SANTOS LEADS UNH TO 7-4 RECORD WITH 39-14 VICTORY OVER MAINE
11/17/2007
BOXSCORE
DURHAM, N.H. – Senior quarterback Ricky Santos (Bellingham, Mass.) moved into third place on a pair of NCAA record lists in his last regular season game to help lead the University of New Hampshire football team to a 39-14 win over the University of Maine on Saturday at Cowell Stadium in the team’s final regular-season tilt.
The win improves the Wildcats’ record to 7-4, including 4-4 in the Colonial Athletic Conference, while Maine drops to 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
Santos submitted another big game as a Wildcat, completing 25-of-32 passes for 355 yards and four touchdowns. His 12,961 yards move him past Willie Totten and into third place on the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision’s all-time career passing yards list. Totten, who finished his career with 12,711 yards, was Jerry Rice’s quarterback at Mississippi Valley State.
The Wildcat co-captain also moved into third place on the NCAA FCS’ all-time career passing touchdowns list when the ‘Cats used a bit of trickery to land Santos his third touchdown pass of the afternoon. A reverse flee flicker, beginning with senior wide receiver Keith LeVan (Waltham, Mass.) and freshman wide receiver J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.), and ending when Santos hit junior wide out Mike Boyle (Plymouth, N.H.) with a 49-yard strike with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter, gave Santos his 120th career TD pass that eclipsed the 119 of Steve McNair. LeVan also moved up a record list of his own. His six grabs on the day give him 196 for his career, and moved him from fourth to second place on UNH’s all-time career receptions list. David Ball, who broke Jerry Rice’s NCAA FCS all-time records for touchdown passes and 100-yard receiving games last season, is first on the list.
Santos connected with Boyle on his first two TD passes of the game, a 58-yard bomb in the first quarter that put the ‘Cats up 10-0, and a 10-yarder that maintained their 10-point edge. Boyle finished with seven catches for 170 yards and the three touchdowns.
A UNH safety off a blocked punt by junior defensive back John Clements (Hammonton, N.J.) increased the Wildcat lead to 12. After freshman wide receiver Terrance Fox (Piscataway. N.J.) returned the ensuing kick 47 yards to the Maine 6-yard line, sophomore running back Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.) took the ball into the end zone for an 8-yard score to put the Wildcats on top 26-7.
After Santos’ record-breaking toss blew the game open, he hooked up with sophomore tight end Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.) for his fourth touchdown pass of the game, to give the Wildcats a 39-7 lead just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Jhamal Fluellen equaled Maine’s longest pass play from scrimmage in school history when he caught a pass, found a hole and raced 84 yards up the left sideline untouched to bring the Black Bears within three (10-7), 4:13 into the second quarter.
UNH has a slim chance of making the NCAA FCS playoffs. They will find out if they make the 16-team field during Sunday’s NCAA selection show, which will be aired live on ESPNU at 3:30 p.m.
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