Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell & Bob Burleigh

NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware scored on its first two drives of the night and put up 42 points by halftime as the No. 12 Blue Hens rolled to a 42-7 non-league football victory over Monmouth Saturday night at Delaware Stadium.

Senior running back Omar Cuff scored three touchdowns and became Delaware’s all-time leading scorer, quarterback Joe Flacco (middle right & bottom ) threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and cornerback Fred Andrew (top right) returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown just before halftime as the Blue Hens (5-0) continued to roll.

The Hens are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since the 2003 squad jumped out to a 9-0 record on the way to winning the NCAA I-AA national championship. Monmouth, which has won three Northeast Conference titles in the last four years and went 10-2 a year ago, is off to an 0-4 start for the first time since the 2002 season. The game marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools in football.

“One of the things we talked about is that championship teams have great character and come out right away,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, whose team has won 14 of 15 non-league home games in his six-year tenure. “Our kids understood that they had to respect this team and come out and play well in the first quarter. Tonight we came out and played well and put the game away early.”

Delaware intercepted two passes, recorded two sacks, and held Monmouth to just 234 total yards, marking the third straight game that the Blue Hens have held an opponent under 300 total yards. Delaware had not held three straight teams under 300 yards since the 2000 season when the Hens accomplished the feat in five straight contests.

Cuff ran 16 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a scoring pass and Flacco completed 15 of 19 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, surpassing the 200-yard mark for the 10th straight game and eclipsing the 4,000-yard passing mark in just his second season with the Blue Hens.

For Monmouth, 2006 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year David Sinisi ran for 69 yards on 21 carries while quarterback Brett Burke hit on 18 of 25 passes for 132 yards but was intercepted twice.

Delaware came out strong, moving 61 yards on their first drive of the game to go up 7-0 when Cuff (bottom right) scored on a two-yard burst with 10:19 left in the opening stanza.

After Delaware stopped the Hawks on three plays on MU’s first possession, the Hens then drove 67 yards and went up 14-0 when Cuff scored on a one-yard dive with 5:42 remaining. Cuff established a new Delaware record on the score when he tallied his 51st career touchdown, breaking the previous mark of 50 set by fullback Daryl Brown in 1991-94.

But Monmouth responded with its first and only score of the game as the Hawks promptly drove 74 yards on 10 plays and cut the lead to 14-7 with 1:37 left in the opening stanza when David Sinisi scored on an eight-yard burst up the middle. The touchdown was the first scored against Delaware in the first half all season and snapped the Hens’ streak of stopping opponents without a score on 24 straight possessions since the season opener Aug. 30 vs. Williams & Mary.

Delaware then put things away as the Hens scored 28 unanswered points, outscoring the Hawks 21-0 in the second quarter for a 42-7 halftime advantage. The 42 points was the sixth highest total ever for the Blue Hens in a half.

Phillip Thaxton ran 14 yards untouched for a touchdown with 1:37 left in the opening quarter for a 21-7 lead and Flacco hit Cuff on a seven-yard scoring toss and tight end Robbie Agnone on an 11-yard strike in a four-minute span in the second quarter for a 35-7 lead.

Cuff’s touchdown was his 52nd career score and upped his career point total to 314, surpassing the record of 308 set by Brown in 1991-94. Cuff’s rushing yardage total left him just three yards shy of 3,000 for his career, a mark reached by just two other UD players in school history.

“Monmouth is the kind of team that if you let them hang around, anything can happen,” said Flacco. “It was great for us to jump out right away tonight and get a lead and put an end to things pretty quickly.”

Andrew capped the game scoring with just 25 seconds left in the half when he intercepted a pass by Burke at the 22-yard line and raced 78 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. The return was the 11th longest in school history.

The Hens, who return to Colonial Athletic Association this week when they travel to No. 11 New Hampshire, have now outscored opponents 79-0 in the second quarter and 135-12 in the second half this season.

“I have no idea if we know how good we are,” said Keeler. “We keep getting better so we’ll see how we matchup down the road. Right now we have good chemistry and character, but we will be severely tested with a tough road trip this week.”

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