Nick Elko threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Wilson had two TD catches to lead Delaware State's 346-yard attack. The Hornet defense forced three turnovers and made a key fourth down stop late in the fourth quarter on VMI's final possession.
"This is a very special win for me, but more importantly for our players," said Blount, who was head coach at Winston-Salem State University for 17 years for accepting the DSU job last February.
"Our players have done everything we've asked since I arrived, and I couldn't be happier for them," Blount said. "This is a good win for our program. We had some adversity right from the start, but everyone stayed focused on the mission at hand."
A Delaware State turnover on the opening kickoff led to a VMI touchdown just 52 seconds into the season. Three plays after Tavis Tarpley lost a fumble on the opening kick at the VMI 11, Chaz Jones scored a touchdown on a one-yard run to give the Keydets a 7-0 lead.
The Hornets took advantage of a VMI turnover to score their first points of the season. Tarpley atoned for his miscue by hauling in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Elko on a diving catch to pull DSU to within 7-6 with 12:03 left in the first quarter. The drive began at the VMI 19 following an interception by linebacker Brandon Harvey The Hornets failed to tie the score when freshman Mitchell Ward missed the extra point kick.
"The team responded well to the early turnover," Blount said. "After the fumble, I told Tarpley to keep his head up, and he came through with a big-time catch for the touchdown."
The Keydets added to their lead on a touchdown midway through the second quarter. Jones scored for the second time in the game when he fumbled on a three-yard run, but recovered the ball in the endzone to give VMI at 14-6 lead with 6:22 to go before halftime.
Elko and Wilson connected on the first of their two touchdown strikes to help pull the Hornets pull even shortly before the half. The duo capped off a five-play, 56-yard drive with a seven-yard scoring pass to pull the Hornets to within 14-12 with 1:55 left in the second quarter. The pair also had a 28-yard connection during the drive. The Hornets tied the score at 14 on a two-point pass from Elko to Tarpley after the touchdown.
The teams had to endure a longer than usual halftime break when lightning forced an evacuation of the stadium. There were also reports of a tornado in the area. Played resumed after a 68-minute delay.
Delaware State took the lead for the first time when Elko and Wilson hooked up on a 47-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Wilson caught the ball at around the VMI 20, then eluded two would-be tacklers before sprinting into the endzone. Freshman placekicker Mitchell Ward tacked on the extra point to give the Hornets a 21-14 lead with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
Wilson, the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Offensive Player-of-the-Year, had six catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. Counting the Hornets' 2010 finale at Howard, Wilson has 15 receptions for 327 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games.
The Hornets stretched their lead to 24-14 when Ward hit his first collegiate field goal, a 24-yard kick with 12:51 left in the fourth quarter. Elko completed 2-of-3 passes for 47 yards during the scoring drive, including a 37-yard strike to Tarpley.
VMI pulled to within 24-21 when Jones scored his third touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run with 7:38 left to play. Jones led all players with 76 yards rushing on 19 carries.
After Delaware State failed to score on its next possession, the Keydets started their final drive of the game at their 20-yard line with 2:51 left to play.
The Hornet defense forced VMI into three incomplete passes and a completion for no gain in four plays to seal the win.
Elko, in his first season as the full-time starting quarterback, completed 17-of-32 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
"I didn't have to face a lot of pressure because our offensive line did such a great job," said Elko, who was not sacked in the contest. "We had a few execution issues early in the game, but overall I was pleased with our offensive effort."
Tarpley had 174 all-purpose yards; 76 on five receptions and 92 on four kickoff returns.
Jaashawn Jones led the Hornets with 69 rushing yards on 18 carries, while newcomer Josh Bailey rushed for 38 yards on 10 attempts.
Defensive back Joe Boyd led the Hornets with nine tackles. Tavis Tabb, Ernest Adjei and Quentin Ferguson had seven stops each.
Matt Spicer also had a DSU interception, while Quintin Fortes recovered a VMI fumble for the Hornets.
Darrell Brown was credited with Delaware State's lone sack.
The Hornets will play their home opener next Saturday (Sep. 10) against Shaw University. Game time is 6:00 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.
STINGERS
The Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak in season openers, while the loss snapped VMI's six-game win streak in opening games ... Blount is the first Delaware State head coach to win his opening game with the team since John McKenzie made his debut with a 50-18 win over Cheyney in 1997 ... redshirt freshman Joseph "Bo" Ceravolo had two receptions for 10 yards in his Hornet debut ... The Hornets have won their last two road games after dropping their previous five ... Delaware State is now 7-11 time against current Big South Conference teams.
BOXSCORE
QUOTES - VMI Head Coach Sparky Woods
"I think that they just made a few more plays than we did. Credit them, they have a big, strong athletic football team and I thought their quarterback threw the ball well and their running backs ran the ball hard. The two key plays that stick out were our first big kick-off return. When we got the ball back, we threw a really bad interception on a tipped ball."
"We missed our field goal, they made theirs and then they drove the ball 80-yards and scored and we just ran out of time. We have potential to be a pretty good football team, but we just have catch more passes that could have turned into first down or positive yards."
"Tracy Hairston made a couple great catches and Chaz Jones ran the ball well. They were determined to keep us from running the ball, and we need to throw the ball better when that happens. Defensively, we needed to rise to the occasion, and our coverage and returns were average, and we need to make field goals from shorter distances."
"The delay had the same effect on both teams. We kind of sat down and got our thoughts together. That has happened to us in practice plenty this year, and I don't see it as a reason to lose a game."
| Courtesy: DSU Athletic Media Relations | and VMI Keydets.com |
