During Monday afternoon's MEAC Coaches Call, Delaware State head coach DeSean Jackson weighed in on the ejection of Kaiden Bennett during the team's Saturday matchup against Sacred Heart. Following a rushing touchdown by Bennett, he received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for celebrating with fans and not giving the referee the ball in a prompt fashion.
He was subsequently ejected, leaving Hornet's backup quarterback Jayden Sauray to step in. Bennett was making his presence felt early, as he completed his only thrown pass as well as 2 carries for 44 yards. The ejection dumfounded Jackson.
“That was crazy. In 30 years of playing football, I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said, later commenting that the ejection “changed the complexion” of the game.
Sauray was effective and nearly led Delaware State to victory. He finished the game throwing for 207 yards and one touchdown on 12/18 passing. He found former Oregon wideout Ryan Pellum Taylor for a 75-yard touchdown reception that put Delaware State up 28-17 with 5:39 to go in the second quarter. A field goal by Patrick Fisher-Butler put the Hornets up 31-17. But it ultimately wasn't enough
Sacred Heart then scored 18 unanswered points, which led to them winning the game. But Jackson wasn't a fan of what he called a lack of discipline in the penalties that the team was assessed during the contest. They finished the game with 1o penalties for a loss of 125 yards, which is not ideal in a close game against a team that finished with 6 penalties for a loss of only 39 yards.
“This game came down to discipline. We have to learn from these mistakes if we want to go far.”
The Hornets have nothing to look down on themselves about, however. They've played well throughout the first few games of the season as they average 31.8 points and 304 rushing yards per game. The Hornets lead the MEAC in rush yards per game and are one of the best running teams in the FCS.
The Hornets play Monmouth on Saturday at 1 PM EST.
