UNH looking to reverse course

By rbrown
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Updated: November 6, 2021

DURHAM – Redshirt freshman running back Isaac Seide went right and outraced the defense for his first career touchdown from 3 yards out midway through the second quarter of last Saturday’s University of New Hampshire football game against Richmond.

But it was on the previous play that Seide really opened eyes in Wildcat Stadium. He broke free for a 53-yard dash on that one to set up the 3-yard score.

Seide will get more chances to run the ball Saturday when the Wildcats play at UAlbany, again looking to snap a losing streak that has now stretched to five games. UNH, down to its last three games of the season, and the Great Danes play at 1 p.m. on Ford Field at Casey Stadium.

UNH has a 3-5 overall record and is 2-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. UAlbany’s record of 0-8 overall and 0-6 in the CAA is deceiving, said Wildcat coach Sean McDonnell.

Five of the team’s eight losses have been by a touchdown or less and the Great Danes have played a string of tough opponents. Two of the other losses were to FCS power North Dakota State and Syracuse. Albany lost 38-24 to Towson last Saturday.

UNH fell to Richmond, 35-21, last weekend.

Seide got an opportunity to share the running load with Carlos Washington Jr. with sophomore Dylan Laube out with a high ankle sprain that will keep him sidelined at least another week.

Seide carried nine times for a team-best 75 yards and showed off the speed and power his teammates have seen in practices and scrimmages.

“He’s a beast, a little, short, stubby dude,” senior safety and captain Pop Bush said with a laugh. “He’s hard to bring down. He’ll be hiding behind the line and break out and hit the hole and he’s got getaway speed, just like Laube and ’Los. They’re all good.”

Seide, 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds and out of Everett, Mass., had carried 14 times for 62 yards this season coming into the game.

“Isaac’s got a low center of gravity, so he’s already down there (running with a low pad level),” Bush said. “We’ve all struggled with him. When he was on scout team, we saw his future was going to be bright, for sure. He was running all over us on scout team. We knew he was going to be a playmaker.”

The Wildcats had some other shakeups in the lineup against Richmond.

Freshman Brody McAndrew got several snaps at quarterback in various packages and ran for a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put UNH up 21-17. He’ll be used again in combination with sophomore Bret Edwards, McDonnell said.

Junior Brian Espanet made an acrobatic one-handed catch of an Edwards pass for a 24-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half against Richmond.

On the defensive side, sophomore linebacker Oleh Manzyk returned from an injury to play for the first time this season and had four tackles and played well, McDonnell said.

Defensive tackle Niko Kvietkus, though, was hurt late in the second period and is likely out for the season, McDonnell said. Freshman Neil Politano took his place and had four tackles and he and redshirt freshman Nathan Kapongo will get time in the spot at Albany.

Among the goals for Saturday is to avenge a loss on March 5 to UAlbany in the only game the Wildcats got to play before COVID-19 shut down the season, which had already been switched to the spring. UAlbany won a 24-20 night game in Wildcat Stadium that started with temperatures in the mid-20s.

“We definitely want to get back at these guys,” Espanet said. “If it’s going to be that cold and you’re playing in March, you might as well come out with a win. Especially me, I dropped a wide-open touchdown pass that haunts me all the time.”

The Wildcats have lost four of their last five games against the Great Danes.

Mostly, they want to turn their season around.

“We all had high hopes starting off 3-0,” Bush said. “We knew it wouldn’t be a perfect season in terms of ups and down and we were going to face adversity. I think we haven’t fought as hard as I think we can. We’ve just got to scratch and claw to get these wins and win out and finish the season with a winning record.”

XTRA POINTS

UAlbany quarterback Jeff Undercuffler completed 28 of his 41 passes for 354 yards in Saturday’s 38-24 loss to Towson. He had two touchdown passes and was intercepted once.
Undercuffler had been benched for a couple of games and returned to the starting lineup vs. Towson. He has six TD passes and six interceptions this season. UAlbany had 444 yards of total offense in the game.
Karl Mofor has rushed for five touchdowns.
Freshman receiver Roy Alexander has 25 catches for 428 yards and a couple of scores.
Defensive end Jared Verse has 6.5 quarterback sacks.
UAlbany finished 9-5 in 2019.
Undercuffler led the FCS with 41 TD passes that year.
UNH last won at UAlbany in 2015, 24-14.

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