Great Danes Open New Stadium, Drop Overtime Heartbreaker To Rhode Island

ALBANY, N.Y. – Bob Ford Field opened its gates to a sellout crowd of 8,500 on the campus of the University at Albany on Saturday night.  The stadium was buzzing with anticipation for the first game at the Great Danes’ new home. 

To the chagrin of their fans, the Great Danes could not get their coach a win to open the stadium that bears his name. UAlbany dropped a closely contested 19-13 game in overtime to the visiting Rhode Island Rams.

From the onset, the game was played close to the vest.  It was an offensive struggle for both teams due to stout defensive play from both teams.  The only scoring of the first half came off the right foot of Rhode Island kicker Dylan Smith, who knocked down a 45-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 36-yarder on the Rams’ final drive of the first half.  Quarterback Bob Bentsen was efficient in the half, going 12-for-20 with 121 yards passing. 

For UAlbany, things did not come easy during the first half.  They struggled to run or throw despite senior wide out Kevin Chillis electrifying the crowd with a 53-yard run. However, the drive stalled after a missed 40-yard field goal attempt.

Rhode Island went into the break with a 6-0 advantage and was poised to extend its lead.  The Great Danes fumbled a punt on their own 17-yard line, leading to a short field for the Rams.  Bentsen then took it in himself on a draw to give Rhode Island a 13-0 lead halfway through the third.

There was no quit in the Great Danes, who responded with a score of their own almost instantly with a seven play, 64-yard drive that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown run from last week’s CAA Player of the Week, Omar Osbourne.  The drive saw Fiacchi and the UAlbany offense move the ball downfield in a way not seen in the first half.  The key play of the drive was a crucial 25-yard conversion to Jake Meek, who was lined up in the slot.  It was the best throw of the night for Fiacchi, who sold the play action perfectly before delivering a strike on third down.  The score was now 13-6 after senior defensive tackle Josh Moody would block the extra point for URI.

After forcing a three-and-out on defense, the Great Danes got the ball back and went back to work moving down the field.  The highlight of the drive came on a do-or-die 4th and eight, which Fiacchi hit junior Cole King with another well thrown pass under pressure.  The final play of the third quarter was the biggest offensive one. Meek took the snap, optioned to keep the ball, and took it into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown that tied the game at 13 apiece.  The drive was 10 plays, 77 yards and made it a brand new ballgame. 

The tide seemed to be turning in UAlbany’s favor as it stopped Rhode Island on a 4th and one and got the ball back.  It looked at the time like it would be the most important play of the game.  The combination of Fiacchi and Meek under center drove the Great Danes down the field and gave them a chance to take the lead.  Unfortunately, Tom O’Riordan had his kick blocked.  Once again, it was URI’s Moody, who also forced a fumble in the game. 

While it was a setback for UAlbany, the defense picked the Danes back up and got the ball back in the latter stages of the game.  An interception from the Rams’ Doug Martin gave Rhode Island great field position with under three minutes remaining.  Fortunately for the Great Danes, kicker Dylan Smith missed a field goal, keeping the game tied and giving UAlbany another chance.  Fiacchi threw up a Hail Mary in the closing seconds, but it fell short, sending the game into overtime.

Overtime began with a Rhode Island touchdown, one that would prove to be the game-winner.  Justin Semmes took the ball in on a 1-yard carry before Smith missed an extra point, putting the Rams up by six.  A holding penalty and a sack by the Rhode Island defense stalled another comeback attempt for the Great Danes, and UAlbany’s first overtime game since 2011 ended with the first conference defeat of the year.

Junior linebacker Christian Dorsey led the defense, recording 14 tackles, including eight solo.   

On offense, Meek displayed his versatility from playing slot receiver to taking snaps under center, one of which resulted in a touchdown.  Coach Ford was sure to mention Meek’s consistency after the game.

“I think he gives us a pretty good threat in the run game,” Ford noted.  “He’s quick and can hit the holes.”

On the offensive end, Fiacchi totaled 181 yards on 17 completions in 36 attempts, including 12-for-21 in the final two quarters.  Osbourne finished the night with 96 rushing yards and a score.  

“We had enough opportunities to win the game,” Coach Ford said. “And we just didn’t get it done.”

The Great Danes return to action Saturday, September 21st, hosting Central Connecticut State at 7:00 p.m. at Bob Ford Field.

Scoring Summary (Final)
The Automated ScoreBook
URI vs Albany (Sep 14, 2013 at Albany, N.Y.)

URI (1-2,1-1) vs. Albany (1-2,0-1)

Date: Sep 14, 2013 • Site: Albany, N.Y.  • Stadium: Bob Ford Field  •  Attendance: 8500

Score by Quarters	1	2	3	4	OT	[5]	Score
URI	3	3	7	0	6	[6]	19
Albany	0	0	13	0	0	[0]	13

SCORING SUMMARY				URI -ALBANY
1st	09:36	URI	Dylan Smith 45 yd field goal
				3 – 0
2nd	00:16	URI	Dylan Smith 36 yd field goal
				6 – 0
3rd	08:14	URI	Bob Bentsen 3 yd run (Dylan Smith kick)
				13 – 0
	05:47	ALBANY	Osbourne, Omar 10 yd run (O’Riordan, Tom kick blockd)
				13 – 6
	00:00	ALBANY	Meek, Jake 17 yd run (O’Riordan, Tom kick)
				13 – 13
OT	15:00	URI	Justin Semmes 1 yd run (Dylan Smith kick failed)
				19 – 13

Kickoff time: 7:07pm  • End of Game: 10:24  • Total elapsed time: 3:17 Referee: Paul Zukis  •  Umpire: Robert Kinter  •  Linesman: Ray Renart  •  Line judge: Frank Trevino  •  Back judge: Peter Buchanan  •  Field judge: Duane Burrel  •  Side judge: Bill Greider  •  Alternate: Edward Conlan  •  Temperature: 62  • Wind: WNW 7mph • Weather: cloudy

Team Statistics (Final)
The Automated ScoreBook
URI vs Albany (Sep 14, 2013 at Albany, N.Y.)

Team Totals	URI	ALBANY
FIRST DOWNS	17	23
Rushing	7	12
Passing	8	9
Penalty	2	2
NET YARDS RUSHING	140	216
Rushing Attempts	53	42
Average Per Rush	2.6	5.1
Rushing Touchdowns	2	2
Yards Gained Rushing	166	247
Yards Lost Rushing	26	31
NET YARDS PASSING	136	194
Completions-Attempts-Int	16-27-0	18-37-1
Average Per Attempt	5.0	5.2
Average Per Completion	8.5	10.8
Passing Touchdowns	0	0
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	276	410
Total offense plays	80	79
Average Gain Per Play	3.5	5.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost	0-0	2-2
Penalties: Number-Yards	5-46	7-58
PUNTS-YARDS	8-320	5-186
Average Yards Per Punt	40.0	37.2
Net Yards Per Punt	40.4	37.0
Inside 20	3	1
50+ Yards	2	0
Touchbacks	0	0
Fair catch	0	1
KICKOFFS-YARDS	4-205	3-154
Average Yards Per Kickoff	51.2	51.3
Net Yards Per Kickoff	23.2	30.0
Touchbacks	0	0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	2-1-0	1–3-0
Average Per Return	0.5	-3.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	3-64-0	4-112-0
Average Per Return	21.3	28.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	1-0-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	4	0
Possession Time	32:44	27:16
1st Quarter	8:46	6:14
2nd Quarter	10:55	4:05
3rd Quarter	5:18	9:42
4th Quarter	7:45	7:15
OT Quarter	0:00	0:00
Third-Down Conversions	7 of 20	3 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 2	3 of 5
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	3-5	2-5
Touchdowns	2-5	2-5
Field goals	1-5	0-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards	3-25	1-8
PAT Kicks	1-2	1-2
Field Goals	2-3	0-2

Individual Statistics

Individual Statistics (Final)
The Automated ScoreBook
URI vs Albany (Sep 14, 2013 at Albany, N.Y.)

URI		Albany
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg.  Justin Semmes  19  73  0  73  1  11  3.8  Robbie Delgado  11  29  0  29  0  8  2.6  Bob Bentsen  12  36  14  22  1  9  1.8  Jawaun Wynn  3  20  0  20  0  13  6.7  Kolt Peavey  1  2  0  2  0  2  2.0  Jordan Sebastian  4  2  1  1  0  2  0.2  Abdul Ibrahim  3  4  11  -7  0  4  -2.3  Totals…  53  166  26  140  2  13  2.6		RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg.  Osbourne, Omar   22  96  0  96  1  17  4.4  Chillis, Kevin   3  77  0  77  0  53  25.7  Meek, Jake   11  55  6  49  1  17  4.5  Fiacchi, Will   6  19  25  -6  0  10  -1.0  Totals…  42  247  31  216  2  53  5.1
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack  Bob Bentsen  16-27-0  136  0  24  1  Totals…  16-27-0  136  0  24  1		PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack  Fiacchi, Will   17-36-1  181  0  43  3  Meek, Jake   1-1-0  13  0  13  0  Totals…  18-37-1  194  0  43  3
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg  Robbie Jackson  3  45  0  24  Robbie Delgado  3  -4  0  2  Andrew Matos  2  33  0  18  Jordan Sebastian  2  0  0  4  Ross Kim  1  21  0  21  Justin Favreau  1  17  0  17  Justin Semmes  1  8  0  8  Josh Gross  1  7  0  7  Jawaun Wynn  1  6  0  6  Abdul Ibrahim  1  3  0  3  Totals…  16  136  0  24		RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg  Gay, Jameel   7  96  0  43  Chillis, Kevin   4  22  0  9  King, Cole   2  26  0  15  Parker, Brian   2  24  0  13  Osbourne, Omar   2  1  0  1  Meek, Jake   1  25  0  25  Totals…  18  194  0  43
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB  Anthony DiPaula  8  320  40.0  57  3  0  Totals…  8  320  40.0  57  3  0		PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB  Martin, Jonathan  5  186  37.2  48  1  0  Totals…  5  186  37.2  48  1  0
Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept  ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  Robbie Jackson  2  1  2  1  19  19  0  0  0  Andrew Matos  0  0  0  2  45  31  0  0  0  Doug Johnson  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  Totals…  2  1  2  3  64  31  1  0  0		Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept  ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  Chillis, Kevin   0  0  0  2  40  27  0  0  0  Harris, Clay   0  0  0  2  72  49  0  0  0  Lewis, Cameron   1  -3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  Totals…  1  -3  0  4  112  49  0  0  0
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total  Justin Semmes  73  8  0  0  0  81  Andrew Matos  0  33  45  0  0  78  Robbie Jackson  0  45  19  1  0  65  Jawaun Wynn  20  6  0  0  0  26  Robbie Delgado  29  -4  0  0  0  25  Bob Bentsen  22  0  0  0  0  22  Ross Kim  0  21  0  0  0  21  Justin Favreau  0  17  0  0  0  17  Josh Gross  0  7  0  0  0  7  Kolt Peavey  2  0  0  0  0  2  Jordan Sebastian  1  0  0  0  0  1  Abdul Ibrahim  -7  3  0  0  0  -4  Totals…  140  136  64  1  0  341		ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total  Chillis, Kevin   77  22  40  0  0  139  Osbourne, Omar   96  1  0  0  0  97  Gay, Jameel   0  96  0  0  0  96  Meek, Jake   49  25  0  0  0  74  Harris, Clay   0  0  72  0  0  72  King, Cole   0  26  0  0  0  26  Parker, Brian   0  24  0  0  0  24  Lewis, Cameron   0  0  0  -3  0  -3  Fiacchi, Will   -6  0  0  0  0  -6  Totals…  216  194  112  -3  0  519
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS  Dylan Smith  1st  09:36  45 yards  Good  Dylan Smith  2nd  00:16  36 yards  Good  Dylan Smith  4th  01:35  33 yards  Missed		FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS  O’Riordan, Tom  1st  03:08  40 yards  Missed  O’Riordan, Tom  4th  06:34  27 yards  Blocked
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg.  Anthony DiPaula  4  205  0  0  51.2		KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg.  Martin, Jonathan  3  154  0  0  51.3

FUMBLES: URI-None. Albany-Fiacchi, Will 1-1; Lewis, Cameron 1-1.

Defensive Statistics

Defensive Statistics (Final)
The Automated ScoreBook
URI vs Albany (Sep 14, 2013 at Albany, N.Y.)

##	URI	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL/Yds	FF	FR-Yds	Int-Yds	BrUp	Blkd	Sack/Yds	QBH
10	Andrew Bose	8	9	17	1.5/5	.	.	.	2	.	0.5/4	.
24	Dave Zocco	6	4	10	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
25	Mackenzie Elliott	3	3	6	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.
22	Jamaal Bess	5	.	5	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
21	Tim Wienclaw	5	.	5	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
5	Andre Scott	3	2	5	.	.	.	.	4	.	.	.
96	James Timmins	2	3	5	1.5/14	.	.	.	.	.	1.5/14	.
92	Josh Moody	3	1	4	2.0/12	1	.	.	.	1	1.0/7	.
32	Tyrone Jenkins	2	1	3	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
2	Doug Johnson	1	2	3	.	.	.	1-0	.	.	.	.
88	Blake Jones	1	2	3	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
4	Donovan Walker	.	3	3	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
35	Tarik Pusey	2	.	2	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
90	Robert Howard	1	1	2	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
50	Shomari Watts	.	2	2	.	.	1-0	.	.	.	.	.
95	Mike Rinaldi	.	1	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
44	Connor Caponegro	.	1	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
56	Sam Hartman	.	1	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
45	Clay Crume	.	.	.	.	.	1-0	.	.	.	.	.
94	Jessie Charette	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.

##	Albany	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL/Yds	FF	FR-Yds	Int-Yds	BrUp	Blkd	Sack/Yds	QBH
33	Dorsey, Christian	8	6	14	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.
1	Idowu, Olatunji	7	4	11	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
59	Smith, Andrew	7	3	10	2.0/11	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
54	Dwyer, Jake	6	3	9	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
6	Exantus, Randall	4	2	6	1.0/6	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
58	Greenhagen, Cody	3	1	4	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
99	Connell, Cory	3	.	3	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
31	Jordan, Kyle	2	1	3	0.5/1	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
90	Bradley, Tom	2	1	3	0.5/0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
92	Smith, Michael	2	1	3	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
32	Ngachie, Marcel	1	2	3	0.5/4	.	.	.	.	.	0.5/4	.
35	LaDucer, Mat	1	2	3	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
5	Wilson, Tramaine	2	.	2	1.0/6	.	.	.	1	.	.	.
11	Nicastro, Michael	2	.	2	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
4	Wiggins, Rhakeem	2	.	2	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
21	Helmer, Alex	1	1	2	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
98	Morton, Zach	.	2	2	0.5/4	.	.	.	.	.	0.5/4	.
52	Fasano, Joe	1	.	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
91	Troutman, Zach	.	1	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
25	Harris, Clay	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.