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| Antawn Jenkins |
11:50 a.m., Nov. 11, 2002--The University of Delaware converted a pair of Maine turnovers into 14 points as the Blue Hens snapped a six-game road losing skid and knocked off the fifth-ranked Black Bears 37-13 in Atlantic 10 Football Conference action Saturday, Nov. 9, at Alfond Stadium in Orono. UD will close the 2002 campaign by returning home to face archrival Villanova at noon, Saturday, Nov. 23, at Delaware Stadium. The Hens have a bye on Nov. 16.
UD (6-5, 4-4) had lost six-straight road games dating back to last season before Saturday's triumph. The five road losses this season were by a combined 22 points. The win, which guaranteed UD of finishing .500 or better for the 32nd time in the last 35 seasons, also snapped Maine's 11-game home winning streak that dated back to the 2000 season.
It was the second time this season that UD defeated a fifth-ranked team and the Blue Hens' third win over a team ranked in the NCAA Division I-AA Top 15. Delaware opened the season by defeating fifth-ranked Georgia Southern and also defeated 11th-ranked Northeastern. UD is now 14-10 against Top 10 teams since 1991.
Maine's defense entered the game as the stingiest in the Atlantic 10 and No. 5 in Division I-AA, allowing just 11.9 points per game. It was also ranked No. 2 in the Atlantic 10 and No. 5 in Division I-AA in yards allowed, surrendering just 242 yards per game.
However, on Saturday, UD exploded for 37 points, including 27 in the second half, and 357 total yards of offense. Maine had not allowed more than 20 points in a game this season.
Maine did, however, play without the services of 2001 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year and Buck Buchanan Award candidate Stephen Cooper, who was injured and not in uniform.
The UD defense shut down a potent Black Bear offense for most of the afternoon. Maine, which came in averaging 185 yards rushing per contest, managed just 83 yards on the ground against the Hens. Maine gained just 202 yards of offense through the first three quarters of action, with 60 of that coming on its initial possession.
Sidney Haugabrook paced the UD defense with nine tackles and had a hand in two of the three Black Bear turnovers with a forced fumble and recovery, and a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown.
A week ago, the UD defense held the University of Massachusetts to just one offensive touchdown but it was not enough for a win. This week, however, three quarters of shutout football was plenty. In the last six games, Delaware has not allowed more than 17 points.
"We haven't made the big plays this year," said UD Head Coach K.C. Keeler. "But today, we did and we walked away with a big win. We made the big plays on offense, defense and special teams. Overall, it was a complete win. I've said all year that we are very close to being a good team. Today we showed that."
UD dodged a bullet on the game's opening possession. Maine marched down the field with a 19-play drive that consumed nearly 10 minutes. However, Mike Mellow's 41-yard field goal attempt hit the upright and the game remained scoreless. After that opening possession, Maine only had the ball for 16:55 the rest of the game.
The Blue Hens scored 10 points in a 43-second span in the second quarter to take a lead that it would not surrender. Scott Collins kicked a 26-yard field goal to cap an 11-play, 72-yard drive and put Delaware on the board, 3-0, with 8:13 left in the first half.
The Black Bears (8-2, 5-2) fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Delaware's Jamie Rotonda at the Maine 19. After an incomplete pass, Andy Hall scampered 18 yards. Antawn Jenkins, playing for the first time in more than a month because of back problems, dove in from a yard out to give the Blue Hens a 10-0 lead. Jenkins, who last played in Delaware's win over Northeastern on October 5, finished the afternoon with 20 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
Delaware, playing in Orono for the first time since 1996 because of schedule quirks, extended that lead to 17-0 early in the third quarter. A scrambling Hall stopped just short of the line of scrimmage and found a wide-open David Boler. Boler raced 45 yards for the touchdown.
The Maine coaching staff disputed the location of Hall's throw, believing that he had crossed the line of scrimmage. The play stood, however, and the Blue Hens had a 17-point lead with 9:21 left in the third quarter.
After a Collins 33-yard field goal made it 20-0, Maine showed signs of life and threatened to forge another late rally. In their last outing two weeks ago, the Black Bears rallied from 17 points down in the second half to defeat Hofstra. Maine got on the board Saturday with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jake Eaton to Kevin McMahan and pulled within 13 points with 14:50 to play.
However, Collins' third field goal of the afternoon, a 43-yarder, and Haugabrook's 41-yard interception return for a touchdown gave the Blue Hens a 30-7 lead and any ideas of a Black Bear comeback faded away.
The Black Bears closed to within 30-13 when Jake Eaton found Ryan Waller for a 25-yard scoring pass. However, the two-point conversion failed and UD's Dan Mulhern, who made his 40th consecutive start at linebacker and recorded nine tackles, recovered the ensuing on-side kick.
Delaware capped the game off by holding the ball for the next 8:10 and driving 48 yards, all of that coming from Jenkins. He carried the ball on all 13 plays and led the Blue Hens down the field. He scored from a yard out to with just 51 seconds to play to cap-off the win.
Hall finished the afternoon with 70 yards rushing on 15 carries to extend his single-season quarterback rushing record to 863 yards this season. He also completed 10 of 19 passes for 146 yards and the touchdown to Boler.
Boler had five catches for 94 yards as UD’s top receiver.
Eaton wound up 15 of 31 for 236 yards and two touchdowns. However, 104 of his 236 passing yards came in the fourth quarter.
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