Brown Lights Up URI 35-21 To Win Governor's Cup

Brown Lights Up URI 35-21 To Win Governor's Cup

If the Brown Bears continue to play like this at home under the lights, they may have trouble getting opponenets to agree to play them at Brown Stadium in anything other than daylight.

Saturday night, Brown Stadium was illuminated with portable lights for the second time ever.  And, like the first time when the Bears handled Harvard 29-14 last September, Brown rose to the occasion once again to handle intrastate rival URI 35-21.

While the crowd didn't come close to matching last year's 17,000+ fans who attended the Harvard game, it certainly seemed larger than the 8,524 listed as the official attendance.  None the less, the Bears fed off of the electric atmosphere and proved to be primetime players once again in their methodical win over the Rams.

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Senior QB Kyle Newhall-Caballero led the attack for Brown throwing for 2 touchdowns and running for 2 more.  He finished the game going 17-29 for 203 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions.

Newhall-Caballero and the Brown offense was aided by a Brown defense which forced 4 turnouvers (3 interceptions and 1 fumble) and special teams that forced one more (fumble).  It was essentially a role-reversal for Brown which turned it over 5 times last week in a loss to Harvard.  "We capitalized on 5 Rhode Island turnovers," said Brown coach Phil Estes.  "What was our demise a week ago against Harvard became a dagger for URI tonight."

Rhody actually led 7-0 in the first when senior QB Steve Probst busted through the Brown defense for a 71-yard TD run.  Probst had a 61-yard TD run later in the game and finished with 189 yards on the ground and 2 TD's.

But this night belonged to Brown.  After Probst's first TD, the Bears scored 3 straight TD's on a beautiful pass from Newhall-Caballero to Mark Kachmer from 27-yards out, a 17-yard strike to senior WR Alexander Tounkara-Kone, and the first of Newhall-Caballero's two TD runs.  That gave the Bears a 21-7 halftime lead.

Rhody made a game of it early in the 3rd quarter when scampered in from 61-yards out to cut it to 21-14.  But Brown had an answer as Newhall-Caballero's second TD run capped off a 76-yard drive to put Brown back up by 14.  The Bears would up that lead to 21 on a Mark Kachmer 2-yard run early in the 4th before Rhody added a late TD on a pass from Probst to Anthony Baskerville for the 35-21 final.

Phil Estes may have found himself a new offensive weapon as well Saturday night as sophomore tailback John Spooney saw his first significant varsity action and ripped off 97 yards on 19 carries.

There was a scary moment early in the 4th quarter when Brown TE Nick Faber landed on his head and suffered what was believed to be a stinger.  He was taken off the field by ambulance.  There was no update on his condition after the game although he was moving all of his extremities.

The win lifted Brown's record to (2-1) overall.  The Bears are (0-1) in the Ivy League.  URI falls to (1-3).  The Rams are (1-1) in the CAA.  Both teams are home next Saturday with Brown hoston Holy Cross at 12:30pm and Rhody entertaining Old Dominion at 1pm.