Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell / Photo Gallery / Slide Show

NEWARK, DE -- The long-awaited first-ever football matchup between the University of Delaware and Delaware State University turned into the Omar Cuff Show Friday afternoon at Delaware Stadium as the All-American running back rushed for a school record 288 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Blue Hens throttled the Hornets for a 44-7 victory in the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The Blue Hens, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since advancing to the 2004 quarterfinals, ran all over the Hornets with Cuff (at right) leading the way, piling up 536 yards, including a season-high 347 on the ground, on the way to the easy victory.

The game was played before a Delaware Stadium post-season record crowd of 19,765, the third highest first round attendance in NCAA FCS playoff history.

Delaware (9-3), which earned a berth in the tournament as an at-large pick, snapped a two-game losing streak and is now off to the quarterfinals where the Hens will face the winner of the Northern Iowa vs. New Hampshire game next Saturday.

Northern Iowa (11-0) is the top-ranked team in the tournament while New Hampshire (7-4), Delaware’s fellow member in the Colonial Athletic Association, downed the Hens 35-30 back in October in Durham, NH. An NCAA record five CAA teams are competing in the NCAA post-season this week.

Delaware State (10-2), which captured the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and was making its initial trip to the NCAA Tournament, had an eight-game win streak snapped. The Hornets, who entered the game ranked No. 9 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 16.1 points per game, gave that up in the first quarter alone. Delaware State had not allowed more than 21 points to any FCS opponent all season.

The Blue Hens, who won their fifth straight home NCAA playoff game, jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game and never looked back. The game matched the only two NCAA Division I schools in the state, which are situated just 45 minutes apart.

“This game was not about Delaware and Delaware State, it was about the playoffs,” said Keeler, who picked up his 50th career win at Delaware and improved to 11-1 all-time in NCAA first round games, including a 3-0 mark at Delaware. “We were fortunate to get some short fields early and made some plays. We took a lot of momentum out of Delaware State early and got into the end zone. We played well today and a lot went our way.”

Cuff, a senior from Landover, MD and the nation’s leading scorer, continued his record-setting season for the Blue Hens as he carried 38 times for 288 yards and four touchdowns and broke the UD single game rushing mark of 272 by Daryl Brown vs. Northeastern in 1994 and the single season rushing mark with 1,657 (old record 1,625 by Germaine Bennett in 2003).

Cuff surpassed the 4,000-yard career rushing mark during the game and also extended his NCAA FCS single season touchdown record to 37. He also established a new NCAA single season rushing touchdown record with 33 and a new CAA career rushing touchdown record with 63.

“I knew the situation we were in,” said Cuff, who scored on two one-yard dives in the opening eight minutes and on runs of 37 and two yards. “Its the playoffs so you gotta win to stay alive. I take a lot of pride in what I do so this feels really good.”

Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco hit on 11 of 20 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, Jon Striefsky tied a Delaware single season record with a 22-yard field goal, his 17th of the season, and a stingy Delaware defense held the Hornets to just 11 first downs and 144 totals yards, the lowest amount allowed by the Hens since giving up 82 yards to The Citadel in 2000 and the lowest total in Delaware’s 40-game NCAA playoff history which dates back to 1973.

Kareem Jones led the Hornets with 34 yards rushing but Delaware State never managed a run longer than 13 yards and a pass in excess of 11 yards the entire day. Standout wide receiver Shaheer McBride, who entered the game with 47 catches for 583 yards and nine touchdowns for the season, was hampered by an ankle injury and held to just three receptions for three yards.

“We played hard but not well,” said Delaware State head coach Al Lavan. “Couple that with Delaware playing so well and you get what we got - a significant loss. We were unable to sustain enough drives to make a difference. It shows you how far we’ve come but how far we need to go. But we’ll get there.”

Delaware wasted little time putting the game away. After holding Delaware State to just five yards on three plays on the Hornets’ first possession, the Hens got their first chance on offense and promptly drove 44 yards in just four play, capping the drive on Flacco’s 32-yard pass to tight end Robbie Agnone with 11:44 left in the opening quarter.

After another three-play DSU drive, the Hens made it 14-0 when a 38-yard pass play from Flacco to Aaron Love put the ball at the Hornet 19-yard line. Cuff took over from there, scampering 11 yards and seven yards on the first two plays and capping the drive with a one-yard scoring dive with 8:11 left in the quarter.

Delaware made it three straight possessions with a score in the final minutes of the opening stanza as Cuff once again scored from one-yard out with 1:52 left for a 20-0 lead. A 21-yard pass from Flacco to tight end Josh Baker to the one-yard line set up the score.

Blue Hen linebacker Walter Blair recovered a fumble on the Hornets’ next possession, giving the Hens the ball at their own 43-yard line, and helping to set up a 22-yard Striefsky field goal that swelled the lead to 23-0. The field goal was Striefsky’s 17th of the season, tying the UD mark set by Brad Shushman in 2003.

The Hens then took a 30-0 lead into the half when Cuff rambled 37 yards untouched down the right sideline for his third touchdown of the game with seven minutes remaining until the break.

Delaware State looked like it would get on the board in the closing minutes of the first half as it drove all the way down to the Blue Hen five-yard line. But a shuffle pass by quarterback Vashon Winton was intercepted by linebacker Erik Johnson, preserving the shutout and the 30-point halftime advantage.

The Hens iced the win in the second half as Cuff scored his fourth touchdown on a two-yard dive with 10:07 left in the third quarter on the first drive of the second half and Phillip Thaxton added a one-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left in the third stanza for a 44-0 margin.

Delaware State got its only points of the day thanks to its defense. Eric Sewell forced a fumble by Thaxton at the Delaware 19-yard line and Reggie McCoy picked it up and ran untouched into the end zone just 2:12 into the final stanza to cut the deficit to 44-7. Neither team scored again,

Charles Graves led Delaware with 11 tackles while Johnson added seven stops. Delaware State linebacker Russell Reeves led the Hornet defense with 20 tackles while Josh Pope added 13 stops.

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