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University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
Colgate University
GAME NOTES: No. 12/15 Football Travels to Colgate (Sept. 12)
9/10/2015 10:29:00 AM | Football
Under the direction of 17th-year head coach Sean McDonnell, UNH is coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history – the Wildcats established records for consecutive wins (12), wins in a single season (12) and consecutive home wins (14) en route to advancing to the NCAA semifinals for the second consecutive year. And UNH climbed to the top of the national polls for the first time since 2006.
The 2015 season opener at San Jose State marked the 200th game in Coach Mac's tenure. He's compiled a 126-74 overall record for a .630 winning percentage.
On the offensive side of the ball, four Wildcats made their first career start in the 2015 season opener at San Jose State last Thursday. They were Andrew Lauderdale at right guard and Dalton Crossan at running back as well as Mike Kelly and Aaron Lewis-Cenales at wide receiver.
On the other side of the ball, defensive ends Jae'Wuan Horton and Cam Shorey made their first career start at San Jose State.
UNH went 4-1 on the road in the 2014 season. Following the season-opening loss at FBS program Toledo, the Wildcats prevailed 29-26 at No. 17 Richmond, 48-14 at Elon, 41-14 at Rhode Island and 20-12 at Maine.
New Hampshire received five of a possible 24 first-place votes and was selected third overall in the 2015 CAA Football Preseason Poll that was released July 28. Villanova University (14 first-place votes) and James Madison University (five) rank 1-2 in the poll.
Senior linebacker Akil Anderson, junior defensive back Casey DeAndrade and junior center Tad McNeely were voted to the CAA Preseason All-Conference Team.
UNH boasts the longest active streak for consecutive FCS playoff appearances at 11 years (2004-14) as well as the longest streak of being ranked in the Top 25 at 156 weeks (dating back to Sept. 13, 2004).
The Wildcats went 12-2 last year to record double digits in wins for the sixth time in Coach Mac's tenure. They had 10 wins in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013, and tallied 11 victories in 2005.
157 WEEKS IN A ROW: UNH owns the nation's longest streak of Top 25 appearances with 157 in a row, a stretch that dates back to Sept. 13, 2004, and is an amazing 83 weeks longer than Montana State, which has the country's second-longest ranked streak.
UNH vs. Colgate State all-time series: New Hampshire has a 5-1 lifetime record against Colgate University and that includes 2-0 in the 17-year tenure of head coach Sean McDonnell as well as 2-0 in road games. The Wildcats' most recent road trip to Hamilton, N.Y. was Oct. 14, 1990, and they returned home following a 38-22 victory; in Colgate's only other home game in this series, the Raiders lost 21-7 to the 'Cats on Sept. 10, 1988.
In the most recent matchup, UNH was a 53-21 victor on Sept. 14, 2013. Colgate's lone win in the series came in the first meeting between these programs on Nov. 11, 1986 (27-23).
Date H/A UNH COL Result
11/22/86 H 23 27 L
09/10/88 A 21 7 W
10/14/89 H 17 10 W
10/14/90 A 38 22 W
11/26/05 H 55 21 W NCAA
09/14/13 H 53 23 W
Coach Mac vs. The Patriot League: Since Sean McDonnell took the helm of the UNH football program as head coach in 1999, the Wildcats have a 7-1 record against the Patriot League.
Date H/A Opponent Result
09/25/10 H Lehigh 31-10 win
09/10/11 A Lehigh 48-41 win OT
10/01/11 H Holy Cross 39-32 win
08/30/12 A Holy Cross 38-17 win
09/10/13 A Lehigh 34-27 loss
11/30/13 H Lafayette 45-7 win (NCAA 1st round)
09/28/13 H Lehigh 45-27 win
12/06/14 H Fordham 44-19 win (NCAA 2nd round)
Scouting Colgate: Colgate University, which is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its first football season in 1890, was picked third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Raiders opened the 2015 season with a 48-10 loss at FBS foe Navy last Saturday (Sept. 5). Head coach Dan Hunt is in his second season; he led the Raiders to a 5-7 record last year.
Colgate has won five of its last six home openers; the only exception in that span was a 37-34 loss to University at Albany in 2013.
Last weekend at Navy, Colgate took a 3-0 lead but the home team responded with 38 consecutive points, including 21 in the second quarter, to take a 38-3 lead into the fourth quarter. Navy compiled 371 rushing yards as part of 438 total yards of offense. Colgate actually recorded more first downs (20-19), had the edge in time of possession (33:37) and fared well in third down (6 of 17) and fourth down (3 of 4) conversions.
Raiders to Watch: Five Colgate players landed on the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team– defensive lineman Victor Steffen, linebacker Kyle Diener offensive lineman John Weber, tight end John Quazza and placekicker Jonah Bowman.
Last week at Navy, junior tailback John Wilkins led the team in both rushes (15) and rushing yards (69). Senior tailback Demetrius Russell carried the ball 11 times for 64 yards. Junior quarterback Jake Melville completed 14 of 26 passes for 127 yards and one TD; he also had 11 carries for 29 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Alex Greenawalt was the top target with five catches for 48 yards. On defense, sophomore defensive back Keyon Washington and junior defensive back Christian Hardegree were the top tacklers with seven apiece; Washington also recorded a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Coach Mac Turns 200: The UNH football team played its 200th game in the 17-year tenure of head coach Sean McDonnell on Sept. 3, 2015 at San Jose State University (43-13 loss). Coach Mac has a career record of 126-74 (.630 win percentage).
WHEN UNH HAS THE BALL: Quarterback Sean Goldrich returns to lead the Wildcats as a senior captain. A starter since his redshirt freshman season, Goldrich had shared the job much of the time with the graduated Andy Vailas. Goldrich has climbed into the UNH Top 10 career lists in three offensive categories – fifth in passing yardage (5,729) and sixth in both attempts (761) and completions (463).
Goldrich is also UNH's active career leader in rushes (270), rushing yards (902) and rushing touchdowns (17). Last year, he had 88 carries for 332 yards and nine TDs.
Last season, Goldrich got off to a fast start but then missed five games with an injury. He started all nine games he played and completed 188 of 295 passes (63.7 percent) for 2,391 yards with 16 TDs and six interceptions.
In last week's opener at FBS opponent San Jose State University, Goldrich completed 10 of 22 passes for 60 yards; he also had six rushes for 19 yards.
Explosive junior Dalton Crossan sets the pace among a crew of running backs that includes sophomores Trevon Bryant and Donald Goodrich).
Crossan played in just six of the 14 games in 2014 because of injuries, yet managed to set a school record by averaging 32.4 yards per kick return with 14 returns for 454 yards. He was limited to 12 carries from scrimmage for 66 yards and had five catches for 54 yards. Among active 'Cats, Crossan ranks second in career rushes (53) and rushing yards (498).
Crossan compiled 167 all-purpose yards last week at San Jose State with nine carries for 47 yards (both team highs), including a 26-yard touchdown, four catches for 14 yards and three kickoff returns for 102 yards. Both the nine rushes and four receptions were career highs.
Bryant, who played as a true freshman last fall and had 17 carries for 70 yards and two catches for 19 yards, recorded a career-high 30 rushing yards last Thursday at San Jose State by matching his high of seven carries. Bryant also scored his first career TD with a four-yard scamper in the fourth quarter.
Senior wide receiver Jared Allison had 36 catches last season for 240 yards – both those numbers are best among returning Wildcats. Last week, Allison hauled in two passes for 11 yards.
Allison, senior Mike Kelly and sophomore Aaron Lewis-Cenales are the three projected starters – one year ago, they combined for 48 catches and 345 yards.
Redshirt freshman Neil O'Connor and freshman Amechie Walker, Jr. have emerged from a large group of young talent to earn a spot on the two-deep.
Lewis-Cenales recorded his first career catch (for two yards) last week at San Jose State. O'Connor did not have a reception but did have a 12-yard gain on an end around run.
Junior tight end Jordan Powell caught three passes for 25 yards in the 2014 season and matched that total with three receptions for 33 yards, including a long of 13 yards, in the season opener.
What's My Line: Juniors Tad McNeely and Alexander Morrill and senior Austin Heter anchor the offensive line. They were all starters last season, and both McNeely (6-foot-2, 290 pounds) and Morrill (6-2, 301) have been in the starting lineup since they were redshirt freshmen. McNeely was named a CAA Second-Team All Star last year and is a 2015 Preseason All-Conference Team selection.
At the end of last season, Morrill was playing left guard, McNeely was at right guard and Heter (6-4, 292) was at right tackle. McNeely has moved to center to replace the graduated Mike Coccia. McNeely knows the assignment; two years ago, after starting the first four games of the season at left guard, he started the last nine at center. Morrill is penciled in at left guard and Heter at left tackle heading into the season.
Junior Andrew Lauderdale, a 6-6, 277-pound converted tight end, has earned a starting spot at right tackle while classmate Curtis Nealer gets the starting nod at right guard. Senior George Kallas has the potential to break into the starting lineup. Kallas started three games last year and Nealer two.
WHEN The Opponent HAS THE BALL: Senior captain Akil Anderson and junior DeVaughn Chollette lead a linebacking crew that should be a strength for the Wildcats.
Anderson, who checks in at 6-1, 211, has started and led the Wildcats in tackles each of the last two seasons with 124 as a sophomore and 82 a year ago. He made the CAA All-Conference Second Team last fall. Chollette, a 6-0, 247 pounder, started one game as a redshirt freshman in '13, one as a sophomore in '14 and was in a regular rotation at the position both years. His 67 tackles last year tied for fifth best on the team.
Juniors Kevin McNally and Ryan Farrell add experienced depth to the position.
The secondary, with veterans at both the safety and cornerback positions, shapes up as another Wildcat strength this season.
Seniors Daniel Rowe and Hayden Knudson start at two of the safety spots while classmates Lamar Edmonds and Keith Parkinson compete for the other starting safety position. Edmonds got the starting nod in the season opener at San Jose State.
Rowe and Knudson were the only two Wildcats in their class to play as true freshmen. Rowe was third on the team in tackles last year with 54-16-70 totals. He was tied for second on the team with eight pass breakups and was one of four Wildcats who led the defense with two forced fumbles. Knudson missed six games due to injury last fall and still tied for seventh on the team in tackles with 34-10-44 totals. He, too, forced a pair of fumbles.
Parkinson had a team-high three interceptions – the Wildcats had 14 interceptions overall – last season and returned them a total of 89 yards, and also had 31 tackles. Edmonds was credited with 24 tackles.
Rowe led all players with a career-high 13 tackles at San Jose State while Knudson made nine stops and Edmonds seven.
Junior Casey DeAndrade has established himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the CAA and is on the STATS Watch List as for FCS Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as the CAA Preseason All-Conference Team. He started each of his first two years. DeAndrade led the team in unassisted tackles and was fourth overall in tackles at 57-12-69 last season, when he was a CAA First-Team selection as both a cornerback and a punt returner. Senior Dougie Moss was the starter opposite DeAndrade last Thursday at San Jose State. Moss recorded career highs in total tackles (10) as well as both solo (six) and assisted (four) tackles. DeAndrade finished with personal bests in solo tackles (10) and total tackles (11).
The defensive line is led by 6-1, 294-pound senior captain Jullian Turner and 6-1, 289-pound classmate Rashid Armand in the middle as well as 6-5, 250-pound junior Cam Shorey on the outside.
Armand started 11 games (12 games played) at defensive tackle last season and Turner played all 14 games with three starts. Shorey saw action every game at defensive end. Turner had 17 unassisted tackles and helped in 12 others for a total of 29, which leads the returners on the line. He had five tackles for a loss and a couple of sacks. Armand had 9-5-14 totals and Shorey had 10-7-17 numbers with five tackles for a loss.
Last weekend, Turner's three tackles were all behind the line of scrimmage –including one sack – and Armand was credited with a career-high five tackles (all assisted). Shorey also made a career-best five stops vs. the Spartans.
Redshirt freshman Jae'Wuan Horton will start at end opposite Shorey. He is a 6-2, 233-pounder who had 17 sacks and four forced fumbles as a senior at North Stafford High School and was the conference player of the year. Horton tallied four tackles, including three solo, in his Sept. 3 collegiate debut.
Sophomore Mike Boryeskne and redshirt freshman Kyle Reisert are behind Shorey and Horton on the defensive end two-deep. Boryeskne was the other 'Cat who recorded a personal-best five tackles (2-3-5) at San Jose State.
Senior Dab Ukwuani and redshirt freshman Cyrus Boone are slated as backups to Armand and Turner in the middle. In his first collegiate game, Boone was credited with three tackles (1-2-3).
Special Teams: New Hampshire has a couple of dangerous returners in DeAndrade and Crossan. DeAndrade doubled up on CAA First Team honors last season when he was named to not only the All-Conference team as a defensive back but as a punt returner as well. He led the league with an average return of 9.1 yards on 22 returns.
Crossan was slowed by a leg injury much of the 2014 season and returned late in the year primarily as a kickoff returner. His 32.4 yard average over 14 returns gave him a school record. As a redshirt freshman, Crossan averaged 23.7 yards per kickoff return, which placed him fifth in the CAA.
Crossan didn't lose a step in the offseason. In the 2015 opener at San Jose State, he had three kickoff returns for 102 yards (34.0 average), including a long of 57.
Christian Breda started last season as UNH's top placekicker but was moved to second on the depth chart late in the year. Breda made 5 of 10 field goal attempts in '14 and 35 of his 42 PAT conversion kicks. Breda has regained the starting role as placekicker and has added punting to his duties.
Last Thursday at San Jose State, Breda excelled in the punt game with an average of 41.6 yards on nine punts, and that included a long of 51 as well as four inside the 20.
What Just Happened: The No. 9/7 UNH football team was defeated 43-13 by FBS opponent San Jose State University at Spartan Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 3.
SJSU scored a touchdown on three of its first four possessions and held UNH to a pair of three-and-outs in the first quarter to build a 20-0 lead, and the home team took a 26-7 lead into halftime with a 464-50 advantage in total yards, 22-2 disparity in first downs and 22:19 in time of possession.
Dalton Crossan compiled 163 all-purpose yards (47 rush, 14 catch, 102 kickoff return) and that included a 26-yard TD run. Trevon Bryant had seven carries for 30 yards, including his first career TD on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Jordan Powell was the top Wildcat in receiving yards with 33 on three catches.
Sean Goldrich completed 10 of 22 passes for 60 yards.
Three 'Cats recorded double-digit tackles. Daniel Rowe led the way with a career-high 13 stops followed by Casey DeAndrade (11) and Dougie Moss (10), both of whom also finished with career highs. Rowe also forced a fumble and blocked a PAT kick.
New Hampshire Selected Third In CAA Preseason Poll: UNH, defending CAA champions by virtue of last year's 8-0 unblemished conference record, received five of a possible 24 first-place votes and was selected third overall in the 2015 CAA Football Preseason Poll that was released July 28. Here is the complete poll:
School (First-Place Votes)
1. Villanova (14)
2. James Madison (5)
3. New Hampshire (5)
4. William & Mary
5. Richmond
6. Delaware
7. Maine
8. Stony Brook
9. Towson
10. Albany
11. Rhode Island
12. Elon
Preseason Accolades: Junior defensive back Casey DeAndrade receive a total of six preseason awards, including STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. He was also named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America First Team, College Sporting News Fabulous 50 All-America Team, College Sports Madness All-America Second Team, CAA Football Preseason All-Conference Team and College Sports Madness All-CAA First Team.
Senior linebacker Akil Anderson was tabbed to four preseason teams – the STATS FCS All-America Third Team, USA College Football All-America Second Team, CAA All-Conference Team and College Sports Madness All-CAA Second Team.
Senior quarterback Sean Goldrich was named to the CFPA National Performer of the Year Watch List as well as the USA College Football All-America First Team and College Sports Madness All-CAA Third Team.
Junior OL Tad McNeely also received three preseason accolades – USA College Football All-America Second Team, CAA Football All-Conference Team and College Sports Madness All-CAA Second Team.
Junior OL Alexander Morrill was selected to the College Sports Madness All-CAA Second Team.
Senior WR Jared Allison was voted to the College Sports Madness All-CAA Third Team.
Blue-White Game recap: Junior quarterback Adam Riese completed 12 of 17 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown (one of three scoring drives he engineered), but classmate Chris McCormick was declared the backup to starter Sean Goldrich following the conclusion of the Blue-White Game on Aug. 24. McCormick completed 3 of 8 passes for nine yards. Goldrich, in limited time, was 7-for-14 for 70 yards and orchestrated two scoring drives – 8-play, 65-yards capped by his two-yard TD run and 9-plays, 36-yards with a 31-yard Morgan Ellman field goal.
Junior running back Dalton Crossan led the ground game with 25 rushing yards on four carries. Sophomore Trevon Bryant had a game-high eight carries for 24 yards and had a pair of one-yard rushing TDs.
A total of 15 Wildcats caught a pass in the intrasquad scrimmage. Redshirt freshman Matt Torrey had a game-high 49 receiving yards on two catches while sophomore Aaron Lewis-Cenales led the way with four catches (for 46 yards) and the one-yard TD reception from Riese.
Freshman DB Matt Sherlock and senior DB Horace Chalstrom tied with a team-high five tackles. Josh Kania, another freshman, was one of six 'Cats with four tackles, and he recorded three of the defense's five sacks.
A Lot To Lose: On offense, UNH lost its top three rushers that accounted for 297 of the team's 509 carries, 1,524 of the 2,373 yards and 28 of 39 TDs. No longer on the roster are running back Jimmy Owens (102 rushes, 638 yards), RB Nico Steriti (136-554) and quarterback Andy Vailas (59-332), who played in all 14 games with five starts; he completed 104 of 153 passes for 1,149 yards and 10 TDs. Steriti led the team with 14 rushing TDs and Owens added eight.
The Wildcats also lost 4 of 5 leading receivers, including the top two, who combined for 218 of the team's 308 catches, 2,985 of 3,766 yards, and 26 of 28 TDs). The top receivers slot to graduation are R.J. Harris (100 catches, 1,551 yards, 15 TDs), Harold Spears (56-848, four TDs), Steriti (32-232) and Jimmy Giansante (30-364).
On the defensive side of the ball, the 'Cats lost its second-leading tackler in linebacker Shane McNeely (42-33-75) as well as their top two tacklers among linemen in Cody Muller (21-23-44) and Matt Kaplan (29-12-41). The four defensive linemen lost to graduation accounted for 26 of the team's 39 sacks; Muller and Kaplan ranked 1-2 in that stat with 10 and 6, respectively. Classmates Brian Ciccone and Robbie Zauck were the next two sacks leaders with respective numbers of 5.5 and 4.5.
