Tim Brown scored on an 81-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left to give Rutgers an improbable 28-24 win over Connecticut yesterday in East Hartford, handing the Huskies their second straight emotional defeat following the death of cornerback Jasper Howard.
Brown, one of Howard’s best friends growing up in Miami, got behind cornerback Robert McClain, just after UConn had scored to take the lead. He finished with 162 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Howard, Brown said, might have had the speed to catch him.
“We was ready to play [each other],’’ he said. “It would have been a great game for me if I’d had my other friend on the other side.’’
It was the first conference win of the season for Rutgers (6-2, 1-2 Big East) and the second consecutive defeat for Connecticut (4-4, 1-3) since Howard was stabbed to death outside a school dance on Oct. 18.
Quarterback Zach Frazer, playing in relief of injured starter Cody Endres (shoulder), threw for 333 yards and a TD, leading UConn on two fourth-quarter drives after they trailed, 21-10.
Frazer connected with Marcus Easley on a 32-yard TD pass with just over 10 minutes left and Jordan Todman ran 2 yards for a score on fourth and goal to put the Huskies ahead with 38 seconds left.
Holy Cross 41, Fordham 27 - Dominic Randolph passed for 314 yards and four touchdowns to lead the 17th-ranked Crusaders (7-1, 3-0 Patriot) past the Rams (3-5, 0-3) in New York.
Randolph, who also threw two interceptions, had TD passes of 39 yards to Bill Edger and 24 yards to Freddie Santana to give Holy Cross a 14-3 lead in the first quarter.
Central Conn. 31, Albany 29 - James Mallory ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 42 seconds left in the third quarter, to help the host Blue Devils (7-1, 5-0 Northeast) rally past the Great Danes (6-3, 5-1).
Robert Morris 9, Sacred Heart 7 - Garrett Clawson kicked three field goals to lead the host Colonials (2-6, 2-3 Northeast) over the Pioneers (1-7, 1-5).
Monmouth 10, Bryant 6 - David Sinisi ran for 139 yards and caught the game’s only touchdown pass to lead the host Hawks (4-4, 3-2 Northeast) over the Bulldogs (3-5, 2-3).
Maine Maritime 76, Coast Guard 49 - The Mariners set an NCAA Division 2/3 record with 730 rushing yards and broke the NEFC scoring mark in a Bogan Division shootout.
Visiting Maine Maritime carried 63 times in the record-breaking performance that fell short of the NCAA all-divisions record of 768 yards (72 carries) set by Oklahoma in 1988.
The Bears set some records of their own as freshman quarterback Jon Resch came off the bench to set school marks with 469 yards passing and six touchdowns. Resch tied a school record with 34 completions on 46 attempts. Sam England caught a career-high 10 passes for 109 yards and became the Bears’ all-time leader in receptions with 157.
Maine Maritime had four players top 100 yards rushing: Nick Bourassa (217 yards on nine carries with four TDs), Tyler Angell (186 yards on 20 carries, two TDs), Jim Bower (153 yards on 14 carries, three TDs), and Todd Murphy (106 yards on nine carries).
Curry 42, Nichols 14 - Zach Cavanaugh threw a TD pass and ran for two scores to lead the visiting Colonels (7-2, 6-0) past the Bison (4-5, 3-3) to clinch the NEFC Boyd Division crown.
Plymouth St. 24, MIT 7 - Ty Long rushed 17 times for 127 yards and a TD and the host Panthers (7-2, 5-1 NEFC) ran past the Engineers (1-7, 1-5).
Bridgewater St. 41, Worcester St. 7 - Justin Fuller rushed for 113 yards as the host Bears (6-3, 4-2 NEFC) rolled past the Lancers (1-8, 1-5).
Framingham St. 20, Mass. Maritime 13 - Dave Leach rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown to become the school’s all-time leading rusher with 2,260 yards as the Rams (5-4, 3-3 NEFC) beat the visiting Buccaneers (3-6, 2-4).
WNEC 17, Salve Regina 14 - Freshman running back Mike Graham rushed only six times but gained 75 yards, including second-half touchdowns of 30 and 4 yards, to lead the visiting Golden Bears (5-4, 4-2 NEFC) over the Seahawks (4-5, 3-3).
Westfield St. 32, Fitchburg St. 16 - David Benoit caught touchdown passes of 42 and 25 yards and the host Owls (6-3, 4-2 NEFC) rallied past the Falcons (4-5, 2-4) to give coach Steve Marino his 100th career victory.
Middlebury 31, Trinity 24 - Donald McKillop passed for 342 yards and two TDs and Erik Rostad ran for 118 yards and two scores as the host Panthers (3-3) ended the Bantams’ 15-game winning streak.
Oliver Starnes ran for 81 yards and two TDs but Trinity (5-1) turned the ball over five times, including four interceptions of Craig Drusbosky.
Amherst 13, Tufts 3 - Brandon Bullock caught a 6-yard TD pass from Alex Vetras with 8:53 left to seal the win for the visiting Lord Jeffs, who took over first in the NESCAC with a 6-0 mark.
Williams 42, Hamilton 0 - Nick Caro tied a school record with three TD catches as the host Ephs (5-1) blasted the Generals (1-5).
Wesleyan 43, Bowdoin 39 - Oliver Kell passed for 472 yards and three TDs for the Polar Bears (2-4), but the visiting Cardinals (3-3) returned a fumble and blocked punt for scores and won the game on Blake DuBois’s 29-yard TD pass to Paulie Lowther with 37 seconds left.
New Haven 47, Saint Anselm 43 - Ryan Osiecki passed for two TDs in the final 5:13 to rally the visiting Chargers (5-4, 4-4 Northeast-10) past the Hawks (2-7, 1-6).
Pace 20, AIC 9 - Jason Washington rushed for 110 yards and a score and the host Setters (1-8, 1-6 NE-10) got their first win by surprising the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-4).
