No. 25 UAlbany makes a statement, drops No. 15 Campbell in CAA showdown

ALBANY – The University at Albany football team showed on Halloween that it isn’t masquerading as a playoff contender.

The Great Danes are for real, as they proved again on Saturday with a 45-35 victory over nationally ranked Campbell before a crowd of 3,301 at Casey Stadium.

No. 25 UAlbany (6-3 overall, 4-1 league) won its fourth straight game to climb into a tie with No. 15 Campbell for second place in the Coastal Athletic Association, behind only first-place Monmouth (7-2, 6-0).

The Great Danes built a 17-point lead in the third quarter and held on despite losing star running back Rahshan La Mons to a potentially serious leg injury.

“Just once again, how gritty we are,” UAlbany quarterback Kai Colon said. “When adversity hits, we don’t fade away. It’s a lot of fun playing with this team. I think we can do a lot of special things, and I think we showed that today at times. We have a lot to get better at, which is exciting.”

The Great Danes continued their remarkable turnaround under first-year coach Tom Perkovich after going 2-10 last season.

“Momentum’s a hell of a thing, and we’ve got it going right now, and we’ve got to find a way to keep it,” Perkovich said. “I think our kids are playing hard and they believe in each other, and that says a lot.”

UAlbany junior cornerback Donny Jones, a CBA graduate, slammed the door on the Fighting Camels (7-2, 4-1). Trailing 38-35, Campbell went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 17. 

Campbell quarterback Kamden Sixkiller lined up in the shotgun and ran up to the center as if to attempt a sneak. However, he pitched the ball left to Jon Gullette. Jones wasn’t fooled and stepped up to tackle Gullette for a 1-yard loss with 1:52 remaining.

Jones credited defensive coordinator Matt Scott for putting him in the right position to make the play.

“It’s always bend, don’t break,” Jones said. “So no matter what, we always have to have the (UAlbany) offense’s back. It’s just all four quarters we’ve got to play balls to the wall.”

On the next play, BJ Norman went in motion and scored a 16-yard touchdown on a push pass from Colon to put the game away.

The UAlbany defense also scored two touchdowns. On Campbell’s opening drive, linebacker Dillon Dunathan ran back a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown. Linebacker Jeremiah Pruitt forced the fumble by Fighting Camels running back JJ Cowan.

In the third quarter, UAlbany linebacker Jamari Young returned a Sixkiller interception 25 yards for a touchdown and a 38-21 lead with 6:31 left. Sixkiller was hit by Pruitt as he threw.

Campbell rallied on Sixkiller’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Chinua Ezeigbo and Cowan’s 44-yard scoring run, following a Colon fumble, to climb within 38-35 with 13:13 left.

It got worse for UAlbany, which went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 44. The Great Danes tried a direct snap to La Mons, who was buried by defenders for a 2-yard loss. La Mons had to be helped off the field and wasn’t putting any weight on his left leg.

Perkovich said La Mons was headed for imaging tests. Perkovich wasn’t sure if it was the knee.

“Unfortunate situation,” Perkovich said. “Anybody getting injured, you never want to see it. We’ll see what the results are there. Good thing we have a couple of really good guys behind him.”

Before the injury, the 5-foot-7, 186-pound La Mons had a spectacular 63-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter for a 21-7 lead. He went up the middle, ran over one defender and broke tackles before spinning to daylight.

After La Mons left the game, UAlbany’s defense forced Campbell to punt despite great field position.

Pinned at their own 1, the Great Danes moved to their own 30, helped by Colon’s 25-yard pass to Norman on third-and-7. Then UAlbany’s Gavin Myers got off a 62-yard punt to the Campbell 8 to set up Jones’ fourth-down heroics.

With three regular-season games left, UAlbany travels to Bryant next Saturday. The Great Danes have a realistic chance of finishing 9-3, which would put them in the conversation for a Football Championship Subdivision playoff bid.

“It’s about action, right, and we’ve proven it,” Perkovich said. “These are game-changers. You beat ranked opponents and you play well in these big games.”

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This article originally published at No. 25 UAlbany makes a statement, drops No. 15 Campbell in CAA showdown.