How it Happened
Rhode Island led for the entirety of its CAA Football opener against Campbell on Saturday night at Meade Stadium, defeating the Camels 21-9.

The action was highlighted by a thrilling four-stop stand in which the Rhody (2-1, 1-0 CAA Football) defense held the visitors within two yards of the end zone. Defensive lineman Westley Neal, Jr. had a solo stop and assisted on another to help the Rams take a 7-3 lead at the break. 

URI's lone score of the first half came in the opening quarter when quarterback Devin Farrell found Greg Gaines III with a nine-yard pass. Campbell (1-2, 0-1 CAA Football) tallied its first points with just under seven minutes to go in the second when Connor Lytton booted in a 34-yard field goal. 

The momentum that the Rams accrued from the goal line stand carried into the second half as the offense kicked off the action with a score. Farrell led the charge on an eight play, 77-yard drive that resulted in his first career rushing touchdown. After the defense forced the Camels to punt on their next possession, Rhode Island added another seven points to its total thanks to Marquis Buchanan's 25-yard air strike. 

Campbell made one final push in the fourth quarter when an eight-yard pass from Mike Chandler II found Sinecere Brown in the end zone, but the defense came up strong again by coming up with a big stop on the two-point conversion. From there, the Rams were in control and forced the visitors to turn the ball over on downs on their final possession. With 1:18 left in the game, Rhode Island ran the clock down for victory. 

Inside the Box Score

• Linebacker A.J. Pena made eight tackles and recorded two sacks for eight yards. He surpassed 100 career stops, reaching 101 with his performance. 
• The junior now has 17.5 quarterback sacks in his career, the eighth-most of any player in URI history. With his effort against the Camels, he surpassed John Klumbach (1988-91), who had 16. 
• Defensive back Fredrick Mallay led the Rams with a career-high 11 tackles. He also broke up a pass and recorded a TFL.   
• Seven different Rams combined for a total of 9.0 TFLs for 18 yards. 
• Wide receiver Marquis Buchanan caught four passes for 48 yards to go along with his touchdown grab. He has now recorded at least one reception in 10 consecutive games. 
• Quarterback Devin Farrell finished with 162 total yards of offense (128 pass/34 rush) while throwing for two touchdowns and running in one of his own. He completed 14 of 21 attempted passes.
• Running back Malik Grant had 16 carries for 55 yards with a long of 25. 
• Wide receiver Jig Williams and defensive back Emmanuel Gomes served as game captains.
• Defensive back Andre DePina-Gray was the anchor bearer.
• Wide receiver Aboraa Kwarteng and linebacker Gage Hinkley were Scout Team Players of the Week. 

Up Next
Rhode Island will hit the road for a non-conference game at LIU on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff against the Sharks will be at 12 p.m. and stream on NEC Front Row.