By Allen Lessels

NEFJ Correspondent

DURHAM, N.H. – Senior quarterback Seth Morgan, a transfer who was at Virginia Military Institute first and played at Division II Shepherd University last season, had another standout game on Saturday and led the University of New Hampshire to a 38-17 win over Bryant University in front of a Family Weekend crowd of 11,302 in Wildcat Stadium.

It was Bryant’s first-ever Coastal Athletic Association game and the league opener for both teams.

Morgan completed 23 of his 30 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns. Junior receiver Caleb Burke caught six passes for 151 yards, including a pair of TDs that bookended the scoring in the game.

Burke grabbed a 10-yarder that opened the scoring with 9:30 left in the first quarter and — after Bryant had sliced UNH’s lead to 31-17 with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth, caught a 31-yarder from Morgan to seal things.

“Seth Morgan has really shown he belongs in the CAA,” Burke said. “He’s a huge, huge factor in our offense. He is the factor in our offense that gets us going.”

UNH lost its opener at Central Florida, 57-3. Since starting FCS play, Morgan has thrown 12 touchdown passes with just one interception in wins over Holy Cross (21-20) and Stonehill (45-6) and now Bryant. He had six touchdown passes against Stonehill, tying the team record held by his coach, Rick Santos.

The Wildcats jumped on the Bulldogs early in this one.

“It was a really fast start in all three phases,” Santos said. “The offense was clicking on all cylinders. The defense did a really nice job. That’s a high-powered offense. Their quarterback is electric.”

Jarrett Guest, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, completed 25 of his 44 passes for 355 yards, including a 42-yard scoring play to Landon Ruggieri. Ruggieri had four catches for 118 yards.

Morgan had thrown three of his touchdown passes by the midway point of the second period to stake the Wildcats to a 31-3 lead.

“When the offense comes out hot like that, it’s easy to play complementary football,” said UNH safety Wande Owens, a grad transfer from Yale. Owens leads the Wildcats in tackles. He and senior cornerback Noah Stansbury were the leading tacklers Saturday with nine each.

Owens and senior defensive end Josiah Silver had sacks for the Wildcats.

The Ruggieri score made it 31-10 at the half.

“I’ll give this group credit,” Bryant coach Chris Merritt said of his team. “For as inexperienced as they are, they fight. They dug their heels in. UNH had us on our heels.”

After a scoreless third period, the teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth.

For the second straight week, Morgan found a pair of receivers for more than 100 yards. Burke had 134 yards and two scores against Stonehill.

Grad student Logan Tomlinson, in his second year after transferring from Wesleyan, had seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. Sophomore Drew Danson, a sophomore tight end out of Wrentham, Mass. and King Phillip Regional, had the other TD reception on a 6-yard pass from Morgan. Danson had his first TD reception last weekend against Stonehill.

Isaac Seide, the senior running back out of Everett, Mass., was banged up and saw limited action. He ran six times for 66 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown.

UNH and Bryant both have next weekend off and each play an Ivy League opponent coming out of the break.

The Wildcats, 3-1 overall, play Harvard in Harvard Stadium on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. It will be the first game between the teams since 1939.

Bryant, 1-3 overall, plays at Brown on Saturday, Oct. 5 at noon.