UAlbany Football Outlasts Sacred Heart In NEC Action

UAlbany Football Outlasts Sacred Heart In NEC Action, lead by a 200+ yard game by McCarty. More to come...

Courtesy: UAlbany sports

Fairfield, Conn. – David McCarty rushed for 207 yards and one touchdown, as UAlbany came from behind in the second half for a 26-21 Northeast Conference victory over previously unbeaten Sacred Heart on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Campus Field.

UAlbany (4-3, NEC 3-0) reversed a 14-10 halftime deficit with 16 unanswered points. The Great Danes marched 80 yards in 14 plays with the second-half kickoff to scored the go-ahead touchdown. McCarty, a junior tailback, pounded over right guard on a 2-yard blast for the lead. UAlbany then consumed six minutes and 38 seconds of the clock with a 16-play drive that resulted in Herb Glass’ 33-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Vinny Esposito twice connected on third-down throws to keep the sequence alive.

The Great Danes, who have won nine straight and 13 of their last 14 against conference opposition, scored their third consecutive possession, driving 80 yards in eight plays for a 26-14 margin. Esposito, who passed for 184 yards and ran for a career-high 65, uses several option runs to advance the ball. He scored on an 18-yard run around left end when he broke free at the line of scrimmage and raced up the left sideline.

Sacred Heart (6-1, NEC 2-1) tried to rally when quarterback Dale Fink, who completed 24 of 35 attempts for 247 yards, drilled a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Tedesco. But the Great Danes, behind their big offensive line, consumed the final 4:40 of the contest. After the Pioneers used all three timeouts, McCarty broke clean for 36 yards, on third-and-three from the SHU 39, to decide the outcome.

“The offensive line wore them down,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose team last faced an unbeaten team in the second half of the season five years ago to the day. “Vinny (Esposito) had some big plays on the option. The safeties creep up, then you get outside the tight end, and you have a pretty good result. Sacred Heart has a good offensive unit and (Dale) Fink throws the ball on time.”

In the first half, UAlbany marched 85 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead. The Great Danes converted two fourth downs during the series, including a 45-yard scamper by McCarty to the SHU 9. Esposito would later reach the end zone on second effort in a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak with 3:08 left in the first quarter.

Sacred Heart responded on its next possession with a long drive, aided by a roughing-the-quarterback penalty. Fink, last year’s NEC offensive rookie of the year, rifled a 23-yard pass to Tedesco, who working his way inside the cornerback on the route. Evin Jones slanted off the left side on a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Great Danes settled for Glass’ 22-yard field goal the next time their offense touched the ball. Esposito hooked up with Daniel Bocanegra on a third-down completion, but Colin Simmons’ touchdown run was wiped out by a penalty. Sacred Heart answered with a 73-yard drive to take a 14-10 lead. Jones moved his team into UAlbany territory after hauling in a 29-yard screen pass. Fink would eventually throw a quick out to freshman Jared Kemp, who used a host of blockers to reach paydirt on an 8-yard completion.

Both teams had big plays wiped out by mistakes in the closed minutes of the opening half. SHU’s Rich Marrone intercepted a pass that went off the hands of receiver Jason Poore, but then fumbled near the left pylon on the return and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a toucback. UAlbany’s McCarty danced 63 yards with a screen pass to the Pioneers’ 3-yard line; however, the play was nullified by a holding call.

“The offensive line was pushing guys around in the second half,” said McCarty, who toppled the 200-yard mark for the third time in his career. “They dominated up front, the defense stepped up, and we finally put the ball in from the red zone. When they give me a crease, I just try to squeeze in there and keep my feet moving.

The Great Danes, who have played nine of their last 10 games on the road, accounted for a season-best 504 total yards, including 320 on the ground. Sacred Heart’s Jones, the nation’s seventh-leading rusher, was held to 46 yards on 16 carries.