Albany, N.Y. ? David McCarty rushed for a career-high 271 yards and four touchdowns in leading UAlbany to a 28-0 victory over Jacksonville in the third annual Gridiron Classic on Saturday, Dec. 6 at University Field. The exempted postseason game features the champions of the Northeast Conference and Pioneer Football League.
UAlbany (9-3) scored on its first possession after returned the opening kickoff 44 yards past midfield. Quarterback Vinny Esposito, who connected on 15 of 25 attempts for 141 yards, hooked up with wide receiver Tim Bush on a 17-yard completion into the red zone. McCarty, a junior tailback, then broke a couple of tackles en route to a 16-yard touchdown run.
Both offenses fizzled for the remainder of the first half as the teams combined for five turnovers. UAlbany defensive end Mike Kelly sacked quarterback Josh McGregor from behind and forced a fumble that was recovered by safety Dave West. The Great Danes returned the favor when McCarty was stripped by cornerback Oscar Johnson inside the Dolphins' five-yard line. Jacksonville (9-4) had an opportunity to draw even with less than two minutes left in the period, but halfback J.J. Laster fumbled at the UAlbany 19 and outside linebacker Emerson Kinsey pounced on the loose ball.
The Great Danes, who lost in this same game last year, finally uncorked their attack midway through the third quarter. Esposito fired a 30-yard completion to Bush, who made a diving catch at the Dolphins' 12. McCarty then carried three straight times, including a one-yard blast over left guard into the end zone for a 14-0 advantage.
The NEC champions scored twice in the final stanza to put the game away. UAlbany held on to the ball for six-plus minutes in a 12-play march. McCarty and Gannon did most of the work as their team pounded out 312 of its 456 yards on the ground. After Esposito kept the drive alive with a third-down pass to wideout Daniel Bocanegra, McCarty pushed his way over right guard on a 3-yard TD run. McCarty, who had 33 carries, then capped the program's second-highest single-game rushing total on a dazzling 77-yard scamper with 7:25 remaining.
“In the second half we came to play,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose squad went unbeaten for the second consecutive year against conference opponents. “I had no clue that we could shut them down. They have too much speed on the perimeter and have put up pinball numbers. Our defense stepped to the plate. They have been consistent and great at shutting down the run.”
UAlbany's defense forced four turnovers and held its sixth consecutive opponent under 300 total yards as Jacksonville managed just 228, including 84 rushing. The Great Danes, who posted their eighth consecutive win, became the first NEC team to win the Gridiron Classic, as PFL champions San Diego and Dayton has won the previous two contests, respectively.
“As a whole unit, I think these three weeks (since our last game) we practiced harder than we ever practiced before,” explained McCarty, who was voted the Gridiron Classic MVP. “We were really afraid of their speed, but I think the cold took away their quickness. The offensive line deserved the MVP trophy. They are the ones that gave me all of the offensive numbers.”
Jacksonville's McGregor, the PFL's top offensive freshman, completed just 10 of 25 pass attempts for 113 yards and was sacked three times. Rudell Small rushed for 46 yards on 16 carries on a grass field that froze overnight and stayed hard with temperatures hovering around 34 degrees during the game. The Dolphins reached the postseason by rallying to beat Dayton in winning their first-ever league championship two weeks ago.
GRIDIRON CLASSIC NOTES
... UAlbany (9-3) became the first Northeast Conference champion to win the Gridiron Classic with a 28-0 victory over Jacksonville ...
... Pioneer Football League champions San Diego (2006) and Dayton (2007) won the previous two postseason games ...
... UAlbany picked up its first postseason win since 2002, when the Great Danes upset No. 21 Duquesne in the ECAC Classic ...
... the Great Danes established the program's Division I FCS single-season record with their ninth victory ...
... UAlbany posted nine or more victories in a season for the sixth time since the program became a varsity sport in 1973 ...
... the Great Danes set the program's FCS mark with their eighth consecutive win, tying the fifth longest active national FCS streak ...
... Bob Ford recorded his 225th career win as UAlbany's head coach ...
... Gridiron Classic MVP David McCarty (LaSalle Institute) ran for 271 yards, the second-highest rushing total in school history ...
... McCarty set the program's Division I FCS record for rushing yards (271) and all-purpose yards (286), plus tied records for rushing TDs (4) and touchdowns scored (4) ...
... McCarty eclipsed Gary Jones' single-season standard for all-purpose yards (2,208) ... he added to his school-record rushing total (1,852) ...
... McCarty currently ranks No. 2 in rushing (154.3 yards/game) and is tied for fourth in all-purpose yards (184.0 ypg) among the NCAA leaders ...
... QB Vinny Esposito became the second player in school annals to topple the 2,000-mark in total offense (2,082) in a season ...
... FS Dave Casale (Troy) picked off his seventh pass of the year against Jacksonville, the most by a UAlbany defender since 1990 ...
... UAlbany's defense held its sixth consecutive opponent under 300 total yards (Jacksonville ? 228) ...
... Jacksonville was held scoreless for the first time since Sept. 6, 2003, a streak of 63 consecutive games ...
Third Annual Gridiron Classic
UAlbany 28, Jacksonville 0 (Dec 06, 2008)
Scoring Summary (Final)
2008 UAlbany Football
Jacksonville vs Albany (Dec 06, 2008 at Albany, N.Y.)
Jacksonville (9-4) vs. Albany (9-3)
Date: Dec 06, 2008 ? Site: Albany, N.Y. ? Stadium: University Field ? Attendance: 2264
| Score by Quarters |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Score |
| Jacksonville |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Albany |
7 |
0 |
7 |
14 |
28 |
Kickoff time: 1:35 pm ? End of Game: 4:36 pm ? Total elapsed time: 3:01
Referee: Michael Davis ? Umpire: Jim Kauffman ? Linesman: Joseph Mate ? Line judge: Thomas Meehan ? Back judge: Jack Zilles ? Field judge: Dan Carr ? Side judge: John O'Brien ? Scorer: Matthew Chmura ?
Temperature: 34 ? Wind: S 12mph ? Weather: Cloudy |
Team Statistics (Final)
2008 UAlbany Football
Jacksonville vs Albany (Dec 06, 2008 at Albany, N.Y.)
| Team Totals |
JU |
ALBANY |
| FIRST DOWNS |
14 |
22 |
| Rushing |
6 |
15 |
| Passing |
7 |
7 |
| Penalty |
1 |
0 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING |
84 |
312 |
| Rushing Attempts |
33 |
46 |
| Average Per Rush |
2.5 |
6.8 |
| Rushing Touchdowns |
0 |
4 |
| Yards Gained Rushing |
112 |
322 |
| Yards Lost Rushing |
28 |
10 |
| NET YARDS PASSING |
144 |
144 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
14-37-2 |
16-28-2 |
| Average Per Attempt |
3.9 |
5.1 |
| Average Per Completion |
10.3 |
9.0 |
| Passing Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS |
228 |
456 |
| Total offense plays |
70 |
74 |
| Average Gain Per Play |
3.3 |
6.2 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost |
2-2 |
1-1 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards |
4-23 |
6-55 |
| PUNTS-YARDS |
9-328 |
4-180 |
| Average Yards Per Punt |
36.4 |
45.0 |
| Net Yards Per Punt |
35.9 |
42.2 |
| Inside 20 |
0 |
2 |
| 50+ Yards |
0 |
1 |
| Touchbacks |
0 |
0 |
| Fair catch |
4 |
0 |
| KICKOFFS-YARDS |
1-61 |
5-256 |
| Average Yards Per Kickoff |
61.0 |
51.2 |
| Net Yards Per Kickoff |
17.0 |
40.0 |
| Touchbacks |
0 |
0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD |
1-11-0 |
3-5-0 |
| Average Per Return |
11.0 |
1.7 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD |
5-56-0 |
1-44-0 |
| Average Per Return |
11.2 |
44.0 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD |
2-0-0 |
2-1-0 |
| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD |
0-0-0 |
0-0-0 |
| Miscellaneous Yards |
0 |
0 |
| Possession Time |
27:29 |
32:31 |
| 1st Quarter |
8:05 |
6:55 |
| 2nd Quarter |
9:00 |
6:00 |
| 3rd Quarter |
6:00 |
9:00 |
| 4th Quarter |
4:24 |
10:36 |
| Third-Down Conversions |
7 of 19 |
5 of 12 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions |
1 of 1 |
2 of 3 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances |
0-1 |
3-4 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards |
1-10 |
3-17 |
| PAT Kicks |
0-0 |
4-4 |
| Field Goals |
0-0 |
0-0 |
Individual Statistics (Final)
2008 UAlbany Football
Jacksonville vs Albany (Dec 06, 2008 at Albany, N.Y.)
|
Jacksonville |
|
Albany |
| RUSHING |
No. |
Gain |
Loss |
Net |
TD |
Lg |
Avg. |
| SMALL,Rudell |
16 |
48 |
2 |
46 |
0 |
11 |
2.9 |
| LASTER,J.J. |
5 |
23 |
8 |
15 |
0 |
17 |
3.0 |
| McGREGOR,Josh |
8 |
31 |
17 |
14 |
0 |
12 |
1.8 |
| PHILPART,Joshua |
1 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
4.0 |
| KORNHAUSER,Eric |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3.0 |
| STEPELTON,Erik |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3.0 |
| ROGERS,Tommie |
1 |
0 |
1 |
-1 |
0 |
0 |
-1.0 |
| Totals... |
33 |
112 |
28 |
84 |
0 |
17 |
2.5 | |
|
|
| |
| PASSING |
Cmp-Att-Int |
Yds |
TD |
Long |
Sack |
| McGREGOR,Josh |
10-25-1 |
113 |
0 |
43 |
3 |
| STEPELTON,Erik |
4-12-1 |
31 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
| Totals... |
14-37-2 |
144 |
0 |
43 |
3 | |
|
|
| |
| RECEIVING |
No. |
Yds |
TD |
Lg |
| BELL,Sam |
3 |
66 |
0 |
43 |
| TRIBBLE,Geavon |
3 |
27 |
0 |
11 |
| SMALL,Rudell |
3 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
| PHILPART,Joshua |
2 |
11 |
0 |
11 |
| SUMTER,Rodney |
1 |
18 |
0 |
18 |
| FINKLEY,Elliott |
1 |
11 |
0 |
11 |
| LASTER,J.J. |
1 |
8 |
0 |
8 |
| Totals... |
14 |
144 |
0 |
43 | |
|
|
| |
| PUNTING |
No. |
Yds |
Avg |
Long |
In20 |
TB |
| CHIPPERFIELD,L. |
9 |
328 |
36.4 |
45 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals... |
9 |
328 |
36.4 |
45 |
0 |
0 | |
|
| PUNTING |
No. |
Yds |
Avg |
Long |
In20 |
TB |
| Chris Lynch |
4 |
180 |
45.0 |
75 |
2 |
0 |
| Totals... |
4 |
180 |
45.0 |
75 |
2 |
0 | |
| |
| |
Punts |
Kickoffs |
Intercept |
| ALL RETURNS |
No |
Yds |
Lg |
No |
Yds |
Lg |
No |
Yds |
Lg |
| FINKLEY,Elliott |
1 |
11 |
11 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| LASTER,J.J. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
32 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| MACK,Tremaine |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| JOHNSON,Oscar |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| ROGERS,Tommie |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
16 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals... |
1 |
11 |
11 |
5 |
56 |
21 |
2 |
0 |
0 | |
|
| |
Punts |
Kickoffs |
Intercept |
| ALL RETURNS |
No |
Yds |
Lg |
No |
Yds |
Lg |
No |
Yds |
Lg |
| Erasto Nova |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Dave Casale |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Justin Gannon |
3 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
44 |
44 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals... |
3 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
44 |
44 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| |
| | |
| |
| ALL PURPOSE |
Rush |
Rcv |
KR |
PR |
IR |
Total |
| BELL,Sam |
0 |
66 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
66 |
| LASTER,J.J. |
15 |
8 |
32 |
0 |
0 |
55 |
| SMALL,Rudell |
46 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
| FINKLEY,Elliott |
0 |
11 |
8 |
11 |
0 |
30 |
| TRIBBLE,Geavon |
0 |
27 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
| SUMTER,Rodney |
0 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
| PHILPART,Joshua |
4 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
| ROGERS,Tommie |
-1 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
| McGREGOR,Josh |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
| KORNHAUSER,Eric |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| STEPELTON,Erik |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Totals... |
84 |
144 |
56 |
11 |
0 |
295 | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| KICKOFFS |
No. |
Yds |
TB |
OB |
Avg. |
| CURRY,Donovan |
1 |
61 |
0 |
0 |
61.0 | |
|
| KICKOFFS |
No. |
Yds |
TB |
OB |
Avg. |
| Herb Glass |
5 |
256 |
0 |
0 |
51.2 | |
| |
| FUMBLES: Jacksonville-McGREGOR,Josh 1-1; LASTER,J.J. 1-1. Albany-David McCarty 1-1. |
Box Score (Final)
Jacksonville vs Albany (Dec 06, 2008 at Albany, N.Y.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Jacksonville........ 0 0 0 0 - 0 Record: (9-4)
Albany.............. 7 0 7 14 - 28 Record: (9-3)
Scoring Summary:
1st 12:24 ALBANY - David McCarty 16 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 6-47 2:36, JU 0 - ALBANY 7
3rd 04:19 ALBANY - David McCarty 1 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 5-49 1:39, JU 0 - ALBANY 14
4th 08:07 ALBANY - David McCarty 3 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 12-58 6:31, JU 0 - ALBANY 21
07:25 ALBANY - David McCarty 77 yd run (Herb Glass kick), 1-77 0:15, JU 0 - ALBANY 28
JU ALBANY
FIRST DOWNS................... 14 22
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 33-84 46-312
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 144 144
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 37-14-2 28-16-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 70-228 74-456
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-11 3-5
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 5-56 1-44
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-0 2-1
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 9-36.4 4-45.0
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards............... 4-23 6-55
Possession Time............... 27:29 32:31
Third-Down Conversions........ 7 of 19 5 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 1 2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 0-1 3-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-10 3-17
RUSHING: Jacksonville-SMALL,Rudell 16-46; LASTER,J.J. 5-15; McGREGOR,Josh
8-14; PHILPART,Joshua 1-4; KORNHAUSER,Eric 1-3; STEPELTON,Erik 1-3;
ROGERS,Tommie 1-minus 1. Albany-David McCarty 33-271; Justin Gannon 6-31; Colin
Simmons 4-15; Frank Blasinsky 1-5; TM 1-0; Vinny Esposito 1-minus 10.
PASSING: Jacksonville-McGREGOR,Josh 10-25-1-113; STEPELTON,Erik
4-12-1-31. Albany-Vinny Esposito 15-25-2-141; Frank Blasinsky 1-3-0-3.
RECEIVING: Jacksonville-BELL,Sam 3-66; TRIBBLE,Geavon 3-27; SMALL,Rudell
3-3; PHILPART,Joshua 2-11; SUMTER,Rodney 1-18; FINKLEY,Elliott 1-11; LASTER,J.J.
1-8. Albany-Tim Bush 9-97; Daniel Bocanegra 2-19; David McCarty 2-15; Chris
Kenneally 2-10; Luke Weaver 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS: Jacksonville-MACK,Tremaine 1-0; JOHNSON,Oscar 1-0.
Albany-Erasto Nova 1-1; Dave Casale 1-0.
FUMBLES: Jacksonville-McGREGOR,Josh 1-1; LASTER,J.J. 1-1. Albany-David
McCarty 1-1.
Stadium: University Field Attendance: 2264
Kickoff time: 1:35 pm End of Game: 4:36 pm Total elapsed time: 3:01
Officials: Referee: Michael Davis; Umpire: Jim Kauffman; Linesman: Joseph Mate;
Line judge: Thomas Meehan; Back judge: Jack Zilles; Field judge: Dan Carr;
Side judge: John O'Brien; Scorer: Matthew Chmura;
Temperature: 34 Wind: S 12mph Weather: Cloudy
Jacksonville vs Albany (Dec 06, 2008 at Albany, N.Y.)
SACKS (UA-A): Jacksonville-LEWIS,Shaun 1-0. Albany-Mike Kelly 2-0; Chris
Blais 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Jacksonville-NOEL,Robson 10-2; TOMLIN, Teddy 4-3;
PERRY,Will 4-2; WOOD,Jason 4-1; JOHNSON,Oscar 3-2; FENNELL,Joseph 2-3;
BOWE,Keenan 2-3; STONER,Patrick 4-0; MACK,Tremaine 3-1; LEWIS,Shaun 1-3;
CHERRY,Chris 1-2; LAND,A.J. 2-0; VALDEZ,Bryan 1-1; FINES, Rolando 1-1;
KNIPP,Austin 0-2; RANGE, Haywood 0-2; BELL,Sam 1-0; FENNELL,Allen 0-1;
KORNHAUSER,Eric 0-1. Albany-Justin Brancaccio 3-5; Dave West 5-2; Mark Peretore
3-2; Mike Kelly 4-0; Daniel Avery 3-0; Chris Simpson 1-2; Tom Pandolf 0-3; Jake
Ciccarello 2-0; Chris Blais 2-0; Nick Krajacic 1-1; Emerson Kinsey 1-1; Rich
Duff 1-1; Trevor Anderson 1-1; Eddie Delaney 0-2; Dan Archer 1-0; Zach Gallo
1-0; Alfred Pryor 1-0; Marc Wargo 1-0; Ross Bertrand 1-0; L.B. McCloskey 1-0;
Dave Casale 1-0; Garrett Askew 0-1; Justin Petersen 0-1.
Game Starters:
Jacksonville
POS ## OFFENSE
WR 2 TRIBBLE,Geavon
LT 76 PAYTON,Leonard
LG 73 TESSITORE,Chris
C 79 OSKING,Ian
RG 77 KOJKOWSKI,Nick
RT 58 AGUILAR,Michael
TE 83 KRAEMER,Timothy
WR 1 ROGERS,Tommie
QB 16 McGREGOR,Josh
FB 39 KORNHAUSER,Eric
HB 28 SMALL,Rudell
POS ## DEFENSE
DE 52 FINES, Rolando
DT 93 KNIPP,Austin
NT 94 TOMLIN, Teddy
DE 47 LEWIS,Shaun
OLB 11 PERRY,Will
MLB 10 FENNELL,Allen
OLB 34 FENNELL,Joseph
CB 14 NOEL,Robson
SS 20 MACK,Tremaine
FS 4 WOOD,Jason
CB 26 VALDEZ,Bryan
Albany
POS ## OFFENSE
TE 89 Dan Archer
LT 74 Raphael Nguti
LG 78 Andrew Stevens
C 75 Kevin Richards
RG 72 Nik Schultz
RT 76 Jon Leible
WR 1 Tim Bush
WR 85 Jason Poore
QB 7 Vinny Esposito
FB 46 Justin Petersen
TB 3 David McCarty
POS ## DEFENSE
DE 97 Tony Sparano
DT 94 Tom Pandolf
DE 90 Mike Kelly
OLB 28 Emerson Kinsey
ILB 54 J. Brancaccio
ILB 24 Mark Peretore
DT 91 Trevor Anderson
CB 18 Ross Bertrand
S 22 Dave West
FS 31 Dave Casale
CB 5 L.B. McCloskey
Player participation:
Jacksonville: 3-ABDALLAH,Cam., 5-HENZIE,Michael, 7-FINKLEY,Elliott, 8-KALOWNOWSKI, Sh, 9-SUMTER,Rodney, 12-CHIPPERFIELD,L.,
13-STEPELTON,Erik, 21-McDOUGALD,Lacy, 22-GRIFFIN,Charles, 23-BOWE,Keenan, 30-LASTER,J.J., 31-CAMPBELL,Daryl, 33-BROWN,Jeremy,
35-LAND,A.J., 36-JOHNSON,Oscar, 38-BAKER,Eric, 40-SAINVIL,Andy, 43-STONER,Patrick, 44-KUCK,Chr., 50-COPELAND,Todd,
54-CHERRY,Chris, 55-GAULT,Ray, 64-ROBINSON,Dustin, 70-VASQUEZ,Jonas, 71-CYPHER,Chad, 78-COOK,William, 81-BELL,Sam,
84-THOMPSON, Larry, 85-PHILPART,Joshua, 92-FRYE,Aaron, 97-CURRY,Donovan, 98-RANGE, Haywood.
Albany: 2-Jean Juste, 4-Chris Lynch, 8-Devin Wooten, 9-Frank Blasinsky, 11-D. Bocanegra, 13-Herb Glass, 19-Daniel Avery,
20-Colin Simmons, 25-Chris Kenneally, 26-Justin Gannon, 27-Jeff Benway, 29-Erasto Nova, 30-Chris Blais, 32-George Williams,
37-Kareem Cooper, 38-Garrett Askew, 41-Alfred Pryor, 43-Raymond Dorcely, 50-Rich Duff, 51-Chris Simpson, 53-Nick Krajacic,
55-Kyle O'Keefe, 56-Marc Wargo, 57-Chris Wilk, 58-Jake Ciccarello, 62-Andy Sparano, 66-Matt Faughnan, 71-Keith Peifer,
80-Luke Weaver, 87-John Lullen, 93-Kyle Hussey, 95-Zach Gallo, 96-Eddie Delaney, 99-Wil Moushey.
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