Longest Game in Program History Sees Football Take Loss

By Carter Schum | September 8, 2025

Great Dane Edge Ibrahim Sanogo (#9)  recorded 3 sacks on Saturday night

Photo Credit: Alex Henderson | UAlbany Athletics 

The University at Albany football team dropped their second in a row to start the season on Saturday, when they fell to the Delaware State Hornets 37-32.

The Great Danes would draw first blood on just the second play from scrimmage, as Jack Shields would connect with receiver Tavahri Groves on the run for a 75-yard touchdown to make the score 7-0 early. 

The UAlbany defense would come up clutch on their first possession of the game, as on 4th-and-1 for the Hornets, Balansama Kamara would force a fumble, to give the ball back to the Great Dane offense. 

Delaware State would respond with 7:40 left in the first quarter. Marquise Gillis would cap off a long Hornet drive with a two-yard touchdown run to even the score at 7-7 as the Great Dane defense struggled to stop the run early. 

UAlbany would find the endzone once again, as Shields would be pushed into the endzone by a  multitude of Great Dane linemen inside the one-yard line, following a long connection with Groves and a pair of Griffin Woodell rushes to bring the score to 14-7. 

UAlbany's struggles of defense would continue late into the first quarter, as on 4th-and-7, Hornet Quarterback Kaiden Bennett would break through for a 38-yard rushing touchdown to level the game once again, 14-14 with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter. 

The Great Dane defense nearly reached a new low, as they started at their own one-yard line. Delaware State would drive down the field far enough to attempt a 35-yard field goal; however, it was pushed wide right, and the score was tied with 8:02 remaining. 

UAlbany would find the endzone for the first time in the second quarter, as Shields would connect with Caden Burti for a 35-yard touchdown. However, the Point After Touchdown (PAT) would be missed to make the score 20-14 with 1:03 remaining in the second quarter.

The Hornets would attempt to score before the end of the first half, as they would drive into Great Dane Territory. However, a sack by Sanogo would put an end to the drive, as the score would be 20-14 at the Break. 

The Hornets led the Great Danes 154-144 in total yards gained, but the Great Danes held a 90-65 yard advantage in passing yards. 

The UAlbany defense was once again torn apart by Bennett, who rushed 36 yards for a touchdown after a penalty. With the successful PAT, the Hornets took their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

The Great Danes appeared to have gotten the ball back after three plays from the Hornets. But on the punt, UAlbany would commit its second personal foul penalty on the punter.

UAlbany once again shot themselves in the foot, as Jojo Uga would fumble the ball into the hands of the Hornets inside his own 30 yard line to give Delaware State a golden opportunity to score once again. 

The Hornets would use this to kick a field goal, to make the score 24-20 with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter. 

Delaware State continued to cruise on offense, as with 9:26 remaining they would find the endzone again on a short run to make it a 31-20 game. 

Just under a minute later, the Great Danes would score their first points of the half, as Shields connected with Tight End Carter Mosses from inside the Delaware state 20-yard line. UAlbany would attempt a two-point conversion; however, this was unsuccessful and the score was brought to 31-26. 

UAlbany would be set up with amazing field position following a botched fake punt from the Hornets from their own 20 yard-line. Shields would find Steven Mahar Jr. for the second UAlbany touchdown of the quarter. They would elect again to go for two. But this attempt fared no better than the last, and the score stood at 32-31. 

Following the kickoff, the game went into a weather delay for a severe storm in the area. 

The Hornets ran several plays on offense, reaching second-and-6 from the UAlbany 44 as the clock reached the two-minute timeout. 

However, it would be more than two hours before the game resumed as the weather around Alumni Stadium in Dover deteriorated further. 

Bennett would score his third rushing touchdown of the game to make the score 38-32 with 34 seconds remaining. The Hornets would go for two, but they would be unsuccessful. 

The Great Danes would attempt a series of Hail Mary plays, but  they would be unsuccessful in doing this and they would drop their second game in a row to start the season 0-2. 

UAlbany’s home opener is scheduled for next Saturday, Sept. 13. They will take on the New Haven Chargers.