PISCATAWAY, NJ - The Rutgers football team (1-1) fell
to visiting New Hampshire (2-0) 35-24 at Rutgers Stadium Sept. 11.
The Wildcats took the early lead with a touchdown on their second possession,
a 55-yard pass from Ricky Santos to David Bailey 6:32 into the game. Rutgers
had an immediate answer, though, as Brian Leonard (Gouverneur, NY) punched the
ball in from the one-yard line to even the score at 7-7 with 3:54 remaining
in the opening period.
New Hampshire again went ahead by seven, thanks to a three-yard pass from Santos
to Aaron Brown at the 9:11 mark of the second quarter. It would be short lived,
however, as RU tied it up on an 11-yard touchdown reception by Sam Johnson (Midland
Park, NJ) from Ryan Hart (Coral Springs, FL) six minutes later.
After a quick three-and-out series by the Wildcats, Rutgers engineered a six-play,
57-yard drive in just 1:07, as Hart connected with Chris Loomis (Maple Shade,
NJ) for a 17-yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead at the 1:07 mark.
New Hampshire's next drive lasted just three plays, ending with a Aaron
Brown fumble that was forced by RU's Jason Grant (Bayside, NY). Derrick
Roberson (Oakland Park, FL) recovered the ball at the Rutgers 48-yard line with
25 seconds left in the half, and as time expired, freshman Jeremy Ito (Redlands,
CA) converted a 48-yard field-goal attempt, giving the Scarlet Knights a 24-14
advantage as they entered the locker room.
The Wildcats cut that lead to three 4:24 into the second half as Santos hooked
up with David Bell for a 10-yard completion, making the score 24-21 in Rutgers'
favor. UNH then pulled ahead with another Santos-to-Ball pass play, this one
for 25 yards to push the Wildcats ahead 28-24 at the 2:11 mark.
Driving deep into Rutgers territory, New Hampshire threatened to add to its
lead five minutes into the fourth quarter, but Joe Porter (Franklin, NJ) intercepted
a pass in the end zone on a third-and-goal play from the seven-yard line.
On the Wildcats' next possession, Santos threw a 20-yard touchdown pass
to Shaun Diner at the 6:04 mark, pushing New Hampshire ahead by 11 (35-24) and
ending the scoring.
Hart connected on 30 of 50 passes for 307 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Leonard registered 88 yards on 23 carries and 39 yards on five receptions for
127 all-purpose yards, his seventh straight. Tres Moses (Delray Beach, FL) led
the Rutgers receiving corps with his 84 yards on a career-high nine receptions.
Ito made on of two field-goal and all three extra-point attempts. Terry Bynes
(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) made nine total tackles to lead the Rutgers defense. Porter
registered seven stops, including two tackles for loss, one interception and
two passes broken up.
The Scarlet Knights will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 18, against Kent
State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Rutgers Stadium.
NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW HAMPSHIRE 7 7 14 7 35
RUTGERS 7 17 0 0 24 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: NEW HAMPSHIRE - TD, DAVID BAILEY 55 YD PASS FROM
RICKY SANTOS (CONNOR MCCORMICK
KICK), 6:32. NEW HAMPSHIRE 7-0
RUTGERS - TD, BRIAN LEONARD 1 YD RUN (JEREMY
ITO KICK), 11:06. NEW
HAMPSHIRE 7-7
2ND QUARTER: NEW HAMPSHIRE - TD, AARON BROWN 3 YD PASS FROM
RICKY SANTOS (CONNOR MCCORMICK
KICK), 5:49. NEW HAMPSHIRE
14-7
RUTGERS - TD, SAM JOHNSON 11 YD PASS FROM
RYAN HART (JEREMY ITO KICK),
11:39. NEW HAMPSHIRE 14-14
RUTGERS - TD, CHRIS LOOMIS 17 YD PASS FROM
RYAN HART (JEREMY ITO KICK),
13:58. RUTGERS 21-14
RUTGERS - FG, JEREMY ITO 48 YD, 14:57.
RUTGERS 24-14
3RD QUARTER: NEW HAMPSHIRE - TD, DAVID BALL 10 YD PASS FROM
RICKY SANTOS (CONNOR MCCORMICK
KICK), 4:24. RUTGERS 24-21
NEW HAMPSHIRE - TD, DAVID BALL 25 YD PASS FROM
RICKY SANTOS (CHRISTOPHER
MCCLURG KICK), 12:49. NEW
HAMPSHIRE 28-24
4TH QUARTER: NEW HAMPSHIRE - TD, SHAUN DINER 20 YD PASS FROM
RICKY SANTOS (CONNOR MCCORMICK
KICK), 8:56. NEW HAMPSHIRE
35-24
Post-Game Notes
Moses Continues Catch Streak
It didn’t take WR Tres Moses long to continue his streak of 14 games
with more than one catch. Moses grabbed a 20-yard pass from Ryan Hart on the
first play of the game and then, three plays later, snagged a three-yard pass.
He ended the first half with seven catches for 66 yards, and led Rutgers with
84 yards on a career-high nine catches.
Leonard’s Streak Continues
Fullback Brian Leonard gained 128 all-purpose yards in tonight’s game,
rushing for 89 and catching five passes for 39 yards. He has now gained over
100 all-purpose yards in seven-straight games dating back to a 30-14 win over
Temple on Oct. 25, 2003.
Date Opponent Rush Receiving All-Purpose
10/25/03 Temple 64 84 148
11/8/03 UConn 184 33 217
11/15/03 Boston College 99 45 144
11/22/03 Miami 52 54 106
11/29/03 Syracuse 138 45 183
9/4/04 Mich. St. 150 40 190
9/11/04 UNH 89 39 128
Seven-game totals – averages 110.95 48.57 159.5
Ito Ties RU Stadium Record
After hitting a 47-yarder, one of four successful field goals, in last week’s
19-14 win over Michigan State, freshman K Jeremy Ito connected on a 48-yard
attempt to tie a Rutgers Stadium record, set on Aug. 31, 1996, by Nick Mike-Mayer
vs. Villanova.
Hart Spreads the Offense, Moves Into Fifth Place on All-Time Yardage List
After hitting a career-high 10 different receivers with passes vs. MSU last
week, QB Ryan Hart connected with nine different players in the first half
vs. UNH tonight. He also threw for 307 yards in the game, passing three different
former RU signal callers to move into fifth place on Rutgers’ career
yardage list with 3,741 yards. Next up is Eric Hochberg (1982-85), fourth
with 3,825 yards.
Hart Cracks Top 10 in Touchdown Passes
With his 17-yard scoring strike to Chris Loomis with 1:02 remaining in the
first half, Ryan Hart moved past Leo Gasiencia and Eric Hochberg into 10th
place on the career list for touchdown passes with 19. Next up in eighth
place are Ed McMichael and Tom Tarver with 20 apiece.
Hart Sets Stadium Record for Completions
With his 30 completions tonight Ryan Hart established a Rutgers Stadium (old
or new) for completions in a single game. The previous ‘old’ stadium
record was 29, set by Rich Poliscatro (vs. Lehigh 10/11/69). The previous ‘new’ stadium
record was 27, held by Hart (vs. Pittsburgh 10/18/03) and Mike McMahon (vs.
Villanova 9/22/00).
Leonard Is First Offensive Player to Reach Endzone
With a one-yard run at the 3:54 mark of the first quarter, Brian Leonard scored
Rutgers’ first offensive touchdown of the season after leading the
team in scoring (86 points) a year ago. Leonard received 49% of the votes
in a poll on www.scarletknights.com which asked fans, “Who will score
the first touchdown this season?”
Foster Nets Career High
Sophomore WR Willie Foster’s first grab of the game, for 26 yards, established
a career high, besting a catch of 17 yards at Miami on Nov. 22 of last season.
First Career Start
Senior DT J’Vonne Parker made his first career start tonight. He started
at defensive tackle alongside Luis Rivas, who was making his second-straight
start this season after starting eight of the first nine games in 2003. True
freshman Dimitri Linton saw his first collegiate action (on punt block) as
did Brad Listorti, who also saw time on special teams.
Attendance Is Over 30,000 Once Again
Tonight’s attendance of 31,615 marks the second-straight attendance figure
of over 30,000 (after last week’s Rutgers Stadium-record crowd of 42,612).
Last season, RU had two figures of over 30,000, including a season-high 32,382
vs. Navy on Sept. 27. Over the last seven home games, Rutgers is averaging
30,464 fans per game, dating back to the game vs. Navy.
Rutgers Allows First Sacks of 2004
After not allowing a sack in the season-opening win vs. Michigan State, Rutgers
gave up four tonight vs. UNH, accounting for –33 yards.
