Oct. 4, 2008

Box Score |Darren Rizzi postgame press conference |   Quotes |  Photo Gallery 

KINGSTON, R.I. - The Rhode Island Football team (2-4 overall; 0-2 CAA) successfully defended the Governor's Cup as it defeated No. 25 Brown (2-1 overall; 1-0 Ivy League) 37-13. URI's win over BU marks the Rams' third straight win over the Bears.

Senior Derek Cassidy (Winterhaven, Fla.) tossed a career-high five touchdowns to become just the second quarterback in URI history to throw for five scores in a single game. Cassidy completed 25-of-37 passes for 298 yards.

Cassidy completed passes to eight different receivers. Freshman Brandon Johnson-Farrell (Odenton, Md.) led the way with a pair of career-highs as he recorded eight receptions and 72 yards.

Both teams were held scoreless in the first quarter. Brown threatened to score twice in the first quarter as the Bears attempted a pair of field goals. BU kicker Robert Ranney missed his first attempt of 46 yards. Ranney's second field goal attempt was blocked by URI senior Jimmy Young (Storrs, Conn.), which preserved the 0-0 tie.

Rhode Island found the endzone on its second offensive series of the second quarter thanks to an 11 play 65-yard drive. Cassidy went 5-of-7 on the drive for 49 yards. Junior Joe Bellini (Glendale, R.I.) caught two passes on the drive, including one on third down and 10 and the touchdown pass.

The Rams struck again just before the end of the half capitalizing on a block punt. Two-plays later, Cassidy hit Johnson-Farrell for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Freshman Louis Feinstein (Irvine, Calif.) missed the extra point, but the Rams took a 13-0 lead into the locker room.

Cassidy finished the first half with 126 yards passing and two touchdown passes.

URI came out of the locker room and engineered a five play 66-yard drive to take a 20-0 lead on its first drive of the second half. Cassidy went 4-for-6 on the drive and hit Jimmy Hughes (Westport, Conn.) on a screen pass, which the URI senior took 45 yards in for the score.

Brown would cut the lead to 20-7 at the end of the third quarter as quarterback Michael Dougherty hit Bobby Sewall for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Dougherty finished the game with 271 yards, while Sewall led all receivers with nine catches for 130 yards.

At the start of the fourth quarter, URI increased its lead to 23-7 thanks to a 20-yard field goal from Feinstein. The Rams' field goal was set up by sophomore Rob Damon's (Storrs, Conn.) fumble recovery following a 35-yard punt.

The Bears responded to the turnover by five play 66-yard drive, which cut the URI lead to 10 points at 23-13 with 10:36 remaining. Rhode Island would then push its advantage to 17 points after the Rams went 60 yards in eight plays.

Cassidy hit junior Shawn Leonard (Stoughton, Mass.) for a two-yard touchdown. Earlier in the drive, Cassidy connected with Leonard for a pair of 50-plus yard passes, but both were called back because of penalties.

URI would then add another touchdown as Cassidy hit Bellini for a 23-yard strike with just under three and a half minutes to go. The Rams once again took advantage of a Brown turnover as sophomore Dan O'Connell (Barrington, R.I.) forced and recovered a fumble, by Brown's Colin Cloherty.

Rhode Island returns to action Oct. 11 on the road against Towson. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. Steve McDonald and Terry Lynch will provide the radio call live on the Rams Radio Network - WHJJ 920 AM and WJZS 99.3 FM.