UNH Falls to UCF in Season Opener

Thursday, August 29

Orlando, Fla.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

0-1 , 0-0

UCF

1-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

New Hampshire

UCF

8/30/2024 12:05:00 AM | Football

Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – Grad student Wande Owens (Cooksville, Md.) recorded a game-high 14 tackles but the University of New Hampshire football team was defeated 57-3 by UCF of the Big XII in Thursday night's season opener for both teams at FBC Mortgage Stadium.

Owens, in his first game as a Wilecat, was credited with six solo tackles and eight assisted tackles. The defense also recorded a pair of takeaways on an intercerption by captain Zedane Williams ()Springfield, Mass.) and fumble recovery by Sam Rumelhart (Scarborough, Maine).

Logan Tomlinson (Manchester, Conn.), another captain, was UNH's top offensive weapon with six catches for 73 yards. Seth Morgan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) competed 14 of 28 passes for 95 yards. Myles Thomason (Montclair, N.J.) rushed 10 times for 20 yards.

"I give our guys a lot of credit," UNH head coach Rick Santos said. "We fought. We certainly didn't back down. Gave a ton of effort. I thought that was as good of a start as we could have wanted in this game and then ultimately I think the size, speed and talent discrepancy kind of wore on us a little bit.

"I'm happy that we fought to the end and the last couple of drives we showed a lot of character and conviction," he added.

UCF was led on the ground by RJ Harvey with 11 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns. KJ Jefferson threw for a pair of TDs and ran for another.

UP NEXT

New Hampshire is back on the road Sept 7 (2 p.m.) at Holy Cross.
UNH's home opener is Sept. 14 against Stonehill College for Youth Sports Day.
To purchase tickets, go to www.unhwildcats.com/tickets or call the ticket office at (603) 862-4000 or e-mail unh.tickets@unh.edu.

FIRST QUARTER

On the game's opening possession, UCF marched 61 yards to the UNH 7 yard line, but the Wildcats' defense held strong and forced a 25-yard field goal by Colton Boomer that gave the Knights a 3-0 lead at 10:55.
Boomer's 44-yard field goal capped a 9-play, 22-yard drive that give UCF a 6-0 lead at 4:56.

Nick Mazzie connects on a 38-yard field goal for our first points of the 2024 season!

Watch on ESPN+

Game Day Central ➡️ https://t.co/9edtnT3CwW #CAT25TRONG #BuiltEachDay pic.twitter.com/zLrvJAVf3a
— New Hampshire Football (@UNH_Football) August 30, 2024

SECOND QUARTER

A UCF interception and 37-yard run gave the Knights 1^st-and-goal at the UNH 3 and Jefferson scored on the next play to extend the margin to 13-0 at 14:45.
With UNH facing 4^th down on its 18-yard line, UCF blocked a punt and the Wildcats fell on the loose ball in the end zone to give the home team a safety and 15-0 lead at 13:12.
Harvey's 60-yard run advanced the ball inside the UNH 1 and he scored on the next play to give UCF a 22-0 lead at 9:40,
Nick Mazzie (Boxford, Mass.) connected on his first field goal attempt of the season, a 38-yarder, to advance the score to 22-3 at 4:31.
The Wildcats' eight-play, 55-yard drive was highlighted by a 22-yard pass play in which Morgan evaded the pass rush and Tomlinson out-leapt a defender to pull down the ball.
Harvey's 13-yard scamper with 43 seconds on the clock gave the Knights a 29-3 lead heading into halftime.

INTERCEPTION! Zedane Williams steps in front of the intended target for his second career INT!

Watch on ESPN+

Game Day Central ➡️ https://t.co/9edtnT4amu #CAT25TRONG #BuiltEachDay pic.twitter.com/1RrjzzPkGj
— New Hampshire Football (@UNH_Football) August 30, 2024

THIRD QUARTER

UCF pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring the 'Cats 28-0.
Williams stepped in front of the intended UCF receiver to intercept Jefferson at the UNH 41.
The home team opened the second-half scoring on Jefferson's swing pass to the left sideline that resulted in a 49-yard TD by Myles Montgomery and 36-3 advantage at 9:15.
Boone's 59-yard run down the left sideline gave the home team a 43-3 lead at 6:39.
Johnny Richardson's 22-yard touchdown catch pushed the margin to 50-3 at 3:05.
Following a UCF interception that set up 1^st-and-10 at the UNH 29, Montgomery's 25-yard run made it 57-3 at 1:28.

FOURTH QUARTER

New Hampshire held UCF scoreless in the final frame. UNH stopped the Knights on 4^th-and-goal from the 2-yard line to get the ball back on downs at 7:40.
The 'Cats stopped UCF on its next possession when Jackson Stone (Lebanon, N.H.) stripped the ball from Jacurri Brown at the UNH 21 and Rumelhart fell on the loose b ball at 3:39.
UNH advanced 34 yards on six plays to end the game with possession at the UCF 45.

UNH NOTEBOOK

Caleb Mead (Willow Grove, Pa.) finished with a team-high 81 all-purpose yards, all on four kickoff returns; he was also credited with three tackles.
Captain Josiah Silver (Hampton, Va.) recorded two of UNH's five tackles for loss and he tied for second on the team with eight total tackles..
Fellow captain Ryan Toscano (Bedford, N.H.) and Brandon Perkins (Williamstown, N.J.) also had eight tackles.
Matt Vezza (Elmhurst, Ill.), who played the fourth quarter at QB, was UNH's leading rusher with 21 yards on two carries.
Sean Lehane (Milford, Mass.) averaged 44.6 yards on 10 punts with a long of 59.
Morgan was also intercepted twice in his first game as a Wildcat.