2002 Playoffs

Brockport 15, Rowan 12 NCAA Division III Football Championship Tournament Second Round - (John Page Field, Glassboro, NJ) Saturday, November 30, 2002 GLASSBORO, NJ - Running back Adam Webster scored the winning touchdown for Brockport in a 15-12 win over Rowan University in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Webster (sr. Warsaw/Warsaw, NJ) had a one yard TD run with 53 seconds left in the game. Chet Holcumb (fr. Portville/Portville, NY) completed the two point converstion pass to Jamie Rother (sr. Sodus Central/Sodus Point, NY). Brockport (10-2) will play John Carroll (11-1) in the quarterfinals next Saturday. John Carroll had a 21-10 win over Muhlenberg in the second round. Rowan finishes the season with a 10-1 record. It was the Profs’ 10th appearance in the national tournament. Webster finished the game with 132 yards on 47 carries and two touchdowns. It was Holcumb’s first appearance at quarterback for the Golden Eagles. He came into the game in the first quarter for Anthony Mayes (so. Albion/Albion, NY) who left the game with a separated right shoulder. Holcumb had seven completions in 12 attempts for 56 yards. Wide receiver Darin Brady (jr. Irondequoit/Irondequoit, NY) had three receptions for 15 yards. This was the eighth time and seventh straight game that Webster rushed for 100-plus yards in a game. Webster broke the Brockport school record for carries in a game with 47. He had tied the mark of 36 against Wesley in the last game of the regular season. He also holds the school records for rushing yards in a season (1,400) and a career (1,552). This is the Golden Eagles’ third appearance in the NCAA tournament. In the first round, Brockport defeated Springfield, 16-0 which was the school’s first ever win in the national tournament. For Rowan, quarterback Tony Racioppi (sr. Red Bank Reg./Tinton Falls, NJ) passed for 201 yards with eight completions in 37 attempts and one touchdown. Jon Berry (so. Caesar Rodney/Camden, DE) had 58 yards receiving with two catches. The Golden Eagles were led on defense by end Billy Glynn (sr. E. Rockaway/E. Rockaway, NY) with 10 tackles (2-8) and one sack. Tackle Mike Condello (sr. Rush-Henrietta/Henrietta, NY) and free safety Matt Walther (jr. Dansville/Webster, NY) totaled seven tackles apiece. Brockport had four interceptions, two by Joshua Hayes (sr. Caledonia-Mumford/Caledonia, NY) and one each from Hash Smith (jr. Benjamin Franklin/Rochester, NY) and Troy Anderson (so. Caledonia/Cal-Mumford, NY). For the Profs, linebacker Mike McClain (so. Morris Hills/Rockaway, NJ) compiled 14 tackles (9-5) followed by linebacker Domenic Tomeo (jr. Triton Reg./Bellmawr, NJ) with 13 (3-10). McClain also recorded an interception. End Gerrit Tosh (sr. North Warren Reg./Blairstown, NJ) contributed with 12 tackles (6-6), one sack and three tackles for a loss. In the first quarter, Brockport scored with a one yard run by Webster with 4:49 left. The drive started on the Profs’ four yard line after Hayes’ interception. The TD drive was only two plays, four yards. Mike Laney (jr. John F. Kennedy/Cheektowaga, NY) kicked the extra point. On Rowan’s next drive, Hayes had his second interception which stopped the Profs on the Brockport 29 yard line. The Golden Eagles led at the half, 7-0. In the third quarter, Nick Frade (gr. Cherry Hill E./Cherry Hill, NJ) kicked a 24 yard field goal at 7:29 for Rowan. The Profs were stopped on the Brockport seven yard line and had to go for the field goal. With six seconds left in the quarter, Racioppi hit Berry with a 34 yard touchdown pass and Rowan went up, 9-7. In the fourth quarter, McClain had an interception with a return of 24 yards which put Rowan on Brockport’s two yard line. Frade kicked a 20 yard field goal for a 12-7 advantage. The Golden Eagles started their wining touchdown drive on their own 43 yard line. Webster totaled 23 yards in the drive which took 10 plays and 57 yards. This was the eighth time and seventh straight game that Webster rushed for 100-plus yards in a game. Webster broke the Brockport school record for carries in a game with 47. He had tied the mark of 36 against Wesley in the last game of the regular season. He also holds the school records for for rushing yards in a season (1,400) and a career (1,552). This is the Golden Eagles’ third appearance in the NCAA tournament. In the first round, Brockport defeated Springfield, 16-0 which was the school’s first ever win in the national tournament. Brockport Faces Rested and Ready Rowan By Tom Wilson Last week Brockport defeated Springfield 16-0. It was their first win in three NCAA playoff appearances. Backup QB Anthony Mays threw for 120 yards on 20 attempts. It was Mays' third start after Bob Darnley was sidelined with a knee injury. This is the third meeting between Brockport and Rowan. Profs lead the series 2-0. Last year Rowan defeated Brockport 40-17 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. SUNY Brockport Coach Rocco Salomone is in his eighth season in charge of the Golden Eagles. Salomone is the winningest coach in school history, and won for the 50th time in his career Nov. 16 at Wesley. He stands 51-28-1 in his career. He has led the Golden Eagles to three straight NCAA playoff appearances, and Brockport has won 31 of the last 34 regular season games over a three-year span. Salomone, a 1988 SUNY Brockport graduate, is 0-1 vs. Rowan. Golden Eagle RB Adam Webster is tied for 31st in the NCAA's in rushing with 114.3 yards per game. Tackle Mike Condello was tied for third in sacks with 1.5 per game and tied for 13 in tackles for a loss (2.3 pg). Punter Marc Menchetti was 39th with 37.0 average. Jeremy Lynch is 31st with a 13.0 yard avg. K Mike Laney has 11 FG's for 25th and 0.9 per game average. DT Mike Condello is 3rd in sacks with 15 and 13th in tackles for a loss (25). In team stats, Brockport was ranked 3rd in pass defense efficiency (72.5), 5th in scoring defense (9.4 ppg) and 11th in total defense (229.6 ypg). Rowan earned the number one seed in the East Region and a bye in the first round of the NCAA playoffs with a 10-0 season. The Profs won their second straight NJAC Championship and the conference's automatic NCAA playoff bid. In April, Jay Accorsi was named head coach of the Rowan University football team. Accorsi, 39, is the seventh coach for the sport at the University. He takes over the head position after nine years as an assistant coach with the Profs. The past two years Accorsi has been the defensive coordinator. He switched over to the defensive side of the ball in 1995. Accorsi started with the Profs as a graduate assistant in 1993. Prior to Rowan, Accorsi was an assistant football and baseball coach at Nichols College in Dudley, MA from 1989-93. He coached the wide receivers and quarterbacks. In baseball, Accorsi coached the outfielders and infielders. At Nichols, Accorsi also assisted the athletic director and was a dorm director while working on his master's degree. Accorsi graduated from Nichols in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He earned a master's in sports science from the U.S. Sports Academy (Daphine, AL) in 1992 and a master's in business administration from Rowan in 1997. At Nichols, Accorsi was a running back for four years and was captain of the football team his senior year.A native of Somers, CT, Accorsi attended Somers High School and graduated in 1981. He lettered in football, wrestling and baseball. In last week's NCAA stats, QB Tony Racioppi was 13th in the nation in pass efficiency (153.6) and passing yards per game (285.9). K Nick Frade was tied for 34th in FG's with 0.8 per game and was 33rd in punting average (37.3). DE Gerrit Tosh was tied for 18th in tackles for a loss (23) at (2.3 pg) and sacks with (11) at (1.1 pg). CB Kelvin Bellamy is 28th in interceptions (6) at (0.6 pg) and 40th in passes defended with (1.5 avg). In team stats, Rowan's is 14th in pass defense efficiency (82.0), 15th in scoring defense (11.9), 15th in passing offense (286.9), 17th in total offense (446.1) and tied for 25th in scoring (36.1). Against common opponents this year, Brockport is 3-2 with losses to both Cortland and TCNJ. The Golden Eagles hold a slight rushing edge over the Profs 829 yds to 769 yds against these opponents. While Rowan holds the passing edge, 1,491 yds to 914 yds and total touchdowns 20 to 11. And during this period the Profs weren't always playing up to their capabilities. I don't think Brockport is as good as they were last year, plus the starting QB has been out with a knee injury. This Brockport team is similar to Montclair St. and has some talent but not enough to stay with the Profs. Rowan beat Montclair 48-12 in rainy, cold weather two weeks ago. Rowan 48, Brockport 14. Happy Thankgiving.

East Playoff Bracket
2nd Round Nov 30th

East Playoff Bracket
1st Round Nov 23rd

If seeds are equal North hosts East, otherwise high seed hosts

Full 2002 playoff bracket