By Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

'CAT TALE: UNH sent the Homecoming crowd of 11,068 home satisfied by beating Iona, 49-21, in a non-league contest Saturday at Cowell Stadium. Starting quarterback Ricky Santos watched the game in street clothes while recovering from a separated shoulder he suffered in a win over Delaware the previous week. Backup QB R.J. Toman completed 15 of 19 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the victory. It was the first start of Toman's collegiate career.
"It was a good game for us," UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. "Played very well right out of the gate. Good overall game by a lot of kids. Liked the way the guys went about their business Saturday."

NUMBERS GAME: UNH rushed for 257 yards on 49 attempts (5.2 yards per carry) in the victory over Iona. Two New Hampshire products -- Mike Boyle (Plymouth) and Sean Jellison (Souhegan) -- led UNH in rushing. Boyle gained a team-high 69 yards and Jellison (above) finished with 65 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Boyle picked up all of his yardage when he scored on a 69-yard run on the third play from scrimmage. Jellison scored on a 6-yard TD run in the second quarter, and a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter.

WORD PLAY: "He practiced (Sunday). Still not throwing the ball a lot. We were going to play him, start him, or not play him at all. Looks like we'll have a shot to play him this Saturday. We have a lot of confidence in R.J. We don't have to alter the game plan with R.J. at all."
-- McDonnell, when asked how close he came to playing Santos last Saturday.

LOOKING AHEAD: UNH (4-2 overall, 1-2 Colonial Athletic Association) will play at Hofstra (6-0, 3-0 CAA) Saturday at 4 p.m. Hofstra running back Kareem Huggins gained a career-high 186 yards on 24 carries in last Saturday's 20-3 victory over Towson. Senior wide receiver Charles Sullivan caught 12 passes for 183 yards in that game. Sullivan had 203 career receptions and is four catches away from breaking Hofstra's career reception record, which is held by Steven Jackson (1997-2000).
"I don't know that there's a more exciting player in our level of football than Ricky Santos," Hofstra coach Dave Cohen said. "(UNH has) you grounded in that you can't cheat toward the run or the pass. I'd rather be watching them, not defending them."

NOTEWORTHY: Hofstra leads the CAA in overall defense (282.0 yards per game) and scoring defense (16.3), Five of six teams have failed to rush for 100 yards or more against the Pride this season.  ... UNH's Justin Wright, a backup linebacker, made a team-high 12 tackels (10 solo) against Iona.  ... UNH beat Hofstra 10-6 last season to even the all-time series between the schools at 5-5-0. ... Hofstra is one of six unbeaten FCS teams. ... UNH has three home games remaining: Rhode Island (Oct. 27), Northeastern (Nov. 3) and Maine (Nov. 17).