---

Hofstra Football Returns to the Playoffs

By Dave Mock

Yesterday, most of Hofstra's football players were busy eating turkeys. Tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 p.m., they'll be hunting Blue Hens.

Considering how the players handled several trials, including their own mistakes, during a 9-2 regular-season campaign, very little ruffles their feathers.

"They've grown up," said Head Coach Joe Gardi of the players he called "young pups" earlier this season. The Dutch had started the season with 43 new players.

Quarterback Gio Carmazzi went 24-of 35, ran for three TDs and threw one scoring pass Saturday as the Dutch completed their campaign Saturday with a 44-32 win over the University of Maine at Hofstra Stadium.

With the win, the Dutch sophomore wrapped up a record-breaking season at QB, throwing for a school-best 27 TD passes and adding entries for most yards passing in a season (3,554), most completions (288), and most total offense yards (3,706).

The contest was an example of both the good Dutch and the bad Dutch. At one extreme, Hofstra turned over the ball twice in the two and a half minutes of the game -- first, a Jeff Yeakel fumble that LB Keone Coleman recovered at the Hofstra 19, and a Carmazzi Fumble that Maine LB Brent Naccara recovered at the Maine 34.

And the Dutch did let a 17-3 lead dwindle to 17-13, making a potential blowout a nail-biter until the last two minutes of the game.

At the other end of the spectrum were the Hofstra defense, which kept Maine from scoring on that first drive and stopped Maine in key fourth-quarter drives. And, of course, the Dutchmen's offense, which kicked into gear when the defense let up.

"Our offense is balanced," Gardi quipped. "It keeps the D off the field." The Dutch netted 286 yards in the air and 269 on the ground.

"We had our opportunities," Maine Coach Jack Cosgrove told Guy Gannett Communications. "We knew going in that Hofstra's first quarter would be one with a lot of emotion. We had some chances, but their emotion got them through it. We missed some chances to score points, but we hung in there and it was a football game right to the end."

For the ground offense, read Vaughn Sanders. The five-11 sophomore played the game of his life, rushing for 168 yards on 19 carries and gaining two TDs.

"They always knew I wanted to start," Sanders said. "They understood it, and could see it in my eyes that I was working hard."

Sanders gained all but three of Hofstra's 39 yards in a second-quarter scoring drive, including a two-yard run TD run up the middle, as the Dutch took a 14-3 lead.

Hofstra WR Brian Kish broke the school record for receptions with 82, eclipsing Wayne Morris' 80 in 1991. Kish had 123 rushing yards on seven carries Saturday, finishing the season with 1,084.

"I don't think Coach Gardi had an idea how this team was going to be," said Kish, adding that the Hofstra turnovers at the start of the game would have led to opponents' TDs. Now, with the Dutch's resilience. "we're happy to get the ball -- on the 10, the 50, who cares."

Hofstra seemed like it could afford such confidence after Carmazzi's one-yard TD run, Sanders' scramble and Ettinger's 46-yard field goal gave the Dutch a 17-3 lead with 3:45 left in the first half. But Maine came back on Todd Jagoutz's second field goal of the game, closing the gap to 17-6 with 1:43 left in the half.

Then early in the third quarter, Maine QB Mickey Fein (28-54 for a game high 405 yards, plus two TDs) marched the Bears 82 yards in seven plays, including a 28-yard strike to WR Rameek Wright that put Maine at the Hofstra one-yard line. Tailback Bert Rich ran the ball in for the TD.

Maine Coach Cosgrove elected to have Jagoutz kick the extra point (successful) instead of going for two, which would have allowed the Bears to tie or take the lead on just a field goal. Hofstra got the ball back and scored on its next drive, ending with Carmazzi's one-yard run and Ettinger's extra point.

Maine responded with a TD of its own, Fein's 29-yard pass to John Tennett with 7:17 left in the third, cutting Hofstra's lead to 24-19. This time, the Bears went for the two-point play, with Fein pitching back to Rich, but Hofstra strong safety Lance Schulters wrapped Rich up just short of the goal line.

Carmazzi's one-yard run with 4:47 left gave Hofstra a 30-19 lead, only to see Tennett haul in a 62-yard TD that brought the Bears again within five. Fein tried another two-pointer, but his pass went incomplete. Hofstra then widened its lead to 12 points early in the fourth quarter with Carmazzi's three-yard pass to Wayne Yearwood.

Maine brought its deficit back to five points thanks to a Paul Que fumble that Bears LB Brent Naccara recovered at the Hofstra 30 and ran back to the 16. Five plays later, on third and two from the Hofstra two, Rich scored his second TD of the game, a two-yard run that moved the Bears within 37-32.

"After the teams exchanged failed drives, the Dutch took over at its 22 and performed a scoring rally almost tailored for the selection committee. Carmazzi hit Kish for a 12-yard gain. Two plays later, on second and five, Carmazzi fired an eight-yard pass to Yearwood at the Hofstra 47 for a first down.

Sanders gained only a yard on the next carry, but Carmazzi hit WR Steve Jackson for a seven-yard pass, putting Hofstra at the Maine 45. On third and two, Sanders' 12-yard run gave the Dutch a first down at the 33.

On the next play, Sanders got the feed, broke one tackle and ran 33 yards down the Maine sideline for the TD that put Hofstra ahead 44-32. He went to both knees and raised his arms skyward.

"I just saw a little opening, and I just turned on a little speed," Sanders said, smiling.

"I think Vaughn's better than he's showing," Hofstra Coach Gardi said. "That run shows what he can do. He's still a sophomore; that stuff's going to come."

What's coming Saturday at noon is a rematch with Delaware, wihich knocked Hofstra out of the 1995 1-AA playoffs with a 38-17 win at Delaware Stadium. The Blue Hens lead the all-time series 6-3-1.

"We didn't know how good we would be to start the season," Gardi said of Hofstra, which has won its last seven games. "I think my staff did a great job. We just kept getting better and we found a way to win."