Chattanooga, TN -- Germaine Bennett and Antawn Jenkins each rushed for two touchdowns, lifting Delaware to its first-ever I-AA title with a 40-0 victory over Colgate at W. Max Finley Stadium.

The Blue Hens (15-1) won their first national title since capturing the 1979 Division II championship. That Delaware squad had a star linebacker by the name of K.C. Keeler on its squad. Keeler is now the Blue Hens' head coach.

"It's special to bring the glory back to the greatest I-AA tradition in the country," Keeler explained.

Andy Hall threw two touchdown passes to David Boler for second-ranked Delaware, which won its sixth straight game overall. The Blue Hens cruised through all four of their postseason contests, winning each of the games by double digits. They set a Division I-AA playoff record by giving up just 24 points in the four-contest tournament, and also posted its first road shutout since 1982,

Delaware's vaunted defense held Walter Payton Award winner Jamaal Branch to 55 yards on the ground. Branch was honored as the nation's best offensive player in Division I-AA during a ceremony on Thursday. The Raiders were held to just 157 total yards in the contest.

Chris Brown completed just 9 of 21 passes for 94 yards as Colgate (15-1) had its 21-game winning streak come to a crashing end.

"The problem with the playoffs is you either go all the way and win a national championship or you lose and feel lousy," Colgate coach Dick Biddle stated of the depressing loss. "This is the best team Colgate has ever had."

The Blue Hens took control of this contest early on thanks to some precision passing by Hall. The veteran signal caller - who transferred from Georgia Tech two years back - first came up with a big third-down completion into the hands of Boler for 20 yards. Then he hit Long for 17 more to bring Delaware down to the three. On the next play, Jenkins plunged right up the middle for the score, making it 7-0 at the midway point of the first quarter.

The Raiders made a costly mistake in their kicking game that eventually cost them some more points. A bad snap forced the punter, Jason Sutton, to rush his kick, resulting in a paltry six-yard boot.

On the first play following the kick, Hall and Boler hooked up once again, this time for 23 yards. Several plays later Bennett plunged in from one-yard out. The extra point hit the upright and bounced harmlessly to the ground, but Delaware still led 13-0 late in the first quarter.

Delaware's defense was not to be outdone as Dominic Santoli tripped up Brown in the backfield for a sack, forcing a fumble in the process. Delaware recovered and several plays later it was Boler who hauled in a five-yard slant to extend the margin to 20-0.

"We are a very physical team and once we get rolling, things can snowball," Keeler explained.

The Blue Hens' stingy defense continued to flex their muscle, twice denying the Raiders on 4th-and-2 situations to allow Delaware to head into the locker room with the comfortable cushion.

With the aid of the wind in the third quarter, Delaware dominated the field position battle. Playing with a short field, Boler scored his second touchdown of the contest when Hall found him open in the corner of the end zone midway through the period. The nine-yard touchdown connection extended Delaware's advantage to 27-0.

Boler finished the contest with six catches for 91 yards and the two touchdowns.

Several minutes later the rout continued as Bennett scored for the second time in the contest when he rumbled in from one-yard out.

Jenkins scored two plays after Justin Long caught a 40-yard prayer to make it 40-0, despite another missed extra point.

"This win is going to be talked about for hundreds of years," said Delaware senior safety and co-captain Mike Adams.