Rams dominate rival Brown, take Governor's Cup

10/07/08 - In front of 6,014 fans at Meade Stadium the University of Rhode Island football team defeated its rival Brown University 37-13 in the 27th annual Battle for the Governor's Cup.The Rams dominated time of possession controlling the ball for over 41 minutes. Offensively the Rams compiled 366 total yards converting on all four of its red zone chances. Defensively they recovered two fumbles and intercepted Brown quarterback Michael Dougherty twice.

"I thought we played a complete game today. We won the offense, defense and special teams battles today. If you can win in all three phases of the game like that then you are going to come out on top at the end of the day,"

Head Coach Darren Rizzi said. Senior quarterback Derek Cassidy threw a career-high five touchdown passes leading the Rams to their third consecutive victory over the Bears. Cassidy hit eight different receivers along the way completing 25 of his 37 passes for 298 yards.

"It feels good. I mean these guys go up and make plays. I wouldn't trade them for the world. These guys go up and catch the ball. Great credit to the offensive line. Brown's got a real big defensive front they did a good job of giving me time," said Cassidy.

Cassidy, who threw only five touchdowns all of last season, became just the second quarterback in URI history to throw five in one game.

"Derek just continues to impress. Derek did what Derek does best. Derek makes things happen with his feet and moves out of the pocket. A great, great day for him. His leadership is really starting to come about and we need that for the rest of the way. " Rizzi said.

Freshman wide receiver Brandon Johnson-Farrell also had a career day catching eight passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. He is happy to be contributing as a freshman.

"I was lucky to have a good group of guys help me pick up the offense as fast

as I did. It's a lot of credit to the older receivers on the team to help me grow quicker," said Johnson-Farrell said.

The first quarter both teams were held scoreless as they exchanged possessions. Brown failed to convert on two field 46-yard field goal attempts.

Kicker Robert Ranney missed on his first field goal try and after a Cassidy

interception URI senior Jimmy Young blocked the Bears second attempt.

"As much as we throw the ball it's going to happen we had a miscommunication," Cassidy said.

"We shook it off myself and the receiver and we just moved on. It was early in the game. There was no point in dwelling over it."

The Rams got the scoring underway in the second quarter after an 11 play, 65-yard drive that ended with a Cassidy nine-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Joe Bellini. The extra point was good and the Rams took a 7-0 lead.

Late in the quarter URI freshman Robert Walker broke free and blocked a punt, giving the Rams the ball inside the Brown 20 yard line. Cassidy took advantage, hitting Johnson-Farrell for an 11-yard touchdown pass two plays later. The Rams led 13-0 going into halftime after a missed extra point.

"I thought that was a huge, huge play. If you go into halftime up 7-0 that's one thing, you go in with a two score lead that's certainly a different deal," Rizzi said.

The Rams got right back to work on their opening possession of the second half scoring on a 46-yard pass play. Cassidy dumped off a screen pass to senior running back Jimmy Hughes, who took it 45 yards for the touchdown. The point after was good as the Rams extended their lead to 20-0.

Brown got on the board late in the third after quarterback Michael Dougherty threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bobby Sewall. The Rams led 20-7 heading into the fourth.

URI kicker Louis Feinstein connected on a 20-yard field goal after Brown fumbled on a punt return. The Bears trimmed the lead to 23-13 driving right down the field after the turnover as running back Derrick Knight scored on a 13-yard toss play.

The Rams converted a 3rd and 21 on the drive as Johnson-Farrell made a couple of shifty moves to convert for the first down. The Rams made it 30-13 with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter.

Brown turned the ball over once again after URI Sophomore linebacker Daniel

O'Connor recovered his own forced fumble. The Rams turned the fumble into to six points as Cassidy connected with Bellini for the second time on the day on a 23 yard touchdown pass. The Rams made it 37-13 after the extra point.

The Bears made their fourth turnover on the day as URI freshmen linebacker

Chris Mancuso intercepted Dougherty allowing the Rams to run out the clock.

The win breaks the Rams' four-game losing streak and improves their record to 2-4 (0-2 in CAA).

Coach Rizzi was pleased to see the amount of people in attendance and said he is proud of his team.

"I think right now we play an exciting brand of football. I think people are seeing the passion not only from me and our staff and the players, but Thorn Bjorn. They kind of see the commitment we have in the program. There is no reason why we can't fill the stands."

The Rams look for their first CAA win on the road next Saturday against Towson University (2-4 overall 0-2 in CAA), who will host URI for homecoming.

"Our record is not where we want it to be, but I think were making some serious progress. I'm very happy with where we are. We're taking steps forward," Rizzi said.