TOWSON, Md. - Moments after the Tigers were handed a 57-7 loss by sixth-ranked New Hampshire (4-0, 1-0), Coach Rob Ambrose put everything in perspective. He said, "New Hampshire is the team we want to become. It took them 15 years to get there. Obviously, we're not there yet."
Ranked sixth in the nation, the Wildcats came into Johnny Unitas® Stadium seeking their fourth consecutive win and they inflicted a first quarter scoring assault that propelled them to a 57-7 victory over the Tigers (1-3, 0-1) in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams.
The Tigers were subjected to a nightmarish period of 3:50 in the first quarter when UNH took command of the game. The Wildcats scored an almost-unbelievable 30 points during those 230 seconds to grab a nearly insurmountable 30-0 lead with 7:16 remaining in the opening stanza.
While building their quick 30-0 lead, the Wildcats showed Towson all the different ways they scored. During the first quarter, UNH scored on a safety, an interception return, a touchdown run, a touchdown pass and an 81-yard return of a free kick.
On Towson's opening possession of the game, the Tigers were forced to punt. Senior Bill Shears' punt was blocked by sophomore defensive back Kyle Flemings. When junior Mike Perkins recovered the fumble at the Towson 20-yard line, the Wildcats were in scoring position. Five plays later, senior tailback Chad Kackert scored on a seven-yard run to give UNH a 7-0 lead.
On the Tigers' next possession, junior strong safety Hugo Souza intercepted a tipped pass at the Towson 32-yard line. The Wildcats' lead was increased to 14-0 just four plays later. Making the first start of his college career, sophomore quarterback Kevin Decker threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Scott Sicko.
Decker was starting in place of All-CAA quarterback R.J. Toman, who was sidelined with a foot injury.
On their next possession, the Tigers were forced to punt again from their own 25-yard line. Once again, the Tigers had a hard time punting. Shears watched the center snap go over his head into the Tiger end zone. He kicked the ball out of the end zone for a safety to give UNH a 16-0 lead with 7:42 left in the period.
Moments later, junior running back Sean Jellison took the free kick at his own 19-yard line and raced down the left sideline for an 81-yard touchdown return to give UNH a 23-0 advantage.
After the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers had a first down at their own 25-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, junior cornerback Dino Vasso stepped in front of Tiger receiver Alex Blake and intercepted a pass by freshman quarterback Peter Athens. Vasso returned the interception 31 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a commanding 30-0 lead with 7:16 left in the first quarter. It was Vasso's third interception of the season.
"We knew it was important for us to get off to a fast start," said UNH Coach Sean McDonnell. "In our first three games, our special teams play wasn't very good. We emphasized it during practice this week and it paid off. Our special teams helped us take that 30-0 lead. We blocked a punt, we scored on a free kick and we forced a safety."
Early in the second quarter, the Tigers got a special teams break of their own when Dontra Peters fumbled a punt and Jeremy Gardner recovered on the UNH 24-yard line. On the next play, Athens lofted a 24-yard touchdown pass to Blake in the corner of the end zone, cutting the Tigers' deficit to 30-7.
Kackert returned the ensuing kickoff to the UNH 49-yard line. Then, Decker led the Wildcats on a 51-yard, eight-play drive for a touchdown. His one-yard TD run gave New Hampshire a 37-7 lead with 9:17 remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats closed out the first half with another score. After Dan Ruhl recovered a fumble by Athens at the Towson 10-yard line with two seconds remaining in the half, Tom Manning kicked a 27-yard field goal to give UNH a 40-7 lead at intermission.
Early in the second half, the Tigers had a great chance to cut into the Wildcats' lead. Junior Hakeem Moore blocked a punt and Towson recovered on the UNH 8-yard line.
However, sophomore defensive back Ryan McGuiness intercepted Athens' pass that was intended for Dave Newsom. He picked off the pass at the Wildcats' four-yard line and ran 96 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 47-7 lead with 12:47 left in the third quarter.
It was the Wildcats' fifth interception of the game.
"Our secondary deserves a lot of credit for their performance today," said Coach McDonnell. "They did a great job reading their keys and they made some big plays for us."
Midway through the third quarter, the Wildcats made it a 54-7 lead when they marched 60 yards in five plays. Decker completed a four-yard TD pass to sophomore tight end Chris Jeannot to cap off the drive.
The Wildcats closed out the scoring late in the third period when Manning kicked a 24-yard field goal with 58 seconds remaining.
"We got a great team effort today," said McDonnell. "In this league, it's very hard to win on the road. It really tests your mettle. Walking off the field, I heard that Hofstra beat James Madison and that's the kind of upset we want to avoid.
"Towson's going to beat some teams in the CAA this season," he predicted. "I like the way they play on defense and they are hustling all over the field."
The UNH defense came into the game ranked third in the nation in total defense, allowing 213 yards per game. Against Towson, the Wildcats' defense improved those numbers. They held the Tigers to 201 yards of total offense and forced eight turnovers, including six interceptions. UNH scored 24 points off those turnovers.
Decker completed 11 of 19 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Sicko led the UNH receivers with three catches for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Junior linebacker Devon Jackson led the Wildcats' defense with ten tackles.
"Everyone, especially young people, wants instant gratification," said Coach Ambrose. "But everything is a process. You can't have what you want right now and that's a hard lesson to learn. Being realistic, that's where we are."
Starting the fourth game of his college career, Athens struggled against the UNH defense. He completed 7 of 20 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. However, he was intercepted five times and two of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
After Athens threw his fifth interception, Coach Ambrose brought his young quarterback over to meet Dan Crowley, a former Tiger quarterback who enjoyed a record-setting career at Towson.
"I brought him over and introduced him to Danny," recalled Ambrose. "I told Pete what a great quarterback he was at Towson. I asked Danny how many interceptions he threw at Maine when he was a freshman. He mumbled 'seven.' Then, I told Pete that 'Dan Crowley went on to have a great career after setting a national record for interceptions in a game. I am not going to give you the chance to break his record.' That's how I told him he was coming out of the game."
In his career, Crowley threw for 8,900 yards and set a school record with 81 career touchdown passes. He went on to enjoy a 10-year career in the Canadian Football League.
Dominique Booker, a "red shirt" freshman, led the Tigers by running for a career high 64 yards on 12 carries. Tremayne Dameron also picked up 58 yards on 15 tries as the Tigers rushed for 94 yards as a team.
Blake caught three passes for 30 yards, including his first career touchdown.
Linebacker Danzel White led the Tigers with a career high 15 tackles. Senior linebacker Alex Butt made a career high 12 tackles and broke up a pass. Senior defensive end Brady Smith made six tackles, including a quarterback sack.
While beating Towson for the sixth time in a row, the Wildcats handed the Tigers their worst-ever loss at Unitas Stadium. The Tigers' 50-point margin of defeat eclipsed the previous mark, a 54-10 loss to Indiana of Pa. in 1991.
The Tigers return to action next week when they travel to the University of Rhode Island to face the Rams at 1:00 p.m. at Meade Stadium.
TIGER TIDBITS: The Tigers played their second straight game without senior tight end John Godlasky ... He was sidelined by appendicitis, an attack he suffered last week ... Defensively, the Tigers played without defensive end Matt Morgan, who is sidelined with an illness ... Frank Beltre made the first start of his career in his place.
Freshman Marc Magas handled the place kicking duties because Jon Boyer suffered a knee injury in practice this week ... Magas scored the first point of his college career in the second quarter when he made the conversion kick after Blake's touchdown.
The crowd of 8,026 was the sixth-largest crowd in Unitas Stadium history.
Casey Cegles, Dave Newsom, Smith and Butt served as the Tigers' game captains.
