DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – The University of New Hampshire survived a very shaky second period and roared back in the third behind junior quarterback Kevin Decker on the way to a 45-20 FCS playoff win over Bethune-Cookman University Saturday at Municipal Field.
The Wildcats, now 8-4, head to the NCAA playoff quarterfinal round for the sixth time in the last seven years, and will travel to Newark, Del., to take on No. 3 seed Delaware next weekend. Bethune-Cookman, which won its first 10 games of the season, lost its last two games and finished at 10-2.
B-CU backup QB played tough
DAYTONA BEACH -- It wasn't ideal circumstances for Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jackie Wilson to make his first college start on Saturday. To say the odds were against the true freshman would be an understatement. Wilson wasn't fully recovered from a high ankle sprain sustained two weeks earlier in B-CU's loss to Florida A&M, yet he was the best option for coach Brian Jenkins because Matt Johnson -- the senior who started every other game -- has a shoulder injury.
Playing against a New Hampshire team that has years of playoff experience, Wilson was sacked five times, fumbled twice and threw two interceptions in the 45-20 loss at Municipal Stadium.
Wildcats kept it close early on
DAYTONA BEACH -- Bethune-Cookman sophomore Kory Kowalski nailed a 44-yard punt and then was leveled by New Hampshire's Chris Setian in the second quarter Saturday. Kowalski lay flat on Municipal Stadium's Field Turf as trainers attended to him. Then he got up and fell down again.
Many of the 5,738 fans at Muncipal Stadium had to be wondering what B-CU would do if it had to go the rest of the game without the only healthy punter and kicker on its team. But Kowalski, who bruised his left knee on the play, admitted after the game that his second collapse was just milking the situation, giving B-CU's offense a little time to rest.
Backup QB Decker leads UNH football to 45-20 playoff win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Making his first start of the season in place of injured starter R.J. Toman, junior quarterback Kevin Decker threw for three second-half touchdowns to lead the University of New Hampshire football team to a 45-20 victory over Bethune-Cookman in the second round of the Division I playoffs on Saturday afternoon.
Tenth-ranked UNH, which improved to 8-4 with the win, will meet No. 3 seed Delaware next weekend in the quarterfinals. The Blue Hens dispatched Lehigh, 42-20, in their second-round game Saturday. The Wildcats won a postseason game for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Bethune-Cookman, the MEAC champion making its first postseason appearance since 2003, saw its season end with a record of 10-2.
Bethune-Cookman loses in 2nd round of FCS playoffs
DAYTONA BEACH — Game-changing adjustments usually happen on the field. But the decision to bench starting quarterbacks for both Bethune-Cookman University and New Hampshire came just hours before their 1 p.m. kickoff at Municipal Stadium.
BCU coach Brian Jenkins chose to sit Matt Johnson, voted MEAC offensive player of the year, Saturday despite receiving clearance from team doctors for a left shoulder injury. Jackie Wilson, a freshman backup, quarterbacked the Wildacts in a 45-20 loss in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Meltdown
DAYTONA BEACH -- For Matt Johnson the toughest game was his last one. And he never got off the sideline. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Year had to stand and watch as his Bethune-Cookman Wildcats succumbed to a second-half offensive barrage that propelled visiting New Hampshire to a 45-20 victory Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division I playoffs at Municipal Stadium.
"It was hard -- very, very hard. I couldn't even put it in words," said Johnson, who broke his left shoulder blade two weeks ago in a loss to Florida A&M.
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ATTENDANCE: 5,738
BCU Wildcats 2010 a mix of success, promise
DAYTONA BEACH -- It was nearly 10 minutes into the third quarter when it began looking like Bethune-Cookman's football season would finally end on its 12th Saturday of the fall.
New Hampshire quarterback Kevin Decker lobbed a pass toward the right sideline, where receiver Chris Chandler, angling toward the B-CU bench, had a half-step on B-CU defender Dion Hanks. Chandler made the catch; Hanks missed the tackle. As Hanks fell aside, Chandler gathered his footing and took off down the sideline toward the end zone, with B-CU's Chris Perry giving a desperate chase that came up just short.
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