UNH runs past Central Connecticut State
DURHAM - The ninth-ranked University of New Hampshire football team opened the 2010 season in impressive fashion, dominating Central Connecticut State University, 33-3, before a crowd of 7,419 at Cowell Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Senior Terrance Fox set the tone by returning the game's opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, and sophomore running back Dontra Peters rushed 19 times for a career-high 197 yards and two scores.
UNH (1-0) jumped in front 16 seconds into the game when Fox, making his first appearance since the 2008 season, registered the first kick-return score of his career. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Wildcats had a 6-0 lead.
New Hampshire added another big play later in the first quarter when Peters burst through the line on a fourth-and-1 play, making the gamble pay off when he raced 47 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore kicker A.J. DeLago added the extra point, capping an eight-play, 79-yard drive that gave the Wildcats a 13-0 lead with 8:07 remaining in the opening quarter.
The lead increased to 19-0 with 10:22 remaining in the first half when Peters ran inside left tackle, going 15 yards for his second scoring run of the afternoon. The extra point went wide right. The scoring drive took seven plays and covered 53 yards in 3:11.
The Wildcats moved in front, 26-0, with 6:23 left in the second quarter. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the three-yard line, senior quarterback R.J. Toman lobbed a scoring pass to junior tight end Chris Jeannot in the back of the end zone, and DeLago added the extra point to finish off the four-play, 30-yard drive.
Central Connecticut State (0-1) got on the board when freshman kicker Steven Calitri booted a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, cutting New Hampshire's lead to 26-3.
The only points scored in the second half came courtesy of UNH sophomore defensive lineman Randi Vines, who intercepted a pass from Blue Devils junior quarterback Gunnar Jespersen and took it back 30 yards for a TD with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter.
An extra point by redshirt freshman kicker Mike MacArthur provided the final margin.
Sophomore linebacker Matt Evans spearheaded UNH's defensive effort with a game-high 14 tackles, including five solo stops and a half-sack. Senior safety John Greer added 10 tackles (five solo) and a sack. UNH held CCSU to a total of 220 yards of offense and 86 rushing yards on 39 carries (2.2 yards per carry).
