University of Delaware - Blue Hen Yearbook (Newark, DE)

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10 FOOTBALL The 1978-79 fall was just about the Delaware football team's best ever as Coach Tubby Raymond's Blue Hen grid- ders soared into the Division Il national championship game December 9 in freesz- ing Longview, Texas where they bowed to Eastern lllinois by a mere point, 10-9, Along the way Delaware racked up an 8-3 regular season record before ripping Jacksonville State 42-27 and Winston- Salem 41-0 in the play-offs for the right to advance to the nationally-televised championship game. The vyear started off with a bang as the Hens hested and crushed Rhode Island 37-0. A week later it was the same story as the visiting West Chester Rams fell prey to the Hens, 56-0. The final game of the opening homestand saw Delaware pummel Western Illincis 35-7. The Hens' toughest game came the following Saturday evening under the lights at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia as powerful Temple won going away 38-7 before 26,000 fans. The next weekend proved little happier for Tubby's troops as host Lehigh scampered to a 17-0 first- quarter lead and after the Hens managed a 17-17 second half tie, the Engineers picked up a TD on a 40 yard pass with less than five minutes to go and added a field goal for a 27-17 victory, Now 3-2, Delaware returned home eager to show everyone what they could do and they wasted no time in doing so with a 260 shutout of MNorth Carolina AZT. A wvisit to Middle Tennessee's Astroturf field produced still another romp, 53-3. Misfortune befell Delaware the next Saturday in the rain at the Citadel in Charleston, 5.C. Three plays of 51, 84 and 71 yards broke the Hens' backs and they fell 21-14. Back home again, the Hens prepared for the upcoming showdown with the Villanova Wildcats by pasting Maine 48-0. It was the Hens' fourth shut- out and their sixth win against three losses. With the playeffs in the balance, the Hens edged out Villnova 23-22 and then held off Colgate 38-29 to secure their post-season berth. After demolishing Jacksonville and Winston-Salem, the Hens flew to Texas where, on a wet high school field, they could not muster their usual offensive might. Delaware's defense was true to form, yielding only ten points, but the Hens could only score nine. A 45-yard field goal attempt by Brandt Kennedy salled barely wide with time running out.