The Delaware Stadium grandstands were nearly filled with a sellout Parents’ Day audience on Saturday afternoon.
But when Kyron Cumby ran across the line of scrimmage and Chandler Harvin caught a pass in the first half down on Tubby Raymond Field, all the two Blue Hens saw in front of them was open space and a clear path to the end zone.
Being so alone is rarely accompanied by so much noise. It was a delightful contrast for them and the announced gathering of 18,905.
GAME STATS: Delaware 24, Towson 10
Those two second-quarter touchdowns were the spark Delaware needed to reject Towson’s early upset bid and carve their path to a 24-10 Colonial Athletic Association football win.
Cumby took a hand-off up the middle and immediately found daylight, sprinting 65 yards for a touchdown.
On the Blue Hens’ next series, Harvin snared a pass from Nolan Henderson on the Towson sideline at the UD 37. The Tiger defender went for the interception, missed the ball and landed out of bounds as Hardin sped downfield, escorted only by the din.
“I just feel like the plays are gonna come,” Cumby said. “We just gotta make them.”
The big plays were just what the Blue Hens were craving after having two other series stopped on downs at the Towson 34- and 21-yard lines in the first half and the Tigers kick a go-ahead field goal.
“You really have to just rely on the players to make plays,” said Delaware coach Ryan Carty, adding Towson’s defense made it difficult to find openings. “And we did. We made enough today and, hopefully, we can make more and continue to make bigger plays.”
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY:New team leads ranking of Delaware’s toughest remaining CAA football tests
Delaware had minus-2 yards rushing before Cumby’s breakaway scamper but finished with 166 on the ground and 534 total yards.
Cumby, who spent his first two college seasons at Illinois, finished with 100 yards on 15 carries.
Henderson extended his school-record streak to 17 straight completions early in the game and finished 25-for-41 for 368 yards with two touchdowns.
Jourdan Townsend was his busiest target, getting seven catches for 82 yards.
Delaware, ranked sixth nationally in FCS, improved to 3-0 in the CAA and 5-0 overall.
“As the game played on,” Cumby said, “we really showed our dominance.”
The Blue Hens turn their attention to next week’s showdown against 18th-ranked William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Tribe (4-1, 1-1) rallied to prevail 27-10 at winless Stony Brook Saturday,
COACHES’ SPATS, CLOSE GAMES:10 memorable Delaware-Towson football matchups
Towson (2-3, 0-2) lost its third straight. In a rivalry in which seven of the last nine games were decided by seven points or less, the Tigers were not up to the task this time even though they initially took the lead on Keegan Vaughan’s 38-yard second-quarter field goal. A Towson touchdown that series was erased by a holding penalty.
Towson’s four second-half possessions ended on three punts and a Kedrick Whitehead interception as the Delaware defense, which has allowed the fewest points and yards among CAA teams, continued its miserly ways. The Tigers managed just 159 total yards, 20 in the second half.
“They got a little momentum at the end of the first half,” said linebacker Johnny Buchanan, who led Delaware with 11 tackles. “So we really made it a point of emphasis to really go out there and play hard and be stingy on defense and I think we did a good job of that moving forward after halftime.”
The Tigers scored their only touchdown when Robert Javier tore the football from Delaware wide receiver Josh Moran’s grasp for an interception and ran 98 yards with 2:59 left, thwarting a chance for Delaware to pad its lead.
WORTH THE WAIT:At third college in 7 years, UD receiver makes his first career catches
Delaware solidified its control when it moved 75 yards on 11 plays aided by an early pass interference to score on the first possession of the second half. Henderson passed 4 yards to Khory Spruill out of the backfield for the touchdown.
A touchdown on Delaware’s next series was erased by a holding penalty and a sack pushed the Hens back farther. Andrew MacMillan’s 47-yard field-goal try was wide right.
Whitehead’s interception put Delaware in position later for Garrett Bennion’s 24-yard field goal that made it 24-3. It was the Hens’ first successful 3-pointer in four tries this year and came with 8:37 left, though Delaware certainly lamented being unable to get six after having first-and-goal at the 4.
“If we want to continue to be great, we’ve got to keep getting better,” Carty said when asked about Delaware’s missed opportunities. ” . . . We can’t keep leaving things out there.”
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.
