For the second time in 2007, James Madison quarterback Rodney Landers was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Offensive Player of the Week.
Between his passing and rushing yards, Landers amassed 402 total yards of offense for the Dukes (6-1, 4-0 CAA) in their 44-27 win at Rhode Island (1-5, 0-3 CAA). He threw for three touchdowns and accounted for more than two-thirds of the JMU offensive attack.
“Rodney is a heck of a player,” JMU coach Mickey Matthews said in this week’s CAA teleconference. “He’s like all the quarterbacks that are hard to defend – he can run and throw. He makes really good decisions. He threw the ball very well, he ran it very effectively. Any time you run this kind offense, you’re going to miss some reads from time to time, any quarterback does, but I think his decision making is improving.”
Landers’ has completed 81-of-108 pass attempts going back to Sept. 1 against North Carolina. Since throwing two interceptions in that game, Landers has thrown nine touchdowns with no interceptions. The No. 9 Dukes have won all six of these games.
Hofstra’s Gian Villante was awarded the CAA Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Towson.
The senior linebacker made eight tackles, including one for loss and also broke up two passes for the undefeated Pride (6-0, 3-0 CAA); Hofstra is ranked No. 10 in the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision poll.
The Tigers (3-4, 1-4 CAA) came into Saturday averaging 320 offensive yards per game but were held to 193 in the 20-3 loss. Quarterback Sean Schaefer threw for a career-low 123 yards and was intercepted twice.
“Certainly, we still need to make improvements in different areas,” Hofstra coach Dave Cohen said, “but I think they’re continuing to go in that direction of becoming a good defense. I think another few games like that, and they will be a good defense.”
Maine drops fifth straight
Coupled with their inability to stop opposing offenses, the Black Bears’s brutal early-season schedule has contributed to their current five-game losing streak. They have not won since defeating Monmouth in their season opener on Sept. 1.
Jhamal Fluellen’s 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Adam Farkes to wide receiver Landis Williams weren’t enough to prevent Maine (1-5, 0-4 CAA) from dropping its most recent contest to William ‘ Mary, 21-20.
“We had a good start to the football game, which had been a concern for us in our previous two games against UMass and Hofstra,” Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said. “We got out into a lead; but unfortunately, we didn’t protect that lead and didn’t finish the football game. William ‘ Mary really did a great job of making some statement plays.”
Maine’s primary offensive nemesis this week was the Tribe’s freshman wide receiver Cameron Dohse. His 123 receiving yards and two touchdowns were good enough to earn Dohse CAA Rookie of the Week honors, as well as making him the first W ‘ M player this season to score two touchdowns.
With the exception of the Monmouth win, Maine has yet to prevent an opponent from scoring at least 21 points. They have given up 38 points three times this year; however, they did have another near victory when they lost 24-17 in overtime against Villanova on Sept. 15.
The Black Bears have yet to win a conference game this season, but they still have four chances to do so. Future road tests include trips to New Hampshire and Northeastern, but they still have potential home wins against fellow cellar-dwellers Towson and Rhode Island.
Santos sits out again
UNH quarterback Ricky Santos missed this weekend’s game with Division III opponent Iona, but backup R.J. Toman got the job done in a 49-21 Wildcat victory.
“Ricky wanted to go, but watching him do some things out there on the field on Friday, we just knew he wasn’t ready to go,” UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. “He was obviously disappointed he couldn’t play. Saturday, he was tremendous. He was like another coach for us on the field with all the guys, especially with R.J.”
“He’s still not throwing the ball a whole lot with that arm yet, but he’s doing some good things,” McDonnell later continued. “He was out there flying around, and it looks like there will be a good shot for him to play this Saturday.”
The No. 11 Wildcats (4-2, 1-2 CAA) steamrolled the Gaels, but will face much stiffer competition this weekend when they travel to Hempstead, N.Y., to take on undefeated Hofstra. Toman has thrown four touchdowns and no interceptions in the two games he’s played this season, but the Wildcats could use Santos’ experience against a Hofstra team that’s only allowed 16 points in its past two games.
Cuff leads way for Hens
The Blue Hens’s Omar Cuff carried the offensive load with 39 carries for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-20 victory over Northeastern. The senior, who is a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, also caught an early fourth quarter 25-yard touchdown pass that broke a 20-20 tie and proved to be the eventual score.
“Just going into the third quarter I said, ‘Listen, you’re tippy toeing,'” Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said about comments he made to Cuff. “I said ‘You have to run reckless.’ His response to me was, ‘Give me the rock.’ And I said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll give you the rock.'”
Cuff leads the nation with 21 points of offense on average per game. Moving his way up the Delaware (6-1, 4-1 CAA) record books, Cuff tied the UD single-season record with 24 touchdowns, which is quite an accomplishment considering the team still has four regular-season games remaining.
With his 200 yards, Cuff also passed Chuck Hall for second all-time on the Delaware rushing yards list; Cuff now has 3,282 yards for his career.
Mike Connors can be reached at [email protected].
