By Andy Walter

KINGSTON, R.I. — Danny Rocco likes to say his Delaware football team usually makes itself difficult to beat.

On Saturday afternoon, though, the Blue Hens made it a little too easy.

Ninth-ranked Delaware committed a handful of critical mistakes and No. 18 Rhode Island turned them into a crushing 22-15 loss for the Hens in a CAA football showdown at Meade Stadium.

With the score tied 15-15, the unbeaten Rams (3-0 CAA, 5-0 overall) blocked a Delaware punt and linebacker L.B. Mack returned it 28 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with just 3:46 remaining.

The Hens (2-1 CAA, 3-2 overall) answered with a gutty 13-play drive. They picked up a first down at the URI 12 when receiver Gene Coleman made a leaping 20-yard catch along the sideline on a fourth-and-10.

But on the next play, the Rams’ Jordan Jones intercepted a Zach Gwynn pass in the back of the end zone with just 23 seconds remaining. Jones out-muscled Delaware receiver Brett Buckman for his second interception to seal the Hens’ fate.

It was the third interception thrown by Gwynn (9-of-17 for 117 yards), who was making his first career start at quarterback.

Delaware starting QB Nolan Henderson, who was on the sidelines in street clothes, is now expected to have season-ending hip surgery. The Smyrna High grad has been battling the injury for the past few weeks.

“We were a little out of sorts today,” said Delaware coach Danny Rocco. “Things that were happening for us weren’t really happening for us today. We were playing uphill a little bit. We were not complementing each other — offense, defense and special teams — and we were making the job harder than it needed to be.

“Our ability to rally there and go ahead and get a lead in the game was impressive. But we just weren’t able to finish. To that, I certainly give them (URI) credit.”

After falling behind 12-0 at halftime as the offense struggled, the Hens did a lot of good things in the second half.

Delaware out-gained URI, 246-143, over the last two quarters and had 14 first downs to the Rams’ seven.

Gwynn seemed to find his footing, too. He tossed a nice 42-yard scoring pass to Thyrick Pitts to get the Hens on track before Quincy Watson’s tough eight-yard touchdown run gave Delaware its first lead with 10:37 remaining.

When Dejoun Lee (19 carries-115 yards), who had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, added the two-point conversion, the Hens were up 15-12.

But, following a tying field goal by the Rams, the blocked punt was a back-breaker. It was the second blocked punt Delaware has surrendered for a TD this season.

On this one, URI 6-foot-3, 255-pound lineman Andre Bibeault seemed to be the only rusher on the play. He simply charged up the middle, pushed his way between two of the Hens’ three standing punt protectors and got his hands up.

The ball ricocheted back upfield where it was an easy TD for Mack once he picked it up.

“This was categorically different than anything else that had happened in terms of the things that we had corrected,” Rocco said about the block. “Their kid did a really god job getting penetration and knocking us back.”

Delaware’s special teams had an up-and-down day. Kicker Ryan Coe missed his first field goal attempt of the season after making his first eight but the Hens’ Justis Henley blocked a URI field goal try in the second half.

Defensively, Delaware got a first-half interception from Amonte Strothers plus eight tackles from both linebacker Colby Reeder and safety Noah Plack. But the Hens also allowed URI to convert on 9-of-17 third-down chances.

The biggest question now for Delaware is moving ahead without Henderson.

Wildcat QB Anthony Paoletti was effective again on Saturday, running for 39 yards on 12 carries. Before Gwynn’s three interceptions, however, Delaware had turned over the ball only once all season.

Rocco would like to think Saturday’s performance was a starting point for Gwynn in his first extensive college playing time.
“I think with the change — with Nolan’s absence and departure here — I think our team will continue to get better offensively as we start to really hone in on this offense without Nolan and with Zach and Anthony doing the things that they can do best,” said Rocco.

“There was a moment in there when he (Gwynn) just wasn’t trusting his instincts. The play design and the coverage dictate where the ball should go. He knows that, he sees that and he certainly has done it well in practice. He got a little hesitant and when you do, things start to happen fast out there.

“In the second half he made a couple throws and got a little confidence. I see light at the end of the tunnel here. We’re going to need to obviously be more efficient throwing the football.”

Extra points

Lee became the 17th player in UD history with 2,000 career rushing yards. He also has 3,772 yards for his career, putting him in the top 10 on UD’s all-time list. ... Pitts had five catches for 61 yards. ... The Rams’ Justice Antrum ran for 122 yards on 30 carries. ... URI quarterback Kasim Hill was 13-of-22 passing for 155 yards and also ran 15 times for 53 yards and a short TD. ... Delaware is on the road again next Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. game at Stony Brook.