UMass football can't complete rally, falls to New Hampshire at Gillette Stadium
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FOXBOROUGH - With just under 9 minutes left in Saturday's game, the University of Massachusetts football team had cut its deficit to six points when New Hampshire quarterback Kevin Decker dropped back and then rolled right.
The Minutemen nearly had him sacked well behind the line of scrimmage, which would have set up a certain punt and the chance to get the ball back. But Decker slipped free and fired the ball to Jimmy Giansante for a first down.
Six plays later Mike MacArthur kicked a 35-yard field goal that stretched the Wildcats lead back to two possessions. The play clinched the win for New Hampshire, which hung on to beat UMass 27-21 at Gillette Stadium, in what was likely the final game between the two long-time rivals.
"It kept the ball in our hands, kept it out of their hands, got us the first down, which was big, but it also kept the drive alive, which has been huge for us this year," said Wildcats coach Sean McDonnell. "That scrambling ability has kept us alive in a bunch of different ones. He does that very well and it helps our offense."
Decker said, "We work on that in practice. We do scrambling mechanics drills. We roll out right or left and receivers have to see where I'm going and come back to the ball.
"Jimmy G. is one of the best at that on the team," Decker added. "He does it a lot and he did a great job snapping on his route."
Minuteman senior kicker Brandon Yelovich kicked a 22-yard field goal for the final score with 1:45 left, but New Hampshire recovered the onside kick to seal the win.
"It was a disappointing loss, certainly. The difference in the game, in the end, was what happened in the beginning," said UMass coach Kevin Morris. "They came out strong with a great kick return, they put it in for the score, and we were playing from behind for the rest of the ball game."
"We weren't able to overcome our own mistakes and penalties," Morris added. "Certainly looking forward to moving up and moving on after this game."
The Minutemen (4-3, 2-2 against Colonial Athletic Association teams) are at Richmond at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 CAA) came in as the league's passing leader by a large margin, but it was their running attack that ground down UMass. New Hampshire rushed 44 times for 198 yards, well above its average for carries (33.3) and yardage (142.2).
Dontra Peters of the Wildcats had 13 carries for 92 yards, three catches for 18 yards and three kickoff returns for 98 yards. The performance earned him the Bill Knight Trophy, which is annually given to the most valuable player of the rivalry game.
Decker's 137 passing yards were way below his 316.7 per game average.
Julian Talley led the Minutemen with 10 catches for 113 yards and a 23-yard touchdown run on an end around.
UMass quarterback Kellen Pagel was 25-for-42 for 249 yards and an interception.
For the second straight season, the Minutemen got off to a rough start in the Colonial Clash. New Hampshire won the toss, elected to receive and marched quickly down the field with the drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Peters. The Wildcats elected to go for two and Decker hit defensive lineman Brian McNally, who lined up at tight end, in the end zone to make the score 8-0, 2:59 into the game.
UMass tried to answer, but Pagel attempted to throw the ball into double coverage and was intercepted in the end zone.
After a 47-yard field goal by MacArthur increased the lead to 11-0, UMass got on the board early in the second quarter on Talley's touchdown run. The Minutemen tried a two-point conversion, but Pagel's pass was high.
The teams traded rushing touchdowns, but a missed point-after kick by Brendon Levengood left New Hampshire ahead 18-12 at intermission.
Decker lofted a perfect 23-yard toss to Sean Cullen to stretch the Wildcat lead to 24-12 in the third quarter, but UMass responded with a momentum-grabbing touchdown drive that went 80 yards on 19 plays in 10:43. Pagel finished it with a 5-yard touchdown run. Another miss by Levengood left the Minutemen behind 24-18.
Then Decker's ability to escape the rush ended the comeback attempt.
"There's a lot of backbreaker-type plays along the course of a game," Morris said. "I don't know if that was a backbreaker in and of itself, but it certainly contributed to the overall outcome of the game.
"Decker did a great job," Morris added. "We knew that's what he was capable of doing, and he stepped up again and did a great job of scrambling underneath pressure and making plays."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
