Oct. 21, 2006

Stats

AMHERST, Mass. - Rhode Island sophomore fullback Joe Casey ran for 136 yards and a touchdown but it was No. 6 Massachusetts cruising to a 41-16, victory this afternoon at McGuirk Stadium.

Massachusetts senior running back Steve Baylark totaled 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns rushing to pace the UMass attack, which racked up 474 yards of total offense.

On the opening kickoff, URI sophomore Kevaugh Johnson-Henry forced a fumble that the Rams recovered on the Minutemen 17 yard-line. Three plays later, Casey scored on a nine-yard run as the Rams took a 6-0 lead with 13:26 on the clock. The extra point attempt was missed by Colin Gallager.

UMass would get on the board with a 12-play, 71-yard drive, capped by a 26-yard field goal by Chris Koepplin to cut the Ram lead to 6-3 with 8:24 to play in the first quarter.

A one-yard touchdown rush by sophomore quarterback Derek Cassidy would finish off a five-play 65-yard scoring drive to give the Rams a 13-3 edge with 6:16 on the first-quarter clock. Cassidy hooked up with sophomore halfback Jimmy Hughes for a 59-yard scoring strike during the drive.

UMass would break the game open with 28-straight points to take a 31-13 lead into halftime.

The Minutemen would lead, 38-13, after a five-play, 44-yard drive finished off by an eight-yard Baylark rush at 1:26 for the only points of the third quarter.

The Rams would put three points on the board with a 21-yard field goal by Gallagher to make the score 38-16 with 14:52 to play in the game.

A 24-yard Massachusetts field goal with 12:10 to play made it a 41-16 final.

The Rams return home to take on Maine on Saturday, October 28, at 1:00 p.m. in Meade Stadium.