ALBANY - The University at Albany football team needed just one game to show the imprint that new coach Tom Perkovich has made on the program.
The Great Danes opened the season by rushing for 374 yards and four touchdowns in Friday night's 28-14 victory over the University of New Hampshire in a Coastal Athletic Association game in front of 6,600 fans at Casey Stadium.
Perkovich earned his first victory at the Football Championship Subdivision level after spending a highly successful decade as head coach at Division III Susquehanna.
"It's definitely special, right?" Perkovich said. "It's the chance to coach at this level, to silence the doubters, if you want to call it that. I think the process that we've built over a long period of time is successful, and now we've got to do it again. It's not about today, it's about putting it together consistently."
Perkovich received an ice-water bath from his players after the game. The Great Danes had reason to celebrate after going 6-18 the past two seasons.
"It feels good," he said. "I like the kids to celebrate, right? It's the successes our players have, and if I'm part of that, I'm OK with that. Some of them are underdogs, right? They didn't play at their last places and they came here and they're playing here for us. They know it's my first Division I win as head coach and first win here at UAlbany. I was OK with it, but like I told them afterward, we've got to flip the switch tomorrow and get moving on."
The Great Danes (1-0) will play at the University at Buffalo of the Football Bowl Subdivision on Thursday night.
One of the worst rushing teams in FCS a year ago at 89.3 yards per game, the Great Danes more than quadrupled that average on Friday night.
UAlbany backup running back Joey Koch, who suffered a devastating knee injury in practice two years ago, rushed seven times for 144 yards and his first career touchdown. He broke a tackle on a 79-yard run to the UNH 13 in the second quarter to set up his own 3-yard touchdown for a 21-7 lead with 2:21 left in the first half.
Koch, a junior from Mahopac, had only three carries for nine yards in his career entering Friday.
"The sky's the limit, honestly," Koch said. "Coach Perk's done a good job coming in here. It doesn't matter what's happened in the past. We're focused on right now, today, and this year. We've got the guys to be as good as we want to be."
UAlbany senior quarterback Kai Colon, a Princeton transfer, got the start at quarterback. He threw an interception on the opening drive that set up a 4-yard touchdown run by UNH's Myles Thomason for a 7-0 lead with 8:13 left in the first quarter.
However, Colon took care of the ball after that. He also rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries, surprising for a player who wasn't a running threat at his previous school. With UAlbany dominating on the ground, the Great Danes didn't need much from the passing game. Colon was 7-for-17 passing for 57 yards.
"I thought we played a great game," Colon said. "A lot of stuff to work on, but one word I'd have for this game is grit. We did what it takes. 1-0, it's all that matters."
Wide receiver BJ Norman broke off a 54-yard run on a sweep to the UNH 5. That set up a 1-yard scoring run by UAlbany's Rahshan La Mons, a Susquehanna transfer, to tie the score at 7-7 with 4:13 remaining in the opening quarter.
Perkovich twice turned to mobile backup quarterback Aidan Semo near the goal line. Semo ran for touchdowns of 1 yard on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter and 8 yards in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the UAlbany defense stopped the run. UNH, an FCS playoff team a year ago, managed only 62 yards on 24 attempts. When the Wildcats tried to pass, linebacker Dillon Dunathan made a crucial goal-line interception of Wildcats quarterback Tommy McLeish on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
McLeish was under pressure from UAlbany safety Jaydon Williams when he threw the pass.
"You guys asked me when I got here, what should we expect," Perkovich said. "And I told you, fast and physical. So trying to be a man of my word on what you're going to see and how you're going to see it and backing that up. I thought we backed that up tonight."
SubscribeThere’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Perkovich leads UAlbany past New Hampshire in season opener.
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