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Blue Hens into semifinals after beating New Hampshire

Dec 11, 2010 - 5:13 AM Newark, DE (Sports Network) - Pat Devlin threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second half, helping Delaware to a 16-3 victory over New Hampshire in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

Devlin completed 27-of-38 passes for 261 yards and overcame being sacked four times, as the Blue Hens (11-2) moved into the semifinals for a seventh time and will face either Wofford or Georgia Southern next weekend.

The Blue Hens, who won the FCS title in 2003, got 90 rushing yards from Andrew Pierce. Nihja White caught eight balls for 94 yards and a TD.

R.J. Toman connected on 20-of-36 passes for 136 yards with an interception for the Wildcats (8-5), who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year this season, but have never made it past the quarterfinal round. They fell to league foe and eventual national champion Villanova 46-7 last season. UNH is 0-6 all-time in quarterfinal play, also losing in that round to Montana in 2004, Northern Iowa in 2005, Massachusetts in 2006, and to Northern Iowa again in 2008.

Delaware took advantage of a 28-yard punt from Kyle Auffray and moved from its own 41 to the end zone, grabbing a 9-3 lead on Devlin's 24-yard TD strike to White with 7:09 left in the third. White caught the ball in the middle of the field before diving inside the left pylon for the score. The extra point try failed.

The Blue Hens widened the gap to 16-3 less than two minutes into the fourth when Devlin threw a rocket to Mark Schenauer from nine yards away into the end zone. That capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive.

Toman was picked off by Antony Walters at the Delaware nine with under six minutes remaining, and the Blue Hens ran out most of the remaining time.

The Wildcats grabbed the lead with 2:35 left in the opening quarter on Mike MacArthur's 23-yard field goal, but the Blue Hens moved from their own seven to the New Hampshire eight during a time-consuming second-quarter march. They tied the game on Mike Perry's 25-yard field goal with three minutes left in the half. Perry was wide left on a 41-yard attempt in the final minute of the half.