yard run by Yarns on Delaware's first drive set up Minicucci for an easy one-yard rushing touchdown to put the Hens up 7-0.
Rhode Island responded with a pair of quick touchdowns off of two turnovers to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Yarns took a direct snap and tiptoed his way into the end zone for a 27-yard score to tie the game 14-14.
A 24-yard reverse run by Jojo Bermudez set up a 25-yard field goal by Nate Reed to give the Blue Hens the lead at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, Delaware capped a 12-play drive as Minicucci lobbed a fourth-down pass from the 7-yard line that Thaw made a diving catch in the corner of the end zone to extend UD's lead to 24-14.
Rhode Island cut the lead to three with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Josh Cupitt pinned the Rams on their own 11-yard line with just 59 seconds remaining and, four plays later, Moul put a stop to the drive with his second interception of the season to seal the 24-21 victory.

GAME NOTES

Minicucci's touchdown run in the first quarter was the first of his career.
Yarns became the 18th player in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards, surpassing the mark on his 27-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Saturday was Yarns' seventh-career 100-yard rushing game, and third this season.
Delaware now has at least eight wins in three-straight years, the first time accomplishing the feat since the 1995-97 seasons.

UP NEXT
The Blue Hens will play their final home game of the 2024 season when they host Campbell on Saturday, November 16. Kickoff at Delaware Stadium is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FloFootball. Delaware will recognize the program's seniors prior to the game.

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