Kingston, RI - Sophomore quarterback Steve Probst passed for one touchdown and rushed for another and the defense held the Rams to 239 yards as the Hofstra Pride posted a 28-16 CAA victory over Rhode Island at Meade Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Pride improved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the CAA while URI fell to 1-5 on the year and 0-3 in league play.
Probst, who came off the bench, completed four-of-six passes for 112 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown strike to Anthony Nelson in the third quarter, and also rushed seven times for 60 yards including a 29-yard scoring scamper. Starting senior Cory Christopher completed 11 of 15 passes for 111 yards and also rushed for another 29. Freshman running back Miguel Maysonet led the Pride ground game with 83 yards on 13 carries and scored an insurance touchdown on a 24-yard run with 1:19 to play in the game. Junior Everette Benjamin carried the ball five times for 42 yards and opened the scoring with a one-yard run in the first quarter. Junior Anthony Nelson recorded the third 100-yard receiving game of his career with four catches for 117 yards and the 89-yard touchdown while classmate Aaron Weaver had five receptions for 76 yards. The Pride defense, led by sophomore Basim Hudeen's seven tackles and senior Leslie Jackman's six stops, held the Rams to 239 yards including just 32 yards rushing.
The Rams were led by junior quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 207 yards and rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in the waning seconds of the contest. Sophomore receiver Tyquan Bynum hauled in six passes for 75 yards while senior Shawn Leonard had five catches for 40 yards. Freshman Ayo Isojola led the Rams on the ground with 24 yards on seven carries while junior Anthony Ferrer added 10 yards and a touchdown on eight rushes.
Defenses stood tall in the first half as the two teams combined for just 10 points. The Pride threatened on the opening possession of the contest. After Brock Jackolski's 59-yard kickoff return was called back by a holding call, Christopher mounted a 14-play, 68-yard drive moving the ball to Rams 17-yard-line. But a Henry Greco 34-yard field goal attempt was wide right. Christopher was five-for-five for 31 yards and rushed four times for 20 yards in the drive.
After the Pride held URI to three-and out on their opening possession, Hofstra marched 67 yards on eight plays with Benjamin running it into the end zone from one yard out with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter. Greco's extra-point gave the Pride a 7-0 lead.
The Rams came right back in the second quarter following the Hofstra touchdown and moved the ball 41-yards in nine-plays to the Pride 14 before settling for a 31-yard field goal by Louis Feinstein with 11:29 to play in the half. Paul-Etienne had a big 18-yard run in the drive and Ferrer picked up a key first down on a fourth-and-one to keep the Rams' drive alive. It was also URI's longest drive of the half.
The Pride offense exploded in the second half behind Probst. After the defense stopped the Rams on the opening possession of the second half, Hofstra took over on their own 10-yard line following the Rhode Island punt. On the third play from scrimmage, Probst hit Anthony Nelson streaking down the visiting sideline for an 89-yard touchdown. Greco's point-after boosted the lead to 14-3 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Pride defense held the Rams again, getting the offense the ball on the Hofstra 40. This time, Probst did it with his feet. After a completion to Nelson, a 31-yard run by Benjamin, and two penalties, Probst rushed 29 yards up the middle for his first touchdown of the season. Greco's extra-point boosted the lead to 21-3 with 22:22 to play in the third quarter.
The Pride had a chance to blow the game wide open early in the fourth quarter, driving down to the URI 1-yard-line. But the Rams did not quit and stopped Hofstra twice on the one before taking over on downs. The URI offense came alive two possessions later as Paul-Etienne directed a seven-play, 72-yard drive capped by a Ferrer one-yard run with 3:52 to play. The two-point conversion pass failed as the Rams trailed 21-9.
Hofstra responded immediately after URI's on-side kick was recovered by Jose Cruz at the Rams 40-yard line. Maysonet rushed four times for 36 yards in the five-play drive, including the final 24 yards for his second touchdown of the season. Greco's kick gave the Pride a 28-9 advantage with 1:19 to play, Rhode Island, playing before a Homecoming crowd of 5,159, put together a textbook two-minute drill, going 70 yards in six plays in just one minute with Paul-Etienne taking it in from 10 yards out to close the scoring.
The Pride finished with 412 yards on offense including 223 passing. Hofstra returns to action next Saturday, October 24 at home when they host the fourth-ranked Wildcats of New Hampshire at 3 p.m.
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