2022 DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL — GAME 2
DELAWARE STATE "Hornets" (1-0 / 0-0 MEAC)
VS.
#10/#13 DELAWARE "Fightin Blue Hens" (1-0 / 0-0 CAA)
SAT., SEP. 10, 2022 (6:00 p.m. kickoff)
Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium (22,000) - Newark, Del.
Live Video: FLOFOOTBALL (NBC Sports Phila.)
Live Audio - HSRN.com (DSU broadcast)
THE GAME
Delaware State visits nationally-ranked Delaware in a week two battle for First State bragging rights. The Hornets opened the 2022 season with a 34-0 win at home against Division II Lincoln (Pa.) last weekend, their first shutout since a 27-0 victory over North Carolina A&T in Delaware State's 2007 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship season. The win was also the Hornets' third straight in a season opener.
Delaware State scored touchdowns on runs by
Wade Inge (eight yards),
Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (one yard) and reserve quarterback
C.J. Henry (17 yards). The scoring run by Henry, a former Hodgson Vo-Tech star, was the first of his career. The Hornets also scored a touchdown on a 63-yard pass from
Jared Lewis to
Devin Curry in the third quarter to open up a 17-0 lead.
Freshman placekicker
Nathan Wilson nailed two of his three field goal attempts in his season debut for the Hornets.
The Hornets' defense held Lincoln to just 50 net yards rushing and 245 total yards in the game. The unit also recovered two fumbles by the Lions.
Linebacker
Brooks Parker (r-sr.) led DSU's defensive charge with nine tackles, six unassisted, including two behind the line-of-scrimmage (-5). Defensive back
Romel Harris-Freeman contributed five solo tackles and a pass break-up to the defensive effort. Offensively, Lewis shook off a slow start to complete six-of-12 passes for 111 yards, highlighted by the touchdown pass to Curry, who found the endzone for the first time in his career.
Curry had career-highs of five catches for 94 yards to lead all players in the game. Running back
Marquis Gillis (r-fr.; Milford, Del.) was the game's top rusher, topping all players with 81 yards on 15 carries (5.4 avg.) with a long of 16 in his first collegiate start. As a team, the Hornets rushed for 204 yards in the opener. Preseason HBCU All-America and All-MEAC punter
Matt Noll (so.) was impressive in the opener with three kicks for a 49.3 yard average (long 60), including one inside the Lincoln 20-yard line.
Delaware (1-0) made new head coach Ryan Carty a winner in his debut with a 14-7 road win over FBS Navy last weekend. The Hens scored the first 14 points of the game and held off a late comeback bid by the Midshipmen. Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson, a former Smyrna High School star, completed 20-of-32 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hens' offensive attack.
Delaware jumped from 19th to 10th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll following the win. The Hens are also 13th in the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll entering this weekend's games.
The Blue Hens were picked second in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll.
THE SERIES (Delaware leads 10-0)
This will be the 11th meeting between the state's two Division I teams. The first nine games were played at Delaware Stadium in Newark. The teams met at Delaware State in Dover for the first time on April 10, 2021 during the Covid pandemic. The Hornets are seeking their first win in the series. Delaware has won the previous 10 meetings by a combined score of score of 369-112. In the 2021 meeting.
Delaware outgained the Hornets 361-186, and forced four Delaware State turnovers to remain undefeated in the series. The Hens led 31-0 before the Hornets scored a touchdown on a blocked punt in the third quarter. Delaware State's second touchdown of the game, a seven-yard run by quarterback
Jared Lewis, also followed a punt block. The last time the teams played at Delaware Stadium in 2019, the Hens scored 28 unanswered points after DSU opened up a 6-3 second quarter lead, the only time the Hornets have led in the history of the series.
