Delaware triumphantly began its Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football schedule last Saturday at North Carolina A&T, pulling away in the second half for a 42-13 win.
How readily the Blue Hens can replicate that result might depend on who can suit up in the weeks ahead. For now, the Hens are battered on offense, putting a damper on their 2-0 start.
“Obviously, it’s not exactly what we’d like,” Delaware head coach Ryan Carty said postgame about having injuries to offensive linemen Brock Gingrich, Bradly Anyanwu and Blaise Sparks. “We want to get our starters and our horses to go out there and get reps. And we’ve had now-three offensive starters on the offensive line out right now, so that’s not great.
“But the young guys stepped up and played really well … It speaks to the preparation of the running back room and the offensive line.”
Carty mentioned Delaware’s running backs after Marcus Yarns’ lower leg injury forced him to exit the win at NC A&T.
Yarns made his usual start against the Aggies, delivering eight carries for 40 yards and one touchdown before sustaining the injury. He emerged from the Blue Hens’ medical tent to test some jogs with trainers and take a spin on the exercise bike, but he ultimately stayed sidelined for the duration.
The Hens, who used a 21-0 second-half run to silence NC A&T, were already missing a top wideout in JoJo Bermudez. With Yarns added to the toll, Delaware flashed its depth of runners while putting away the Aggies.
Starting quarterback Ryan O’Connor chose to turn on the jets a bit more frequently on Saturday than he had in prior starts, including when he scored Delaware’s fourth touchdown of the day on a 23-yard run with 9:16 in the third.
O’Connor wound up leading the Blue Hens in rushing yards with 47 on four attempts, nosing out teammate Saeed St. Fleur. St. Fleur was efficient in his expanded role at North Carolina A&T, turning in 45 yards on eight runs.
In actuality, Delaware was always likely to get its backups or rotational players meaningful looks at NC A&T, given the Aggies’ inability to keep up on offense. A&T was helped to 13 points by Aaron Harris’ 70-yard interception return for a touchdown on O’Connor’s first pick of the season.
Carty was duly pleased by his defense’s showing.
“I like the way they played the whole game, really,” Carty said, ensuring that not only the second-half shutout got the shine. “The only points they really let up were field goals in the first half, minus the pick-six. They finished strong.
“They weren’t extremely ‘bend-don’t-break,’ either. There were just one or two third downs that we needed to clean up, and other than that, I think they did a really nice job compressing the pocket, making [A&T QBs] throw from different angles, and then occasionally getting him on the ground.”
Delaware totaled five sacks on Aggie QBs Kevin White and Justin Fomby as North Carolina A&T did make some progress getting its now-14th-ranked CAA passing offense up to speed.
“When we were in zone coverage,” Carty said of the Hens’ ‘D,’ “we probably had a couple we want back. In man coverage, I thought we played outstanding. When we were in one-on-one situations, they got some guys that can run, and we were right next to them, making plays not out of control.”
Delaware was led in tackles by linebacker Dillon Trainer with eight. Close behind were five stops each by fellow starters Tyron Herring and Gavin Moul. Moul was one of eight Blue Hens credited with a tackle for loss at A&T.
When it comes to defending Penn on Saturday in a 6:00 p.m. kickoff at Delaware Stadium, the Hens will need all those defensive hands on deck amid their offensive health question marks.
The Quakers enter their 2024 season opener with weapons on offense including the trio of quarterback Aidan Sayin, running back Malachi Hosley and wide receiver Jared Richardson. Sayin, now a senior, was a 2023 All-Ivy League honorable mention as he produced 279.1 passing yards per game (fifth in the Football Championship Subdivision [FCS]).
Hosley had a banner freshman season a year ago, taking home Ivy Rookie of the Year with his 723 rushing yards on 121 carries – good for second in the Ivy.
Richardson is a handful on the perimeter as a junior coming off his 2023 First Team All-Ivy League selection. Richardson enters Penn’s trip to Delaware as the Quakers’ top receiving option, his case proven by last season’s 788 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches in nine games.
The Blue Hens have their own potent offense armed with experience and sporting the country’s top points per game (45). But the unit’s headliner, Yarns, is up in the air this week along with the OL troubles to be addressed throughout practices.
“He’s gonna have to go get it looked at and all that, but lower leg injury, and we’ll see what happens,” Carty said about Yarns postgame in North Carolina.
There was not an update Monday during the CAA coaches’ weekly teleconference.
“We’re still checking him out,” Carty said when asked about Yarns’ status.
There is one marginal upside, a glass half-full, to Delaware’s offensive line shuffle necessitated by injuries this soon in the season: At a minimum, the Hens know and can plan for the pieces who are stepping into greater roles earlier this week.
There is some clarity for the immediate future – to the extent that center Steven Demboski filled in for Gingrich at NC A&T and to the degree that tackle Cole Snyder and guard Anthony Caccese relieved Sparks and Anyanwu, respectively.
The contrast this Saturday, though, is that 0-0 Penn comes into Newark with a clean slate and bill of health. That is enough to make the Quakers a dangerous underdog for short-handed Delaware, which is looking to start a two-game, September-ending homestand on the right foot. The Blue Hens’ next bye is not until November.
In Penn and Delaware’s last meeting, also on Tubby Raymond Field in 2019, the Blue Hens managed a 28-27 win that was not decided until the final minutes and a two-point conversion stop. Penn outgained Delaware 462-360 that day, propelled by a 269-100 advantage in rushing yards. The Quakers led 21-7 in the third quarter before ceding the comeback.