Kicker Nate Reed lines up for his game winning field goal. Photo Credit: Ryan Colasanti
The University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens scored nine points in the final two minutes of regulation to beat the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 25-24, November 8.
NEWARK — Before kicker Nate Reed stepped onto the field in the biggest moment of the game, head coach Ryan Carty stood on the sidelines talking with his graduate kicker. Carty said postgame that he asked his kicker if he wanted a timeout to relax and settle into the moment. Reed declined.
From 51 yards out, Reed made his run up to the ball and swung his right foot sending a spiraling kick through the night sky. The ball wobbled a bit as it made its descent, clearing the crossbar by a good margin and hitting the netting behind the goal post.
Reed’s career long field goal provided the game winning score in UD’s 25-24 victory over Louisiana Tech, Saturday evening.
“After the onside kick, it was kind of like a moment of, there’s no way this ball’s not going in,” Reed said postgame.
“You don’t ever want to leave it up to, you know, have it to be one guy that has to make the kick and he did. And I just can’t be more proud of him,” said Carty.
The onside kick Reed referenced was another important part of a career day for the kicker.
Trailing by a point with just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Blue Hens’ quarterback Nick Minicucci threw a pass intended for Jake Thaw on fourth down. Bulldogs’ corner Jacob Fields jumped the route and intercepted the pass. Fields returned the interception 38 yards for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Bulldogs an eight point lead before the two minute timeout.
Minicucci redeemed his prior mistake, marching the Blue Hens offense 75 yards down the field in eight plays on their ensuing possession. The junior quarterback found his senior tight end Elijah Sessoms along the right side of the endzone to cut the lead to two points. The Blue Hens’ two point attempt was unsuccessful leaving it up to an improbable onside kick recovery to give them a shot at a win with 37 seconds left.
Reed started on the right side of the ball, made his run and then switched his positioning to hit the ball left. The misdirection prompted a timeout from the Bulldogs sideline and a clear Louisiana Tech recovery was wiped away. Following the timeout, Reed ran the same action and spiked his kick into the ground generating a bouncy football. The ball bounced around and over the head of a Bulldog player allowing junior Ja’Carree Kelly to recover the ball.
“They did a great job calling the timeout and right on cue we just did it again,” Carty said. “What a great job, what a great hustle play and execution on that.”
Reed finished the game with a career high four made field goals and received the game ball following the victory. His first three field goals of the game came in the first half.
The Blue Hens moved the ball well early in the game, but once they got into the redzone points became hard to generate against CUSA’s top red zone defense. Entering the game, the Bulldogs allowed eight touchdowns and five made field goals on 21 total red zone trips.
Delaware worked the ball to the red zone on two of its first half drives and both resulted in field goals. On UD’s third scoring drive, the Blue Hens were stopped at the Louisiana Tech 24 yard line and forced to kick a 41-yard field goal.
The Bulldogs struggled to gain any offensive momentum, scoring once through the first 30 minutes of action. Their lone touchdown drive of the first half was a seven play drive led by starting quarterback Blake Baker in the first quarter. Baker left the game in the second quarter and didn’t return. The Bulldogs’ offense went dormant following his exit.
The Bulldogs accumulated 122 yards of total offense in the second and third quarters combined. During that stretch, Delaware held Louisiana Tech scoreless and forced a turnover with Nate Evans’ first interception of the season.
“The coaches did a good job giving us a plan that put us in the places to make plays, do the things that we do well,” said defensive lineman Ethan Saunders. “And I think it comes back to a belief that we have in each other.”
Louisiana Tech found its footing in the fourth quarter racking up 112 total yards of offense and scoring ten points on three offensive drives. The touchdown drive in that sequence was capped off by a 13-yard run from sophomore Clay Thevenin — an accomplishment he celebrated by ringing the bell in the back left corner of Delaware Stadium.
Thevenin’s second touchdown of the game is what provided the Bulldogs’ their one point advantage late in the game.
The Blue Hens will be on the road for their next two games. The first will be a road matchup against Sam Houston. The Bearkats are winless in CUSA games this season. The second is a non-conference battle against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on November 22.
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