Big plays, takeaways key as 22nd-ranked Blue Hens romp past Saint Francis in home opener

Delaware turned its home football opener into a pick-your-poison exercise, but there was no antidote for visiting Saint Francis on Saturday night.

Two Blue Hen receivers had eye-popping touchdown plays in front of a delighted gathering of 16,332 at Delaware Stadium. Marcus Yarns wore down the visitors with his 139 ground yards.

The defense also contributed to the merriment with three takeaways highlighted by linebacker Dillon Trainer's 56-yard interception return for Delaware's final TD.

It all added up to 22nd-ranked Delaware bashing Saint Francis 42-14 in the nonconference matchup.

"It's gonna be expected of them," Delaware coach Ryan Carty said of the Blue Hens' playmakers. "In the offense that we run and the defenses that we usually see against it because of that, we're gonna need guys to not only win their one-on-ones but then make plays with the ball in their hands when people do play soft."

Well-received

Two pass catchers allowed the Blue Hens to take command.

Rutgers transfer Joshua Youngblood reached high to snare a 27-yard throw from Ryan O'Connor at the edge of the end zone with 5:14 left in the third quarter as Delaware extended its lead to 28-7 over Saint Francis.

"That's what we want. That's what we need," Carty said.

The visiting Red Flash committed a pass-interference penalty to prevent further aerial damage on the next series to help put the Hens in position for Jo'Nathan Silver's 1-yard TD run that made it 35-7.

Kym Wimberly, the transfer from Harvard, earlier performed his magic after the catch.

He caught a pass from O'Connor, then sidestepped one tackler and eluded two others as he sped down the Delaware sideline for a 48-yard touchdown. It came on third-and-19 with 12 seconds left in the first half.

Wimberly gained 39 yards after the catch. That allowed Delaware to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.

"It was a 2-minute situation so usually we're taught to go out of bounds there," Wimberly said. "But I felt like I could make them miss."

Big numbers

Yarns had his second 100-yard effort of the season, needing just 12 carries to accumulate his 139 and scoring on a 30-yard TD jaunt.

O'Connor was 13-for-24 for 192 yards and three TDs in his first home start.

Delaware had just a 387-320 edge in total yards.

Hens go ahead after takeaway

A takeaway allowed the Blue Hens to grab their first lead.

Christian Pierce's hit on Saint Francis quarterback Cole Doyle forced a fumble Ty Davis recovered at the Red Flash 18.

That led to O'Connor's shovel pass to Yarns for a 4-yard TD. Alex Schmoke, a transfer from Saint Francis, added the PAT as Delaware went ahead 14-7 with 7:27 left in the second quarter.

However, Delaware running back Kyron Cumby was ejected following a post-play fracas.

Two subsequent Saint Francis possessions were foiled by freshman safety K.T. Seay's goal-line interception and Chase McGowan's sack.

Red Flash strikes first

Saint Francis took a 7-0 lead with 12:38 left in the second quarter on Doyle's 4-yard pass to Casey McKinney. It closed a 15-play, 85-yard march. Delaware hadn't crossed midfield and was forced to punt on its first two series.

"Our defense did a really great job of not getting rattled," Trainer said of Saint Francis' early success. "We were in a spot there where one of two things could've happened and we could've kinda let things hit the fan or we could buckle down and lock in on our fundamentals."

But Delaware responded after Saint Francis scored by moving 65 yards on just six plays, aided by a pass-interference call, to tie it 7-7. Yarns dashed 30 yards for the touchdown.

"It took us a little bit of time to get going on offense," said Carty. "… We got extremely different looks from them than they had shown on tape all of last season, against us last season [in Delaware's 56-17 FCS playoff win] and the first two games so it took us a second to settle in."

Freshman next in line

With Delaware ahead 42-14 and 2:33 left, true freshman Daniel Lipovski came on in relief of O'Connor. He had a 31-yard completion.

Zach Marker, who spelled O'Connor for several series in Delaware's first two games at Stony Brook and Penn State, suffered an apparent shoulder injury against the Nittany Lions.

That put newcomers in line for backup duty. They were Nick Minicucci, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound graduate of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, and the 6-foot, 187-pound Lipovski out of Lake Braddock (Virginia).

"I don't think either of them would look out of place in a college football game right now," Carty said. "But, certainly, it's not exactly what you're looking to do is go play true freshmen quarterbacks that have been in an offense for two months."

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Lipovski actually was sent onto the field at Penn State last week when Marker had to come out for a play because his helmet fell off. But Delaware called timeout, allowing Marker to return for the next snap.

"I think both of them have done a really nice job there," Carty said. "They're pretty different quarterbacks."

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Of Lipovski, Carty said, "I think he's picked it up very well. He knows what to do in this offense, maybe more than most freshmen that I've ever coached. He's very smooth. Things don't really rattle them. He's a baseball guy who's very athletic, can kind of throw from all arm angles and really helps you in the run game as well in the zone-read game. "

Minicucci, who passed for more than 3,500 yards in high school, "is a little bit more of a live arm guy," Carty said. "It kind of pops off his hand when he throws it and I think he's done a nice job picking it up as well. I think both of them give you an option."

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Rich Gannon joins UD captains

Former Blue Hens quarterback Rich Gannon is serving as honorary captain for the coin toss in a return to Delaware Stadium certain to delight longtime UD fans.

Gannon was No. 1 on the list of Top 100 all-time Delaware football players put together by Delaware Online/The News Journal several years ago.

As a Delaware starter from 1984-86, Gannon set school career records for passing yards (5,927), total offense (7,436) and rushing yards by a QB (1,509) and ran for 26 touchdowns. He was an All-American and Yankee Conference Player of the Year in 1986.

Gannon then spent 17 seasons in the NFL and was MVP in 2002 while steering Oakland to the Super Bowl.

New security system

Delaware has contracted with Evolv Technology for a new weapons detection system that uses digital monitors to scan those entering the stadium.

It allows fans to continue moving as they enter Delaware Stadium without the need to stop and have items examined.

It's similar to the system recently installed at Appoquinimink School District stadiums and is used at pro sports facilities in Philadelphia.

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 and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Live report as Delaware Blue Hens host Saint Francis in football