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Hens’ championship dreams dashed
10:12 p.m., Dec. 4, 2004--The University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team saw its hopes for a second straight national championship come to an end Saturday, Dec. 4, with a 44-38 double overtime loss to the College of William and Mary at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Va. The defending NCAA I-AA national champion Blue Hens finished the season at 9-4, while William and Mary advances to the NCAA I-AA semifinals on Dec. 11. The Hens, who combined a strong first half running and passing effort, opened the scoring with a 37-yard touchdown run by Omar Cuff with 11:28 remaining in the first quarter. A scoreless second half for Delaware, combined with several unanswered scores by the Tribe led to a 31-31 deadlock at the end of the fourth quarter, setting the stage for overtime. Delaware, which received the nod for the first series of overtime plays, took the ball on its 35-yard line and followed several plays later with a touchdown pass from Sonny Riccio to junior wide receiver Justin Long to put the Hens up 38-31. The Tribe answered on the first overtime possession when senior quarterback Lang Campbell hit for a five-yard touchdown pass. A point after kick by Greg Kuehn knotted the score at 38, but an 11-yard touchdown run by senior Jon Smith put sixth-ranked William and Mary up for good at 44-38. The contest marked the 29th meeting of the Atlantic 10 rivals, with UD holding a 17-12 advantage. The Blue Hens set a single season home attendance record for 2004 while selling out all six home games at Delaware Stadium. The regular season average for games at Delaware Stadium this year averaged 22,280 per game, including a season-high 22,782 for the Towson game. UD is the only school in NCAA I-AA to average more than 20,000 seats per game for the past six years. The Hens also sold a record 10,500 season ticket packages this year. Article by Jerry Rhodes To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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