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UD football team rallies to defeat Maine in OT
11:25 a.m. Nov. 3, 2003--The University of Delaware football ran its record to 9-0 with a heart-stopping 24-21 victory over the University of Maine in an important Atlantic 10 Football Conference contest Saturday before a sellout crowd of 22,057 at Delaware Stadium.
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| Sidney Haugabrook |
Fightin’ Blue Hens kicker Brad Shushman, who had missed two attempts earlier in the day, earned redemption with a 36-yard field goal in overtime for the win.
The Hens must now prepare for three vital season-ending conference games, the first against Northeastern University on Saturday, Nov. 8, in Boston. UD will then return home to take on the University of Massachusetts on Saturday, Nov. 15, and will finish the regular season at Villanova University on Saturday, Nov. 22.
If the Hens reach the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, the first game would be played Saturday, Nov. 29, at a site to be determined.
On Saturday, UD fell behind 21-0 at halftime before rallying for the win. It was the third time in the last four games the Hens have overcome a significant deficit, having trailed the University of New Hampshire 21-3 before winning 22-21 on Oct. 11 and having trailed the U.S. Naval Academy 14-0 before winning 21-17 on Oct. 25.
Shushman, a second-year transfer from the University of Louisville, slid the game-winning kick just inside the right side of the crossbar to set off a wild celebration and finish a game that had several twists and turns in the final quarter.
With the win, the Hens remained perfect on the season at 9-0 for the team's best start since 1995. They are 6-0 and tied atop the Atlantic 10 with Massachusetts.
Maine, which advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs each of the last two seasons and had won three of its last four games, was most likely knocked out of playoff contention as the Black Bears fell to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Atlantic 10.
"It didn't come easy," UD Head Coach K.C. Keeler said after the game. "All we talked about at halftime was that we were going to come out fighting and not worry about the score. This game really shows what kind of character this team has."
Maine jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and dominated the first three quarters of the contest. Atlantic 10 rushing leader Marcus Williams, who finished with 111 yards on the ground for his fifth 100-yard game of the season, scored on a pair of one-yard dives, the first with 11:09 left in the opening quarter and the second with 6:46 left before halftime.
Maine redshirt freshman quarterback Ron Whitcomb, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 246 yards, hit Christian Pereira on an 11-yard scoring pass with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
The Hens finally showed some life in the second half and got on the board on a two-yard dive into the end zone by quarterback Andy Hall with just 12 seconds left in the third quarter. The score was set up on a fumble recovery by UD safety Dave Camburn at the Maine 10-yard line.
The Hens pulled within a touchdown when Sidney Haugabrook returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The return was the third longest in school history and the first for a Blue Hen player since 1998.
Much of the rest of the quarter was filled with missed opportunities, as Maine's Mike Mellow missed a 36-yard field goal attempt with 9:23 left, and Hall was intercepted by Mike DeVito inside the Maine 20-yard line with 7:10 to play.
Maine appeared to have clinched the win minutes later when Joan Quezada returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown but the play was called back because of a roughing the passer penalty.
The Hens continued the drive but were thwarted when Germaine Bennett, who finished the day with 96 rushing yards, fumbled at the Maine one-yard line as he struggled to reach the end zone. Maine’s Clinton Brown recovered with 3:35 left.
Maine was forced to punt from its own end zone and Haugabrook returned the kick to the Maine 39-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Hall stunned the Maine defensive secondary and fired a 39-yard scoring strike to David Boler down the right sideline. Shushman hit the extra point for the 21-21 tie with 1:34 remaining. It later turned out that Boler had played the final three quarters with cracked ribs.
The game went into overtime and Maine had the ball first but managed just seven yards and went for the field goal. Mellow's 35-yard attempt was blocked by UD defensive tackle Chris Mooney, his second block of the game.
The Hens took over and drove the ball to the 19-yard line, setting up Shushman's game-winning kick. The win was UD’s first overtime victory since 1999 and came following three overtime losses.
"This is a dream for a kicker," Shushman said. "After missing two field goals, I was as low as anyone heading into the final quarter. But I went from the lowest low to the highest high after that (winning) kick. It wasn't the prettiest kick in the world. It was close."
"Our team is hurting right now," said 12th-year Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove. "We asked our guys to play a playoff type game today and they played their tails off. This is as tough a loss as I've ever experienced."
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