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University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
8-1 , 5-1
Rhode Island
1-8 , 0-6
CHAD KACKERT LEADS NO. 8-RANKED FOOTBALL TO A 55-42 CAA NORTH VICTORY OVER RHODE ISLAND
11/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
DURHAM, N.H.—
Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.) ran for 166
yards and two touchdowns – and compiled 267 all-purpose yards
– to lead the No. 8-ranked University of New Hampshire
football team to a 55-42 victory against the University of Rhode
Island in Saturday afternoon's CAA North division action at
Cowell StadiuM.
New Hampshire utilized a balanced offense of 262 rushing yards and
234 passing yards to improve to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the CAA.
URI, which compiled 535 total yards (424 passing), fell to 1-8,
0-6.
Kackert, who recorded a career high of 176 rushing yards last week
vs. Northeastern, carried the ball just 15 times to compile 166
yards vs. the Rams; he had rushing TDs of 57 and 47 yards.
Sean Jellison (Amherst, N.H.) had a pair of
two-yard touchdown runs and also scored on a four-yard scamper; he
finished the day with nine rushes for 22 yards.
R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) completed 15
of 27 passes for 234 yards, with TD passes to Scott
Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.) and Chris
Jeannot (Moon Township, Pa.); Toman also carried the ball
16 times for 56 yards. Sicko had three catches for 41 yards,
including the 27-yard scoring play, to move into the top 10 on
UNH's list for career receptions; the senior tight end now
has 142. J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.) was
the Wildcats' top receiver with 65 yards on five catches.
URI quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne completed 24 of 45 passes for
424 yards and four TDs. His top target was Shawn Leonard, who had
10 receptions for 275 yards, including scoring plays of 30, 72 and
13 yards. Ayo Isijola was the Rams' top ground gainer with 66
yards on 13 carries.
Rhode Island opened the game with a long, effective drive of nine
plays for 71 yards and took 3:56 off the clock as the Rams took the
early 7-0 lead with 11:04 to play in the first quarter after the
made PAT by Louis Feinstein.
However, the Wildcats responded 90 seconds later on their very
first drive at 9:25 of the opening stanza when Kackert, a senior
running back, ripped off a 53-yard TD run to tie things up at 7-7
after the PAT by senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome,
N.Y.).
Rhode Island took the lead again at 4:11 of the first quarter when
Feinstein booted a 39-yard field goal through the uprights to give
the visitors a 10-7 lead.
A huge 46-yard pass play from Toman to junior wide receiver
Kevon Mason (Quincy, Mass.) set up
Jellison's first score of the game at 2:30 of the first
quarter, and the Wildcats took the lead for the first time,
14-10.
UNH built its lead to 21-10 on a beautiful 24-yard touchdownl pass
by Toman to Sicko at 13:08 of the second quarter to cap a 10-play,
76 yard drive.
UNH jumped out to a 28-10 lead with 5:47 left before the
intermission when Jellison scored his second TD of the game from 2
yards out. The long drive lasted 13 plays for 81 yards and took
4:21 off the clock.
The Rams cut UNH's lead to 28-16 with just 27 seconds
remaining before the half, as Anthony Ferrer dove in for the 1-yard
score. However, the two-point conversion pass failed in the back of
the end zone and the Wildcats took a 12-point lead into the locker
room.
The Wildcats picked up the scoring in the second half with a
47-yard touchdown run by Kackert, his second long one of the day,
with 14:04 remaining in the third quarter and the Wildcats led by
19 points, 35-16, after the PAT by Manning.
However, Rhode Island scored again on the next drive on a 30-yard
TD pass by Paul-Etienne to Leonard and the UNH lead was cut to
35-23 with 9:55 to play in the third quarter.
Rhode Island's Paul-Etienne threw another TD strike with
3:02 to play in the third quarter, this time for 20 yards to wide
receiver Joe Bellini, and the Wildcats led by just five
(35-30).
However, UNH got the ball on the URI 31 yard line after a 60 yard
kick return by Kackert. Three plays later, Manning was forced to
attempt a 42 yard field goal with 1:13 to play in the third and he
put it through the uprights to give the Wildcats a 38-30 lead.
Junior linebacker Hugo Souza (Marshfield, Mass.)
came up with a key interception to stop a driving URI offense and
give the Wildcats the football on the URI 22 yard line. However,
Rhode Island got the ball back with an interception by Victor
Adesanya.
On the ensuing drive, Rhode Island's Leonard caught a pass
from Paul-Etienne on a wide receiver screen and ran 72 yards for a
touchdown to cut UNH's lead to 38-36 with 12:41 to play in
the contest after the 2-point pass conversion failed.
On UNH's next drive, Jeannot was tightly covered but somehow
battled the football away from a URI defender and completed a
53-yard touchdown reception from Toman to give the Wildcats a 45-36
lead with 11:38 remaining in the game after the PAT by Manning.
On URI's next drive, senior defensive end Kyle
Maroney (Brockport, N.Y.) forced a fumble and senior
linebacker Sean Ware (Bristol, Conn.) scooped it
up and returned it to the URI 4 yard line with 10:43 to play in the
contest. On the first play of the UNH drive, Jellison scored his
third rushing touchdown of the afternoon to give the Wildcats a
52-36 lead with 10:39 to play in the fourth quarter.
Paul-Etienne and Leonard connected again, this time for a 13-yard
touchdown play with 8:40 to play in the game, and once again the
2-point conversion failed and the lead decreased to just 10 points,
52-42 in favor of the 'Cats.
With 5:58 to play in the game, Manning kicked his second field
goal of the game, this time a 47 yarder, that put the Wildcats up
55-42 and secured the victory for UNH. Junior corner Dino
Vasso (Crum Lynne, Pa.) and junior linebacker
Devon Jackson (Williamstown, N.J.) each led the
Wildcats with 10 tackles on the afternoon.
The Wildcats will play a huge game next week when they travel to
battle No. 5 William & Mary on Nov. 14, a contest that will
have major implications for the conference standings and the NCAA
FCS Championship tournament.
Team Stats
URI 7, UNH 0
URI - Paul-Etienne 1 yd run (Feinstein kick), 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:56
URI 7, UNH 7
UNH - Kackert, Chad 57 yd run (Manning, Tom kick), 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:30
URI 10, UNH 7
URI - Feinstein 39 yd field goal 8 plays, 11 yards, TOP 2:14
URI 10, UNH 14
UNH - Jellison, Sean 2 yd run (Manning, Tom kick), 5 plays, 60 yards, TOP 1:41
URI 10, UNH 21
UNH - Sicko, Scott 24 yd pass from Toman, R.J. (Manning, Tom kick) 10 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:22
URI 10, UNH 28
UNH - Jellison, Sean 2 yd run (Manning, Tom kick), 13 plays, 81 yards, TOP 4:26
URI 16, UNH 28
URI - Ferrer 1 yd run (Leonard passfailed), 6 plays, 41 yards, TOP 2:41
URI 16, UNH 35
UNH - Kackert, Chad 47 yd run (Manning, Tom kick), 4 plays, 66 yards, TOP 0:54
URI 23, UNH 35
URI - Leonard 30 yd pass from Paul-Etienne (Feinstein kick) 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:06
URI 30, UNH 35
URI - Bellini 20 yd pass from Paul-Etienne (Feinstein kick) 3 plays, 19 yards, TOP 1:34
URI 30, UNH 38
UNH - Manning, Tom 42 yd field goal 4 plays, 6 yards, TOP 1:40
URI 36, UNH 38
URI - Leonard 72 yd pass from Paul-Etienne (Paul-Etienne passfailed) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:18
URI 36, UNH 45
UNH - Jeannot, Chris 53 yd pass from Toman, R.J. (Manning, Tom kick) 4 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:58
URI 36, UNH 52
UNH - Jellison, Sean 4 yd run (Manning, Tom kick), 1 plays, 4 yards, TOP 0:04
URI 42, UNH 52
URI - Leonard 13 yd pass from Paul-Etienne (Paul-Etienne passfailed) 6 plays, 72 yards, TOP 1:53
URI 42, UNH 55
UNH - Manning, Tom 47 yd field goal 7 plays, 18 yards, TOP 2:35
