Box Score NEWARK, Del. – The Sacred Heart football team beat a ranked opponent for the first time in program history Saturday, defeating the #24 Delaware Blue Hens 10-7 at Delaware Stadium. Senior Chris Rogers' (Cazenovia, N.Y.) 25-yard field goal with 8:28 remaining broke a 7-7 tie.
"It's a huge win for our university and our program," said head coach Mark Nofri following Saturday's landmark victory. "The kids have done a great job at changing the culture here coming off a 2-9 season in 2012, then going 10-2 last year and this year starting 4-1 and beating a team that was ranked in the top 25. The kids were up for the challenge of playing a CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) school. I tell you what, I have never seen a team play that hard at Sacred Heart. They did a great job."
Sacred Heart outgained Delaware 407-358, forcing three Blue Hens turnovers and adding four sacks. RJ Noel completed 17 of 31 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 76 yards. Keshaudas Spence (Roxbury, Mass.) led the Pioneers in rushing with 86 yards on 18 carries, gaining 54 yards in the second half. Tyler Dube (Southington, Conn.) had six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. J.D. Roussel (Pawtucket, R.I.) had his 16th career interception in the fourth quarter, becoming Sacred Heart's career leader in interceptions. Gordon Hill (Sicklerville, N.J.) led the Pioneers defensively with 13 tackles and two sacks. James Rentz (St. Augustine, Fla.) also had two sacks, adding 10 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Delaware (3-2) scored on their first play from scrimmage, as Jalen Randolph ran 79 yards for a touchdown 16 seconds into the game, with the point after giving the Blue Hens a 7-0 lead. Delaware would only gain 79 more yards rushing the remainder of the day. The Pioneers' defense settled into the game, however, as Alec Finelli (Eastampton, N.J.) intercepted Delaware quarterback Trent Hurley at the Pioneers' goalline with 12:23 to play in the opening quarter.
"We had a breakdown on our first play of the game," added Nofri. "I think the kids needed to settle in. If you can weather the storm and you keep coming after people and play as a team, and you play hard for four quarters you have a shot and that is what the kids did."
Sacred Heart (4-1) punted on each of its first five offensive drives Saturday. With 9:08 to play in the second quarter, the Pioneers' embarked on a 10 play, 62 yard drive to tie the game at 7-7. Spence got the ball on the first three plays, running for 18 yards. Noel completed a 20-yard pass to Dube to get Sacred Heart inside the Blue Hens' red zone. After two incompletions at the Delaware 19 yardline, Noel hit Pat Casey (Berlin, N.J.) for an 11-yard gain and a 1st and goal for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers scored on third and goal, with Noel finding Dube in the end zone with 6:36 to play in the half. The Blue Hens attempted to take the lead back with 0:42 left in the half, driving to the Sacred Heart 39 yardline before Hill sacked Hurley on the last play of the half to keep the game 7-7.
The two teams traded punts to start the second half. With 4:21 to play in the third quarter, Sacred Heart began a drive from its own 34 yard line. Sean Bell (Medford Lakes, N.J.) converted a third down and two with an 11 yard run to the Delaware 47. Two plays later, Noel found Dube for a 26-yard gain to the Delaware 19. On the next play, Noel threw for the end zone. Dube was the intended target, but slipped and Ryan Torzsa came away with the interception and returning the pick to the seven yardline with 1:45 to play in the third. Moses Webb (Manassas, Va.) made the tackle on Torzsa to keep Delaware inside their own 10-yard line.
Delaware wasted no time driving into Sacred Heart territory. Hurley connected with Michael Johnson for a 49-yard completion to get to the Pioneers' 43 yard line. The Blue Hens had a third down and 12 from the Sacred Heart 45 when Hurley hit Jerel Harrison for a 10 yard gain as CJ Parvelus (Everett, Mass.) and TaMaric Wilson (Alexandria, Va.) stopping the Delaware receiver two yards shy of the first down. Delaware went for it on fourth down and converted as Hurley found Harrison for a seven-yard gain to the Sacred Heart 28 yardline. On third down and three from the 21, the Pioneers were called for pass interference to give Delaware first and goal from the seven yardline. Two plays later, Roussel picked off Hurley in the end zone to keep the game tied and become the Pioneers' all-time leader in inteceptions.
"I got a chance to go back out there and play," said Roussel. "The coaches put their trust in me. They tried throwing at me again and I got the big interception. I trusted my offense to drive it down the field on them and that's what they did. This is a big win for Sacred Heart football and the Sacred Heart family."
Starting from its own 20 yardline with 13:11 to play, Sacred Heart took just four plays to get into Blue Hens' territory. Noel ran for 32 yards on the second play of the drive to get to the Delaware 45 yardline. After a false start penalty, Noel found Jackson King (Merrimack, N.H.) for a 17-yard completion. On third down and three from the Blue Hens' 26, Spence moved the chains with a three-yard run to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Dube ran for two yards but fumbled the football at the Delaware 11. The Pioneers recovered the loose ball for a first down on second down and one. On third down and 10 from the 11, Noel ran for three yards to center up the ensuing field goal. Rogers converted from 25 yards to give Sacred Heart the 10-7 lead, capping off a 12 play, 72 yard drive.
"We started off slow at the beginning of the game but once we started clicking, we did what we know how to do," said Noel on what was the game-winning drive. "We ran the ball and threw the ball to get into field goal position and Rogers kicked the field goal."
The Blue Hens drove 26 yards on their next drive to the Sacred Heart 39, but failed to convert on a fourth down and three. On the next possession, the Pioneers drove to the Delaware 18 on the strength of a Spence 14-yard run and a 21-yard completion by Noel to Webb. On first and 10 from the 18, Noel was sacked and fumbled the football. The Blue Hens recovered the ball at their own 27 with 4:26 to play. Sacred Heart forced Delaware into a three-and-out and punt, with Rentz sacking Hurley to force a third and 24. The Pioneers got the ball back with 2:51 remaining, using the tandem of Noel and Spence to run out the clock. The duo gained two first downs, with Noel converting a third and two with 1:34 remaining to play that allowed the Pioneers to kneel down twice and cap off the monumental victory.
Sacred Heart's win snapped Delaware's 22-game non-conference home winning streak. Hurley was 21-for-34 passing for 196 yards and two interceptions. Randolph ran for 113 yards on 16 carries as Johnson had 10 receptions for 128 yards.
The Pioneers return to Campus Field on Saturday, Oct. 11 to open Northeast Conference play against Robert Morris. Kickoff is at 12 p.m.
