Gameday 10/1/03 - Game #4 College of NJ

Gameday Photos [click here] Rowan Pulls Away from TCNJ 35-20 #84 Brian Jenkins blocks a punt by #83 Joe Bergondo early in the 3rd quarter. Photo by Tom Wilson #44 Aaron McCord celebrates in the endzone after scooping up the block and scampering 10 yards in to the end to put the Profs up 21-20. Photo by Tom Wilson. By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com Beating The College of New Jersey was the perfect birthday present for Rowan head coach Jay Accorsi who turned 41 on Friday. The Profs avenged last year's 22-20 loss to the Lions in the final minutes at Glassboro. Rowan came to Lions Stadium and returned the favor 35-20. The Profs pulled away with 21 unanswered points in the second half. The packed stadium crowd of over 5,300 provided such energy that it was felt down on the field. The opposing players were jawing at each other even before the game started. "Are you ready yellow? You better be ready yellow it's gonna be a long day," came the pronouncement from an unknown TCNJ voice in the middle of a circle of Lion football players at the entrance to the field. "Bring it," was the reply from Rowan players, who were already on the field. Both sides proceeded to "bring it" as there were numerous outstanding plays coupled with costly miscues for both sides. With the emotions so high there were also many penalties some of the flagrant variety that kept drives alive for both clubs. Rowan had 9 penalties for 79 yards and TCNJ had 9 penalties for 84 yards. "When you look for rivalry games, whether its division 1, 2, or 3 this [game] is a great deal if you are a fan. Unfortunately [tonight] it didn't go our way," said TCNJ head coach Eric Hamilton. "The three game between Montclair and us [Rowan and TCNJ] are important. It [NJAC title] usually comes down to one of us," he continued. "That week last year I had a bye [at East Carolina], so I caught the game [TCNJ] in Glassboro. I kinda knew what to expect," said of the rivalry Sakeen Wright. The Profs won the toss and drove the opening kickoff to the Lion 18-yard line before an errant Mike Orihel pass was picked off in the endzone by Lion safety John Sher at returned 74-yards to the Rowan 26 yard line. TCNJ only needed one play, a 26-yard pass option pass from running back Gregg Silvesti to wide receiver Joe Bergondo for the first TD at 11:20 in the first quarter. Rowan answered next with a 10 play 44-yard drive, ending in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Orihel to wide receiver Phil Silva at 4:03 to tie the score at 7-7. The short drive was the result of TCNJ punting from their 11-yard line. TCNJ answered with a touchdown and a field goal for a 17-7 advantage in the second quarter. Quarterback Jeff Struble ended an 11 play, 69 yard drive with a one yard TD carry. Bergondo had two catches, 34 and 13 yards, to put the Lions on the Profs' 33-yard line in the drive. Running Cory Schoonover recorded a 53-yard reception that led to a field goal. Blake Abbot's 23-yard field goal capped a 56 yard drive in six plays. It was his second field goal of the season. Late in the first half with 4th and 1 yard to go, TCNJ was called for too many men on the field. The penalty put Rowan on the Lion 34 yard line. Four plays later Orihel hit wide receiver Sakeen Wright with a 28-yard touchdown pass. TCNJ's next drive, the last of the half, ended with Abbot kicking a 43-yard field goal to make the score 20-14. In the third quarter, the Profs went up 21-20 after sophomore linebacker Aaron McCord returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a touchdown at 10:30. Bergondo's punt was blocked by junior tight end Brian Jenkins. Rowan recovered a muffed fair catch by Bergondo to start the drive of Wright's second touchdown catch of eight yards at 11:43 in the final quarter. Rowan running back Pat Thompson capped the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run with 3:53 left in the game. The drive covered 11 plays and 78 yards. Orihel finished the game with 351 passing yards on a 29-of-50 performance with four touchdown passes. Junior Sakeen Wright had six catches for 88 yards with two scores on the night. "You can't expect [performances] like we had at West Conn every week. That is makes games like this [TCNJ] special. We kinda had a little chip on our shoulder for this one. It was an up and down battle the whole game," said Orihel. TCNJ's rookie quarterback Jeff Struble had a career best performance in the loss as he finished with 224 on 13-of-25 with one rushing touchdown. For Rowan, freshman linebacker Randy Tosh finished with a game-high 12 tackles, including a sack (-12 yards). Senior linebacker Mike Seidenberg had eight tackles, while junior end Brian Bond added seven stops with three sacks (-12 yards). "We did a little bit of blitzing, but for the most part we played them straight up. They had some good wide receivers so we wanted to keep our [defensive backs in coverage]," said Brian Bond referring to the pressure put on the TCNJ passing game. "I was very pleased. We didn't go with a lot of man [coverage]. We mixed zone with man in order to give them different looks," said head coach Jay Accorsi. On defense, TCNJ's senior defensive end Michael Sykes had 11 tackles, while also forcing a fumble, while linebacker Josh Baker had 10 stops with a fumble recovery. Prof are away at DII Virginia State at 1:30. It is Virginia State's homecoming game.

Profs NJAC Hopes Begin With Lions College of NJ 2003 Highlights Play WGLS-FM audio highlights By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com Here we are again. Do we get yet another down to the wire contest? Last year Profs' hopes of a third straight NJAC title and a playoff bid were effectively dashed last October in Glassboro by the Lions. Hopefully Rowan's tough early games have them better prepared for the bitter local foe. Its a must win game especially given Montclair's... ahem... difficult eight game schedule. This is the 46th meeting between Rowan and The College of New Jersey. The Profs lead the series, 28-15-2. Last year, Rowan lost to TCNJ, 22-20 at home. It was the Profs' first loss in the last six meetings with the Lions. Quarterback Bob Schutz completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Alan Kotteles to put the TCNJ up 22-20 with 1:34 left. Schurtz had 179 yards passing with 13 completions in 24 attempts. He also scored with a two yard run. Kotteles finished the game with three catches for 52 yards. Rowan quarterback Mike Orihel threw 13 completions in 26 attempts for 185 yards and one touchdown. Pat Thompson carried the ball 18 times for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The score was tied at seven going into the fourth quarter. At 8:09 in the 4th Damian Shaddow made a 20-yard field, but the Profs were incorrectly penalized for not enough men on the line. The officials failed to account for an unbalanced line and the subsequent 25-yard field goal attempt failed. With 4:12 left, Orihel completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Endre Racz to lead 20-16. TCNJ rolled over Southern Virginia, 61-0 last week. Starting quarterback Jeff Struble passed for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterbacks Nick D'Aconti and Chris Bell each threw a TD pass. Cory Schoonover carried the ball 10 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Leeaire Brown, Spencer Gaskill and Derek Thompson each had a TD rushing. Brown also had a touchdown reception along with Joe Bergondo. This week Struble has earned the start at quarterback. He has played in every game along with D'Aconti. Struble is the conference leader with a 164.8 pass efficiency. Kotteles (18.3 ypc) and Bergondo (5.8 ypc) are the starting receivers. They have two TD receptions apiece. Gregg Silvesti is the leader in the backfield with 78.3 yards per game. The Lions' 150.7 yards rushing per game is second in the conference. In the NJAC, TCNJ is first in scoring defense (4.7 ppg), pass defense (52.0 ypg), rushing defense (73.0 ypg), total defense (125.0 ypg) and pass defense efficiency (52.5). The Lions have forced six turnovers, four interceptions and two fumbles. In the NCAA statistics, TCNJ is second in the nation in total defense and pass efficiency defense, fourth in scoring defense and 20th in rushing defense. Kicker Blake Abbot has nine points with six PATs (eight attempts) and one field goal (four attempts). His field goal was 23 yards. Bergondo is averaging 34.3 yards per punt and is third in the NJAC statistics. On kick returns, Steve Andrews is averaging 23.5 yards. Joe Bergondo has taken seven punt returns and has a 5.6 average. Orihel is averaging 294.3 yards per game good for second in the conference. He is also ranked second in total offense (302.0 ypg) and third in pass efficiency (153.8). In the NCAA stats, Orihel was 11th in the nation in total offense and 25th in pass efficiency. In the team stats, Rowan is 11th in passing offense (294.3 ypg) and 34th in total offense (423.7 ypg). Silva and Berry are averaging 5.3 and 5.0 receptions per game respectively and they are fourth and fifth in the NJAC. Pat Thompson is third in the conference with 97.3 yards pegame. Rowan's 34.3 points per game is second in the NJAC. The Profs are also second inpass offense (294.3) and total offense (423.7). In the last game, Seidenberg went over to defense after starting at tight end. He also handled the team's punting duties. End Brian Bond has recorded five tackles for a loss and three were sacks. His 1.0 sack average is fourth in the conference. McClain has contributed with one interception, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. He is tied for eighth in the NJAC with a 6.0 tackle average. Damian Shaddow is third in scoring with 15 points. He is perfect with nine PATs (nine attempts) and two field goals (two attempts). Rob Richardson is averaging 21.6 yards on kick returns. His average is second in the conference. Each of the last three years, the Profs have come into the TCNJ contest with gaudy offensive stats, only to come away 2-1. All three could have gone either way. Each team and their fans dislike the other. Count on beer soaked, blue painted frat boys making a lot of noise and verbally harassing all visiting Prof fans within earshot. The energy of the crowd will make its way down to the field to the players, who will also be jawing with each other throughout the game. Who cares about Rutgers? This game has the atmosphere and it has been one of the best rivalry games in the State. Montclair might be an equal as far as conference rival but they pale in comparison because of the lack of a fan base. Look for a lot of two safety looks from TCNJ, I think they will try to prevent the big pass play while relying on their front four to stop the Prof running game and get pressure on Orihel. Oriel has looked a lot more comfortable with offense. He utilized nine different receivers against Western Connecticut. Ball control and field position will be the key to keeping the Lions in check. Cheap scores have kept the Lions too close the past 3 years. Rowan has been getting a lot more pressure on the quarterback this year over last. They'll need to rattle the freshman Struble and get him out of rhythm. He's quick and mobile. If the Profs can rush for over 100 yards and keep All-American DE Michael Sykes out of the backfield, Rowan should be in good shape. Last year, Sykes and friends kept Orihel on the run. Can the Rowan get rolling early and force TCNJ to blitz? This might be the pull away game that the stats on paper say it should be, it really depends on the score at halftime. A close one or a big win? See you in Ewing.

Mmmm a QB sandwich. Tastes like chicken. Photo by Tom Wilson #94 Ed Kunder on the sack of #3 Jeff Struble. Photo by Tom Wilson The Rowan oline makes everything go. Photo by Tom Wilson DB #1 Jabrill Joseph tackles RB #1 Leeaire Brown. Photo by Tom Wilson Profs recover muffed fair catch deep in TCNJ territory. Profs would score a TD to go up 28-20. Photo by Tom Wilson

 

Rowan 3 - 1	35
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College of NJ 3 - 1	20
Oct 1, 2004 Lions Stadium Ewing, NJ 7:00 PM
Listen to the Game on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM Pregame Show 6PM

NJAC Week #5

NJAC Week #4