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Sacred Heart 20, UNH 13

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore linebacker Trevor Barry (Elma, N.Y.) made a career-high 16 tackles and sophomore safety Cohen Cook (Somers Point, N.J.) had a personal-best 15 tackles, but the University of New Hampshire football team was edged by Sacred Heart University 20-13 in strong winds and rain at Sikorsky Credit Union Field on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore linebacker Matthew Sopp (Beverly, Mass.) finished with a career high seven tackles and forced a fumble that was recovered by Cook. Sophomore lineman Ethan Aghakhan (Veron Hills, Ill.) also had a personal best of seven tackles.
 
Senior running back Joquez Smith (Tampa, Fla.) led all players with 107 rushing yards on 18 carries. Grad student running back Myles Thomason (Montclair, N.J.) had 11 rushes for 74 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run. Smith also had a long run of 49 yards.
Senior quarterback Brooks Bentley (Venice, Fla.) completed 11-of-19 passes for 81 yards with a long of 24 to grad student tight end Colby Ramshaw (Londonderry, N.H.).
SHU amassed 243 rushing yards on 59 carries. Chuck Webb led the way with 85 yards, followed by Darius Chukwuemeka (75) and quarterback Poochie Snyder (67 yards; one TD), who also completed 8 of 10 passes for 95 yards.
UNH moved to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the CAA while Sacred Heart improved to 1-3, 1-2.
 
FIRST QUARTER
  • Sacred Heart marched 55 yards on 12 plays to take a 3-0 lead on a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Bocklet at 7:48.
  • Bentley engineered a 14-play, 63-yard drive that took 6:59 off the clock culminated in a 29-yard field goal by Lucas Glassburn (Windermere, Fla.) with 49 seconds remaining in the first quarter to tie the score at 3-3.
  • The drive, UNH’s longest of the season in terms of time of possession and number of plays, was an even split of seven running plays – all by Smith for 45 yards – and seven passes.
SECOND QUARTER 
  • The Pioneers responded with a 63-yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:44 and put the home team back in front, 10-3, at 8:00 when Michalski punched it on 4th-and-goal from the UNH 1.
  • The Wildcats needed only two plays and 40 seconds to pull even, 10-10, at 7:18. On his first touch of the game, Thomason broke through the middle of the line, side-stepped a defender at the SHU 35 and raced into the end zone for a 49-yard scoring scamper.
  • Sacred Heart went on another long drive – this time 11 plays for 62 yards in 5:15 – to regain the lead, 13-10, on Bocklet’s 30-yard field goal.
  • Ethan Eghakhan (Vernon Hills, Ill.) made a key stop with a 4-yard tackle for loss on 1st-and-10 at the UNH 15 to force the Pios into a field goal attempt.
THIRD QUARTER
  • Snyder scored on a 2-yard QB keeper to the left pylon to extend the lead to 20-10 at 9:07. The drive was ignited by Darius Chukwuemeka’s 26-yard run and 21-yard pass from Snyder to Dean Hangey that quickly advanced the ball to the UNH 12.
  • Smith’s 45-yard run up the middle led to Glassburn’s 23-yard field goal that lifted New Hampshire within 20-13 at 4:25. The score capped a 9-play, 70-yard drive.
  • Two plays later, Sopp stripped the ball from Chukwuemeka at the SHU 45 and Cook recovered the fumble at the SHU 48 to give possession back to the Wildcats.
  • Going into the strong wind, UNH was held to 3 yards on three consecutive running plays and forced to punt.
FOURTH QUARTER
  • On the third play of the fourth quarter, Barry stopped Snyder for no gain on 4th-and-three from the UNH 30 to give possession back to the Wildcags at 13:33.
  • On a drive that started at 7:12, UNH overcame a holding penalty on pass plays of 10 yards to Josh Fillion (Quebec City, Quebec) and 24 to Ramshaw to advance the ball to the UNH 46.
  • Facing 4th-and-1 at the SHU 34, UNH was stopped short of the line to gain on Thomason’s run up the middle with 2:56 on the clock.
  • On the next drive, the Pioneers converted third-and-5 at the SHU on Snyder’s 28-yard run around the left end. That play took the game down to the two-minute timeout.
  • With UNH out of timeouts, Snyder took a knee three consecutive downs to end the game.
UNH NOTEBOOK 
  • Cook eclipsed 100 career tackles with his career-high 15 against the Pioneers. Cook now has 113 total tackles with a breakdown of 56 solo stops and 57 assisted.
  • Cook, who surpassed his previous best of 12 tackles established last October against William & Mary, ranks second among active Wildcats in career tackles.
  • Barry has 10+ tackles in 4 of 5 games this season. He topped his previous career high of 15 tackles vs Stonehill on Sept. 12.
  • Isaiah Jones (Springfield, Mass.) matched his personal best of nine tackles.
  • Aghakhan surpassed his previous high of four tackles.
  • Sopp topped his previous mark of six tackles established last week vs. #25 Harvard. He also recorded his first career forced fumble.
  • Smith has rushed for 100+ yards two of the last three games.
  • Thomason eclipsed 500 career receiving yards. With 2 yards Saturday, he has a total of 501 on 81 catches.
  • UNH rushed for a season-high 181 yards. The 49-yard runs by both Smith and Thomason are tied for the longest runs by a Wildcat this season.

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