The New Hampshire

Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Chris Shipley With Ricky Santos out of action, the Wildcats put together a team effort to overcome Iona on homecoming weekend.

Taking the handoff on 1st and 20, UNH junior wide receiver Mike Boyle ran into a wall of defenders on the UNH sideline. Scanning the field it had the look of a busted play, as the hole Boyle was designed to hit had been swallowed up by a mass of maroon and white.

Two great cuts, several key blocks, and 69 yards later, Boyle was in the endzone and UNH was off to the races, racking up 42 first half points on their way to a dominating 49-21 homecoming victory Saturday over Iona College within the friendly confines of Cowell Stadium.

With senior quarterback Ricky Santos sidelined for the game, red shirt freshmen quarterback R.J. Toman effectively managed the offense, making the big plays when needed, and relying on two old football standbys to get the win: defense and a running game.

"I thought the kids came out and played pretty well right from the get go," said UNH Head Coach Sean McDonnell. "We hit that big play early and kept the ball in front of us the rest of the game."

After the UNH defense forced a quick three and out, Toman and the offense engineered a nine play, 93 yard drive, culminating in a nice 10 yard pass from Toman to senior wide receiver Keith LeVan, and much like the Dartmouth game the 'Cats found themselves with a quick 14-0 lead.

"Those two scores early were huge," said Toman. "You always want to get a jump on the team that you're playing. Mike's run was huge, it was a great run. After that we executed and played very well as a team."

Just how dominant was the UNH effort?

The Wildcats racked up 351 first half yards on the way to scoring touchdowns on six of their nine first half possessions. Two of the three possessions that did not result in touchdowns came as a result of poor ball control, as UNH fumbled twice.

While the end results may seem familiar, the names and the means by which the points were scored during UNH's offensive explosion were of a much different variety on Saturday.

The 'Cats used a fleet of talented running backs to rack up a season high 257 yards on the ground on 49 carries, scoring six of their seven touchdowns via the rushing attack.

Continued...

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