The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 36

C10 SUNDAY NEWS JOURNAL NOV. 14, 1999 )owns is latest Blue Hen to provide relief Junior halfback replaces Pressey, scampers for career-high 169 yards Downs had Delaware's largest rushing total since Daryl Brown ran for 272 against Northeastern on Oct. 29, 1994. And for Downs, who came into the game with just 17 carries for 74 yards, it felt so nice. "It's a tough situation, but you have to swallow your pride sometimes and do what's best for the team," Downs said.

"We're trying to get to the national championship. And if that's what it takes, then I'm willing to do it. "If the person ahead of you is doing the job, then you can't complain. And Butter is doing the job. I'm very impressed with him" And UD coach Tubby Raymond is impressed with Downs.

He knows how easy it would've been for Downs to complain, which Yet Downs never complained, never pouted about the unfairness of it all, and never once criticized Pressey. Rather, Downs did whatever he could to help Pressey, and he did it gladly. So when Pressey didn't start Saturday because of bursitis in his knee and Downs ran all over the Rhode Island defense for a career-high 169 yards and two touchdowns in the Hens' 35-0 victory, he didn't gloat afterward. And he didn't say he should start this Saturday against Villanova in a game that will decide UD's playoff hopes. By MARTIN FRANK Staff reporter NEWARK The fall for Derrick Downs began with Delaware's first game of the season, when he suffered a severe ankle sprain, and all of a sudden, his season was in ruins.

Nothing has been the same since. The junior halfback, who had been UD's leading rusher last year, missed the next two games, then watched mostly from the sidelines as Butter Pressey ran away with his job. James O'Neal have shared time at the position without complaining. "Team-wise, we have a remarkable esprit de corps," Raymond said. "Everyone seems to be pulling for everyone else.

We're very fortunate to have that kind of response on the team." So on a day when Pressey was limited by injury, Downs took over, helping Delaware to a win it had to have. Then he praised the offensive line. "They had been looked down upon all year," Downs said. "But they came together and really shoved it down their throats." So did Downs. Reach Martin Frank at 324-2805 or mfrankwilmingt.gannett.com.

It's been a long haul for Rams UD 35, Rhode Island 0 Rhode Island 0 0 00- 0 Delaware 7 14 14 0-35 DEL Downs 3 run (Sizemore kick) DEL Veach 12 pass from Ginn (Sizemore kick) DEL Veach 9 run (Sizemore kick) DEL Downs 26 run (Sizemore kick) DEL O'Neal 8 run How they scored First quarter DELAWARE: HB Derrick Downs 3-yard run with 7:31 left. Garon Sizemore kick. DRIVE: 7 plays, 78 yards, 2:58 elapsed. KEY PLAYS: Brian Ginn's 60-yard pass to Craig Cummings and Downs' 1 3-yard run on an option on third-down-and-11. DELAWARE 7, ISLAND 0.

Second quarter DELAWARE: WR Brett Veach 12-yard pass from QB Brian Ginn with 14:18 left. Size-more PAT. DRIVE: 9 plays, 34 yards, 2:54 elapsed. KEY PLAYS: Dan Mulhem's second interception of the game that gave Delaware the ball and Ginn's passes of 16 and 9 yards to Veach. DELAWARE 14, RHODE ISLAND 0.

DELAWARE: Veach 9-yard run with 7:12 left. Sizemore PAT. DRIVE: 5 plays, 94 yards, 2:14 elapsed. KEY PLAY: James O'Neal's 69-' yard run. DELAWARE 21, RHODE ISLAND O.

1" Third quarter DELAWARE: Downs 26-yard run with ,13:52 left. Sizemore PAT. DRIVE: 4 plays, 80 yards, 1 :08 elapsed. KEY PLAYS: Downs' 34-yard run and Ginn's 20-yard pass to Jason VanKerkhoven. DELAWARE 28, RHODE IS- LAND 0.

DELAWARE: FB James O'Neal 8-yard run with 10:44 left. Sizemore PAT. DRIVE: 6 plays, 73 yards, 2:20 elapsed. KEY PLAYS: Downs' 34-yard run and Ginn's 1 5-yard pass to Greg Penecale. DELAWARE 35, RHODE ISLAND 0.

Fourth quarter No scoring. Team statistics -u 'v -V. A Rl Del 8 20 23-84 63-391 131 161 18-39-4 21-9-0 1-0 5-1 4-60 7-62 24:50 35:10 A- A it i. '1 K-. A X- 11 4 it a.

Delaware's Rich Conway is surrounded ens: UD by Rhode Island defenders after a second-half gain. could've disrupted the Hens' chemistry, especially when Downs, a junior, and Pressey, a sophomore, have so much time left at UD. But Raymond has seen this attitude at several other positions this season, which he said is part of the reason why the Hens have a shot at the postseason. After all, Brian Ginn never complained when Matt Nagy replaced him at quarterback last year following his broken leg and kept the job into this season. And Nagy never complained the past few weeks when he went out with an ankle sprain and Ginn became the starter.

Ginn will remain the starter even though Nagy has recovered from his injury. And it has been the same way at fullback, where Steve Ricco and pw nj ,,4. lh A I -Y The News JoumalWILUAM BRETZGER -1 The News JoumalWILLIAM BRETZGER quarterback Vince Nedimyer. Massachusetts can tie the Dukes for the league title with a victory over Connecticut next Saturday, but James Madison still would get the A-10's automatic bid to the playoffs under the tiebreaker rules. UMASS KEEPS PACE: Marcel Shipp ran for 210 yards and three second-half touchdowns Saturday to lead Massachusetts to a 25-16 victory over William Mary.

The Minutemen (7-3, 6-1 Atlantic 10) had 484 yards of total offense compared with 190 for the Tribe (5-5, 4-3), but Massatftiusetts led only 11-10 after three quarters. First downs Rushes-yards Passing Comp-Att-Int Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Individual statistics RUSHING Rhode Island, Jamison 11-59, Williams 2-23, Nedimyer 6-17, Mastrole 4-(minus 15). Delaware, Downs 11-169, O'Neal 12-140, Cummings 9-44, Conway 7-26, Watkins 3-20, Veach 1-9, Irvin 2-8, Nagy 1-4, Ricco 3-3, Tillman 1 -2, Zebley 1 -1 Pressey 2-5, Kowalski 2-(minus 3), Medley 2-(minus 9), Ginn 6-(minus 23) PASSING Rhode Island, Mastrole 27-14-2-76, Nedimyer 12-4-2-55. Delaware, Ginn 15-9-0-161, Nagy 4-0-0-0, Medley 1-0-0-0, Kowalski 1-0-0-0. RECEIVING Rhode Island, Birkett 4-45, Jamison 4-1 Tajong 3-33, Williams 2-22, Gibson 2-9, Henry 1-9, Fanopolous 1-7, Wellington 1-5.

Delaware, Veach 5-49, VanKerkhoven 2-37, Cummings 1-60, Penecale 1-15. 1999 UD OPPONENTS William and Mary 5-5: (34-27) Lost to Massachusetts 25-16. Citadel 2-8 (26-1 6): Beat VMI 7-6. Nick Haas kicked the extra point after Maurice Murphy's fourth-quarter touchdown for the winning point. West Chester 7-3 (29-10): Beat Kutz-town 55-30.

Mike Mitros tied a school record with six touchdown passes as West Chester captured the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division title. James Madison 8-2 (7-21): Beat Richmond 31 -1 3 to clinch the A-1 0's berth in the division l-AA playoffs. Curtis Keaton ran for "153 yards and two touchdowns. Richmond 5-5 (41-33): Lost to James Madison 31-13. Lehigh 8-1 (35-42): Beat Bucknell48-J7.

Ronald Jean set a Patriot League -record with 370 all-purpose yards and -scored five touchdowns. Massachusetts 7-3 (19-26): Beat William Mary 25-16. Marcel Shipp ran for 12.10 yards and three second-half touch-downs Saturday to lead Massachusetts Northeastern 1-9 (37-34): Lost to Maine 20-14 on a punt return for a TD in the final three minutes. New Hampshire 4-6: (14-10): Beat -Connecticut 43-18. Senior tailback Dan Curran, who has been bothered by knee and ankle injuries all season, ran for two Scores and caught a 7-yard TD pass from j'gparterback Ryan Day for a third.

Villanova 6-4 (Nov. 20): Lost to lYoungstown State 28-21. Atlantic 10 standings bench against Rams tsS iff 3 WV "1 I 4 Mondeario Pinckney (97) pressure URI has run for 1,818 yards and set a Dukes record by rushing for more than 100 yards in eight games this season. James Madison (8-2, 7-1 A-10) lost starting quarterback Mike Connelly and backup John DeFil-ippo to injuries in the second quarter. Third-stringer Chris Paquette, a sophomore getting his first playing time this season, finished the game.

The Dukes attempted only five passes none after halftime and completed three for 22 yards. Richmond (5-5, 5-4) outgained the Dukes 315 yards to 203 as Jimmie Miles threw for 166 yards arid two touchdowns. V4V! bling on By KEVIN TRESOLINI and MARTIN FRANK Staff reporters NEWARK The entire week, Delaware coach Tubby Raymond was worried about the emotional effect that Floyd Keith's resignation as Rhode Island coach would have on his players. But by the midway point of the second quarter, it became apparent that Raymond and the Hens had nothing to worry about. That's because Rhode Island was listless and disorganized in its 35-0 loss.

Keith noticed this as well. It has been a long season for the Rams, who are 1-9 and finish up their season, and possibly their football existence on Saturday against Northeastern. "I thought going in that our kids Blue Hen Notebook were emotionally ready to play," Keith said. "But there's al ways hindsight, so I'd have to say that we weren't ready to play. We were embarrassed out there.

I'm going to take this tape, throw it in the garbage and concentrate on Northeastern." Keith is 23-52 in his seventh season at URI. He has had just one winning season during his tenure, and this will be his worst of all. And Saturday's loss to the Hens didn't make his final games any easier to take. Delaware gained 10 or more yards 17 times. The Hens' final three touchdown drives covered 94, 80 and 73 yards in 2:14, 1:08 and 2:20, respectively.

"I think we got frustrated," Keith said. "I don't think we quit. I don't know of anything that we did right on offense. I wish I could tell you that we did something good on offense, but we didn't do anything. We did nothing." NAGY RETURNS, BRIEFLY: Matt Nagy played for the first time since spraining his ankle three weeks ago in UD's loss to Massachusetts.

And it didn't go well as Nagy missed on all four of his pass attempts, with most of his passes going over the head of the intended receivers. Nagy came in with 8:35 left in the third quarter, and finished out the quarter before being replaced by Mike Medley. "He had two weeks off and he was a little rusty," starting QB Brian Ginn said. "This was his first week back at full speed and his arm was too live. Time off kills you at this point of the season." Raymond said he wanted to get Nagy back on the field, but he didn't want him running the option or risking injury, which is why he replaced him early in the fourth quarter.

Ginn is expected to start Saturday against Villanova. MULHERN TIES MARK: Redshirt freshman linebacker Dan Mulhern can't quite understand it. In three years at Strath-Haven (Pa.) High, he had one interception. In 10 games for Delaware, he has six. Three came Saturday, which equaled the school record held by eight other players.

The last linebacker to have three picks in a game was K.C. Keeler, now the coach at Division IQ power Rowan. His came against Jacksonville State in a 1978 NCAA Division II playoff game. HEN SCRATCH: Today is Tubby Raymond's 73rd birthday Delaware averaged 20,371 in attendance at its six home games this fall, shattering the record 19,719 set in 1981 shutout was Delaware's first since Nov. 1, 1997, a 14-0 verdict over William Mary As has been the case often this fall, Delaware suffered injuries to a couple key players Saturday.

Linebacker Robert Lum will likely miss the Villanova game with a sprained knee. Guard John Ahem sprained his ankle but has a good chance to return No. 3 quarterback Sam Postlethwait is out with mononucleosis, which is why Mike Medley followed Matt Nagy Saturday. I i empties Veach's two second-quarter touchdowns, the second culminating a 94-yard drive that required just five plays, put Delaware ahead 21-0 at halftime. Delaware had taken a 7-0 lead on its second possession of the day, with a 60-yard pass from Ginn to Craig Cummings setting the stage for Downs' TD.

URI got close to the Delaware end zone twice. In the first quarter, the Rams made it to the Delaware 21-yard line, after which Ryan Szczesniak missed a 39-yard field-goal try. On its last possession, the Rams were on the Delaware 20 when Vince Nedimyer's pass was intercepted. Ken Mastrole, a former starter at Maryland, and Nedimyer were a combined 18-for-39 in passing for 131 yards. Mastrole was sacked three times.

The Rams managed just two first downs and 82 total yards in the second half while losing to Delaware for the ninth straight time. "I wish I could take something positive away from this, but I can't," Keith said. "We just got outplayed in every facet. I thought we'd execute better. I don't know of anything we did right on offense.

We did nothing." Reach Kevin Tresolini at 324-2807 or ktresoliwilmingt.gannett.com and a 13-yard scoring pass to Re-nauld Ray that tied the score at 21-21 with 4:26 left in the period. Brown gave Youngstown State the lead with a 19-yard TD run with 9:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. JMU IN THE PLAYOFFS: Curtis Keaton ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as James Madison defeated Richmond 31-13 to clinch at least a tie for the At-lantic-10 conference title and a Division l-AA playoff bid. Keaton scored on a 1-yard run with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter and a 20-yard ruVi with 7:02 remaining in the fourth. Keaton Conf All "James Madison 7 1 8 2 Massachusetts 6 1 7 3 Villanova 5 2 6 4 Delaware 5 2 7 3 William Mary 4 3 5 5 Connecticut 3 4 4 6 teine 3 4 4 6 pichmond 3 5 5 5 New Hampshire 3 5 4 6 ithode Island 16 19 i Northeastern 0 8 19 FROM PAGE C1 games Ginn has started in his career.

Veach also ran nine yards for a touchdown. "Hopefully, the team can carry this win over to our next game," O'Neal said. "We've got to bring it to Villanova, get a win and see what happens." The defense held up its end of the bargain, limiting Rhode Island to 215 total yards. Delaware had four interceptions, including a school-record-tying three by red-shirt freshman linebacker Dan Mulhern. Delaware, which led 21-0 at half-time, put the Rams away with two quick scores to start the third quarter.

The Hens moved 80 yards in just four plays on their first series with Downs sweeping in from 26 yards out for the touchdown. O'Neal's 8-yard run with 10:44 left in the third quarter closed the scoring. Soon after, Delaware began to empty its bench with 65 players ultimately seeing action, many for the first time. Four quarterbacks played and 15 runners had at least one carry for the Hens. "I honestly thought our kids were ready to play," Keith said.

"Of course, that's always hindsight. Now I'd say I don't think we were ready. "It was embarrassing. We just got embarrassed." State (9-2) won its first regular-season game over Villanova (6-4) in this decade. Villanova took the lead on the first possession of the game, driving 92 yards in nine plays and scoring on a 12-yard pass from Chris Boden to Murle Sango.

Gary Johnson returned a kick-off 92 yards to the 2-yard line to set up a scoring run by Augustin with 3:53 left in the half that gave Villanova a 21-7 halftime lead. It was Augustin's eighth touchdown in the past four games. Youngstown State battled back in the third quarter as Ryan threw a 23-yard TD pass to Ellikot Giles Villanova loses after fum the 1 From wire reports VILLANOVA, Pa. Dwyte I Smiley recovered a fumble by Vil-; lanova's Ducar Augustin at Youngstown State's 1-yard line as A-10 on for a 28-21 vie- i- Roundup drove 59 yards and was poised to score the game-tying touchdown when Augustin fumbled with 53 seconds left to play. Jeff Ryan passed for 80 yards, including two third-quarter touch-' downs that tied the game, and pushed for 36 mofe as Youngstown.