Wide Receiver Tim Bush Receives Football's Most Valuable Player Award For 2009 Season

Football UAlbany Sports Information

Football Edged By Central Connecticut State, 31-29, in a Battle of Northeast Conference Unbeatens

New Britain, Conn. - James Mallory rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns as Central Connecticut State rallied in the second half for a 31-29 victory over UAlbany in a battle of Northeast Conference unbeatens on Saturday, Oct. 31 before 3,698 fans at Arute Field.
     Central Connecticut State (7-1, NEC 5-0) ran off 17 unanswered points to reverse a nine-point halftime deficit. The Blue Devils drove the length of the field with the second-half kickoff but quarterback Aubrey Norris fumbled to end the non-scoring effort. But fortunes turned when CCSU strong safety Alondre Rush picked off Vinny Esposito's third-down pass. Mallory then bolted 14 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 23-21 with 4:39 left in the period.
     The Blue Devils, who extended their win streak to six in a row, went ahead 28-23 on their next possession. Norris, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 184 yards, threw a third-down, 59-yard strike to wide receiver Josue Paul to ignite the scoring drive. Mallory pushed his way through the middle on a 1-yard touchdown run. Norris and Paul connected on another 43-yard pass that led to Joe Izzo's 28-yard field goal and a 31-23 margin with 9:17 to play in the final quarter. Paul had five receptions for 131 yards.
     UAlbany (6-3, NEC 5-1) later recovered from a missed 22-yard field goal midway through the final quarter and put together a nine-play touchdown drive in the closing minutes. Esposito, who hit on 25-of-39 through the air for 266 yards, found Tim Bush with a fourth-down throw to keep possession. Justin Gannon would score on an 8-yard screen pass with 59 seconds remaining. Esposito then completed a two-point pass to Paul Booker, but the tight end was called for offensive pass interference. CCSU's Ray Sauders then sacked Esposito on the next conversion attempt.
     The Great Danes, who had their six-game win skein halted after opening with two losses, were still in business when outside linebacker Dave Nicomini recovered Herb Glass' high-bouncing onside kick. But on fourth-and-one at the 50-yard line, Rush stepped in front of an Esposito pass that was intended for Jason Poore and made the interception to seal the outcome.
     "It's hard to beat anyone. and if you don't believe it look at the NFL (National Football League) every week," said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose squad had its conference-record win streak of 18 straight ended. "There was a lot offense and they made a number of big plays. (James) Mallory has quite a motor with a quick burst, but we never stopped them on third down."
     Central Connecticut State, who made good on 10-of-13 three-down conversions, took a 14-9 lead with 6:36 remaining in the second quarter when wide receiver Richie Martin scored on a 10-yard reverse. The touchdown drive was keyed by Norris' 45-yard pass to Nick Colagiovanni. Martin later took a handoff from Mallory on the scoring play and went around left end to the end zone.
     UAlbany regrouped with a pair of touchdowns in a two-minute-and-37-second span. Esposito hooked up with Poore on a 7-yard slant to put their back on top. The scoring sequence was set up by a flea-flicker, screen pass to Gannon for 24 yards into CCSU territory. On the following kickoff, safety Dave Casale, who totaled 12 tackles and two fumble recoveries, stripped Paul and pounced on the loose ball at the Blue Devil 33. Senior tailback David McCarty, who was questionable coming into the contest with both an ankle and wrist sprain, later slanted to the left on a 10-yard touchdown run for a 23-14 advantage.
     In a first half that produced plenty of fireworks, the Great Danes struck first with a 12-play march. Esposito scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, but the extra point failed due to a high snap. The Blue Devils answered immediately as Mallory broke clean over right guard and dashed 79 yards to paydirt for a 7-6 lead. UAlbany went back in front early in the second quarter when Glass booted a 23-yard field goal to finish off another 12-play drive.
     "We battled, but we left points on the field," said Esposito, whose team won a two-point decision that came down to the last minutes in last year's meeting. "Our offense squandered some opportunities. The interception (in the third quarter) changed the momentum and they scored off it."
     The Blue Devils, who took over sole possession of first place in the conference standings and have the inside track to their first Gridiron Classic appearance, bottled up UAlbany's rushing attack throughout the game, holding the visitors to 110 net yards. McCarty finished with 65 yards on 22 carries. Meanwhile, Bush caught 10 passes for 95 yards and became the program's career leader with 138 receptions, breaking Dan Gmelin's career standard.
     "We had some alignment issues, but we basically beat ourselves on defense," said UAlbany's Casale, whose team allowed its first 200-yard rusher since Oct. 6, 2007. "They have good athletes with great speed at quarterback, running back and receiver. It's hard to cover everything."

Albany vs Central Connecticut (10/31/09)


 

Scoring Summary

 
Scoring Summary (Final)
2009 UAlbany Football
Albany vs Central Connecticut (10/31/09 at New Britain, CT)

Albany (6-3,5-1) vs. Central Connecticut (7-1,5-0)

Date: 10/31/09  • Site: New Britain, CT  • Stadium: Arute Field  •  Attendance: 3698

Score by Quarters  Score 
Albany   6  17  0  6  29 
Central Connecticut   7  7  14  3  31 

SCORING SUMMARY   ALBANY -CCSU  
1st  09:22  ALBANY   Vinny Esposito 1 yd run (Herb Glass rush failed) 
         12 plays, 56 yards, TOP 5:38  6 - 0 
  09:04  CCSU   MALLORY, James 79 yd run (IZZO, Joe kick) 
         1 play, 79 yards, TOP 0:11  6 - 7 
2nd  11:23  ALBANY   Herb Glass 23 yd field goal 
         13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 6:05  9 - 7 
  06:36  CCSU   MARTIN, Richie 10 yd run (IZZO, Joe kick) 
         8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:38  9 - 14 
  04:28  ALBANY   Jason Poore 7 yd pass from Vinny Esposito (Herb Glass kick) 
         5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 2:12  16 - 14 
  01:49  ALBANY   David McCarty 10 yd run (Herb Glass kick) 
         6 plays, 33 yards, TOP 2:30  23 - 14 
3rd  04:39  CCSU   MALLORY, James 14 yd run (IZZO, Joe kick) 
         3 plays, 21 yards, TOP 1:21  23 - 21 
  00:42  CCSU   MALLORY, James 1 yd run (IZZO, Joe kick) 
         6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:51  23 - 28 
4th  09:17  CCSU   IZZO, Joe 28 yd field goal 
         11 plays, 71 yards, TOP 4:49  23 - 31 
  00:59  ALBANY   Justin Gannon 8 yd pass from Vinny Esposito (Vinny Esposito pass failed) 
         9 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:13  29 - 31 

Kickoff time: 12 pm  
  • End of Game: 2:50 Total elapsed time: 2:50

Temperature: 65  
  • Wind: Minimal Weather: Cloudy
Blue Devils 7-1 start is their best since 1973
Mallory's 204 yards is his second highest single-game
performance

 

Team Statistics

 
Team Statistics (Final)
2009 UAlbany Football
Albany vs Central Connecticut (10/31/09 at New Britain, CT)

 Team Totals  ALBANY  CCSU 
FIRST DOWNS  23  20 
   Rushing  12 
   Passing  13 
   Penalty 
NET YARDS RUSHING  110  246 
   Rushing Attempts  40  42 
   Average Per Rush  2.8  5.9 
   Rushing Touchdowns 
   Yards Gained Rushing  143  265 
   Yards Lost Rushing  33  19 
NET YARDS PASSING  266  184 
   Completions-Attempts-Int  25-39-2  10-19-1 
   Average Per Attempt  6.8  9.7 
   Average Per Completion  10.6  18.4 
   Passing Touchdowns 
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS  376  430 
   Total offense plays  79  61 
   Average Gain Per Play  4.8  7.0 
Fumbles: Number-Lost  1-0  2-2 
Penalties: Number-Yards  6-53  3-27 
PUNTS-YARDS  3-108  2-64 
   Average Yards Per Punt  36.0  32.0 
   Net Yards Per Punt  36.0  30.5 
   Inside 20 
   50+ Yards 
   Touchbacks 
   Fair catch 
KICKOFFS-YARDS  5-317  6-346 
   Average Yards Per Kickoff  63.4  57.7 
   Net Yards Per Kickoff  45.2  25.3 
   Touchbacks 
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD  1-3-0  0-0-0 
   Average Per Return  3.0  0.0 
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD  6-194-0  4-71-0 
   Average Per Return  32.3  17.8 
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD  1-0-0  2-17-0 
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD  0-0-0  0-0-0 
Miscellaneous Yards 
Possession Time  31:54  28:06 
   1st Quarter  10:12  4:48 
   2nd Quarter  9:29  5:31 
   3rd Quarter  5:07  9:53 
   4th Quarter  7:06  7:54 
Third-Down Conversions  5 of 14  10 of 13 
Fourth-Down Conversions  2 of 3  0 of 0 
Red-Zone Scores-Chances  5-6  4-5 
Sacks By: Number-Yards  0-0  2-22 
PAT Kicks  2-2  4-4 
Field Goals  1-2  1-1 

 

Individual Statistics

 
Individual Statistics (Final)
2009 UAlbany Football
Albany vs Central Connecticut (10/31/09 at New Britain, CT)

Albany    Central Connecticut
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg. 
David McCarty   22  74  65  10  3.0 
Justin Gannon   10  40  38  12  3.8 
Vinny Esposito   29  22  0.9 
Totals...  40  143  33  110  12  2.8 
  
  
  
  
  
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg. 
MALLORY, James   23  205  204  79  8.9 
RICHARDSON, E.   18  18  10  4.5 
SPADARO, Dennis  13  13  6.5 
MARTIN, Richie   10  10  10  10.0 
NORRIS, Aubrey   10  0.2 
TEAM   0.0 
FOWLER, Brian   0.0 
Totals...  42  265  19  246  79  5.9 
 
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack 
Vinny Esposito   25-39-2  266  24 
Totals...  25-39-2  266  24 
  
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack 
NORRIS, Aubrey   10-19-1  184  49 
Totals...  10-19-1  184  49 
 
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg 
Tim Bush   10  95  24 
Jason Poore   39  11 
Justin Gannon   48  24 
John Lullen   33  18 
Andrew Smith   19  13 
Ryan Kirchner   18  18 
David McCarty   14  14 
Chris Kenneally 
Totals...  25  266  24 
  
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg 
PAUL, Josue   131  49 
RICHARDSON, E.  
COLAGIOVANNI, N  45  45 
MALLORY, James  
MARTIN, Richie   -3 
Totals...  10  184  49 
  
  
  
 
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB 
Bobby Woods   108  36.0  57 
Totals...  108  36.0  57 
  
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB 
MIGDAL, Greg   64  32.0  33 
Totals...  64  32.0  33 
 
   Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept 
ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg 
Justin Gannon   21  21 
Andrew Smith   51  51 
Emerson Kinsey   113  43 
Paul Booker  
Jean Juste  
Totals...  194  51 
  
   Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept 
ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg 
PAUL, Josue   53  20 
RUSH, Alondre   14  14 
ROSE, Dominique 
LOMAX, London   18  18 
Totals...  71  20  17  14 
  
 
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total 
Emerson Kinsey   113  113 
Justin Gannon   38  48  21  110 
Tim Bush   95  95 
David McCarty   65  14  79 
Andrew Smith   19  51  70 
Jason Poore   39  39 
John Lullen   33  33 
Ryan Kirchner   18  18 
Paul Booker  
Vinny Esposito  
Totals...  110  266  194  573 
  
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total 
MALLORY, James   204  210 
PAUL, Josue   131  53  184 
COLAGIOVANNI, N  45  45 
RICHARDSON, E.   18  23 
LOMAX, London   18  18 
RUSH, Alondre   14  14 
SPADARO, Dennis  13  13 
MARTIN, Richie   10  -3 
ROSE, Dominique 
NORRIS, Aubrey  
Totals...  246  184  71  17  518 
 
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 
Herb Glass  2nd  11:23  23 yards  Good 
Herb Glass  4th  06:06  22 yards  Missed 
  
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 
IZZO, Joe  4th  09:17  28 yards  Good 
  
 
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg. 
Herb Glass   317  63.4 
  
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg. 
NICHOLAS, C.   346  57.7 
 
FUMBLES: Albany-David McCarty 1-0. Central Connecticut-PAUL, Josue 1-1; NORRIS, Aubrey 1-1.

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Players Mentioned

Paul Booker

#32 Paul Booker

TE
6' 4"
Redshirt Freshman
Tim Bush

#1 Tim Bush

WR
5' 9"
Senior
Dave Casale

#31 Dave Casale

FS
6' 2"
Senior
Vinny Esposito

#7 Vinny Esposito

QB
6' 1"
Senior
Justin Gannon

#5 Justin Gannon

TB
5' 6"
Senior
Herb Glass

#13 Herb Glass

PK
5' 11"
Sophomore
Jean Juste

#2 Jean Juste

CB
5' 10"
Senior
Chris Kenneally

#25 Chris Kenneally

TE
6' 0"
Senior
Emerson Kinsey

#28 Emerson Kinsey

S
6' 1"
Senior
Ryan Kirchner

#17 Ryan Kirchner

WR
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Paul Booker

#32 Paul Booker

6' 4"
Redshirt Freshman
TE
Tim Bush

#1 Tim Bush

5' 9"
Senior
WR
Dave Casale

#31 Dave Casale

6' 2"
Senior
FS
Vinny Esposito

#7 Vinny Esposito

6' 1"
Senior
QB
Justin Gannon

#5 Justin Gannon

5' 6"
Senior
TB
Herb Glass

#13 Herb Glass

5' 11"
Sophomore
PK
Jean Juste

#2 Jean Juste

5' 10"
Senior
CB
Chris Kenneally

#25 Chris Kenneally

6' 0"
Senior
TE
Emerson Kinsey

#28 Emerson Kinsey

6' 1"
Senior
S
Ryan Kirchner

#17 Ryan Kirchner

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
WR