Statistics
Highlights
BIDDEFORD, Maine – Terry Hicks ran for 317 yards on 36 carries as Hampden-Sydney College – all the way from Virginia – made the trip north to Blue Storm Stadium and earned a 43-41 victory over the University of New England football team in the Nor'easters home opener.
UNE (0-3) held a 28-22 halftime lead over the Tigers (2-1), who are currently receiving votes in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll, but Hampden-Sydney's ground game was too much to handle down the stretch for a UNE defense that was unable to come up with a crucial stop on the game's final possession.
The Nor'easters faced a 43-34 deficit midway through the fourth quarter, but scored on a 10-yard run by
Javin Willis to come within two points. H-SC, despite facing a 3rd-and-10, put together an eight-play drive that milked away the final 4:07.
Even with Hicks' dominance on the ground, the Nor'easters won the rushing battle over the Tigers with 452 yards – nearly 100 more than H-SC amassed. Willis,
Damien Jones and
Nathan Delgado each ran for over 100 yards and at least one touchdown. UNE leaned heavily on its rushing attack, with quarterback Chris Lang only attempting 11 passes (4-for-11), one of which was a touchdown to
Alex Yeaton in the final seconds of the first half. The Tigers were more successful through the air as Connor Creech connected on 13 of his 19 passes for 144 yards.
Special teams miscues plagued both teams, as H-SC had an extra point blocked and missed another, and UNE came up empty on each of its two field goal attempts, in addition to a failed two-point conversion. The Nor'easters came away with points on just five of their nine trips to the red zone.
While struggling to stop the run, UNE successfully pressured Creech, racking up five sacks, one of which came with a forced fumble.
Tajardo France led the Nor'easters with nine tackles, while Will Bostwick paced the Tigers with 16.
Having gone undefeated at home during the 2025 season, UNE's winning streak at Blue Storm Stadium is ended at six.
The Nor'easters are on the road for Week 4, visiting Western New England for the Conference of New England opener at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, but will return home the following week to host Endicott College.
