Blue Hens try to add to this list of best postseason road wins Saturday at Montana
The Blue Hens tackle one of the most imposing postseason assignments in their football history Saturday night.
It’s a test Delaware has passed before.
A 9 p.m. EST kickoff at Montana looms in the FCS playoffs round of 16 for Delaware.
Having eked out a 36-34 first-round win at home over Lafayette, Delaware (9-3) faces a bigger challenge against the Big Sky Conference champion and second-seeded Grizzlies (10-1).
In its 51 years playing NCAA Tournament football, which will end after this year with Delaware’s move to the FBS’ Conference USA, Delaware has survived and thrived in a slew of road games, including one at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana. They enter enemy territory again seeking similar results.
In reverse chronological order, these were seven of the sweetest road playoff wins by Delaware teams:
May 2, 2021 — Delaware 20, Jacksonville State 14
Only four teams were seeded in the 16-team 2021 spring FCS bracket after the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the fall season. Delaware was not one of them. That sent the unbeaten Blue Hens to No. 4 Jacksonville State in Alabama for an imposing quarterfinal matchup. The Blue Hens scored on their first two possessions on drives covering 75 and 89 yards to immediately force Jacksonville State to play catch-up. Short touchdown runs by Anthony Paoletti and Dejoun Lee finished those. Against the Blue Hens’ formidable defense, that was too much to ask of the host Gamecocks at Burgess-Snow Field and Delaware went on to a 20-14 win. Nolan Henderson completed 18 of 28 passes for 239 yards with Gene Coleman II’s 10 catches covering 129 yards. Zach Gwynn also made key completions when Henderson was briefly sidelined with a left shoulder injury. Ryan Coe kicked two field goals. Jacksonville State was limited to 200 total yards, punted nine times and had eight first downs, four coming on a final drive leading to a last-minute TD. The Gamecocks didn’t have their first third-down conversion until there was 1:19 left in the game. Losing All-OVC quarterback Zion Webb to a left knee injury on their second series undermined the hosts.
Dec. 8, 2007 — Delaware 20, Southern Illinois 17
The Blue Hens had slammed the Salukis in a 2003 first-round match-up in Newark and the hosts certainly relished the chance to avenge that defeat on a damp, chilly night in Carbondale. They were 12-1 having only lost to Gateway Conference rival Northern Iowa and, at No. 4, were the only seeded team left. SIU jumped to a 10-0 lead. But the UD defense came to life and Joe Flacco did his thing. Delaware took the lead on Flacco’s TD passes of 8 yards to Robbie Agnone and 9 yards to Kervin Michaud and Jon Striefsky’s 47-yard field goal. Craig Turner’s 88-yard kick-off return for a touchdown then stole the Hens’ momentum and tied it 17-17 with 9:52 left. But Striefsky’s 24-yard field goal with 6:58 to go put Delaware back ahead, closing a 10-play, 67-yard drive featuring Flacco’s 24-yard throw to Michaud on a third-and-4 from the UD 32. A fourth-down sack and safety Anthony Walters’ interception thwarted two subsequent Salukis possessions.
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Dec. 1, 2007 — Delaware 39, Northern Iowa 27
This time, No. 1-seeded and unbeaten Northern Iowa had the Blue Hens just where they wanted them, inside the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls for a quarterfinal duel, after a quarterfinal loss at Delaware in 2003 that followed a Newark snowstorm. As an ice storm raged outside, this game may not have been played if not for the indoor facility. The Panthers were unstoppable at the outset, jumping ahead 10-0 while Delaware had trouble in the noisy din. Then the Blue Hens became comfortable and found their stride. The defense buckled down and came up big with Erik Johnson’s 55-yard fumble return for a touchdown and Matt Marcorelle’s strip and fumble recovery that set up Striefsky’s 46-yard field goal. Delaware secured the win on Flacco’s 1-yard keeper for a touchdown with 41 seconds left. The 10-play, 55-yard drive featured an 11-yard pass to Omar Cuff on third-and-11 and Flacco’s 33-yard pass to Michaud.
Nov. 27, 1993 — Delaware 49, Montana 48
On an ice-cold afternoon at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Delaware prevailed in what – until this week -- was the only meeting between the two I-AA/FCS powers. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Leo Hamlett, who replaced starter Keith Langan in the second half, zipped a 32-yard touchdown pass to Keita Malloy with 55 seconds left and Steve Leo added the decisive PAT. Montana had just gone ahead 48-42 on Damon Boddie’s 80-yard kickoff return after Delaware tied the game 42-42 after Lanue Johnson’s 72-yard TD run. But Andy Larson’s PAT try sailed wide right and that ended up being the difference in a game that was tied six times. Daryl Brown rushed for 188 yards and two TDs while passing Chuck Hall as Delaware’s all-time leading rusher and Johnson had 163 ground yards. “Sometimes it was hard just knowing who had the ball,” a Montana cornerback said, a familiar lament for those trying to defend the Delaware Wing-T for the first time. Delaware had to deal with Montana quarterback Dave Dickenson, who threw for 409 of his team’s 493 total yards. “It was such a great effort,” coach Tubby Raymond said afterward, “and one of the things that made it such a fine thing was that there were so many heroes.”
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Dec. 5, 1992 — Delaware 41, Northeast Louisiana 18
Northeast Louisiana was the No. 1 seed among four in the 16-team I-AA bracket. The Southland Conference champions had won nine straight and welcomed the Yankee Conference champion Blue Hens to Malone Stadium in Monroe for the quarterfinal matchup. The Blue Hens were not very deferential guests. They outgained the hosts 462-353 and feasted on seven Northeast Louisiana turnovers, including safety Brian Quigg’s 37-yard first-half interception runback for a touchdown, in a stunningly one-sided game. Northeast Louisiana had averaged 48 points in its previous eight games and scored 78 the previous week. They jumped ahead 7-0 before the Hens took over. Daryl Brown rushed for 93 yards, including a 42-yard TD, and Billy Vergantino threw for 86 yards and ran for 51.
Nov. 29, 1986 — Delaware 51, William & Mary 17
Delaware had lost three straight close games in its budding rivalry with William & Mary, which wouldn’t join the Blue Hens in the Yankee Conference until 1993. One had been by a 24-18 score at Delaware Stadium on Oct 18. Delaware headed to Williamsburg coming off a loss at Boston University in its regular-season finale but played one of its best games. The Hens scored on eight of nine possessions and intercepted four passes, including one returned 41 yards for a touchdown by Kevin McCown. Quarterback Rich Gannon, in the only playoff win of his stellar career, passed for 234 yards and ran for 65 and three touchdowns as Delaware piled up 519 yards.
Dec. 11, 1982 — Delaware 17, Louisiana Tech 0
Southland Conference champion Louisiana Tech was the No. 2 seed in what was then a 12-team I-AA bracket and had stomped South Carolina State in the quarterfinals 38-3. No. 3-seed Delaware had eked out a 20-13 win over Colgate and appeared potentially overmatched in this semifinal. But in a game played in chilly temperatures and steady rain, leaving the field sloppy in Ruston, Louisiana, Delaware used the elements to its advantage. Its ball-control attack featured Danny Reeder’s 114 yards on 22 carries. Rick Scully threw just eight passes, but his six completions netted 101 yards. Lou Reda’s blocked punt put Delaware in position for a first-period TD, Scully’s 1-yard keeper. It stayed 7-0 until the fourth quarter before Kevin Phelan’s 2-yard TD run and K.C. Knobloch’s 31-yard field goal, set up by Jim Pawloski’s interception, Delaware’s third of the game. “I thought the kids took it to Tech,” Raymond said after Delaware limited the hosts to 285 yards, including 46 on the ground.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Blue Hens try to add to list of NCAA road wins at Montana
