Gameday 10/15/2006 - Game #5 Buffalo State

Profs Grind Up Bengals 35-7 By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com The Rowan football team played its first complete game on Sunday. The Profs made some changes during the week of practice. The offense started to click. The offense pounded out 247 yards on the ground on 52 carries for 4.8 yards per attempt. Before the contest the Profs only had 44 first downs in the first four games, yesterday Rowan added 22 first downs while converting on 11 of 16 third down opportunities. The Profs held the ball for 33:28. Coach Jay Accorsi spoke about some of the changes the team made this past week in his pregame coach's show on WGLS-FM. He explained that he did not expect certain problems to continue as long as they have into the season, but that they'll keep working on improvements and finding the right mix of players in the offensive rotation. One change was to move offensive coordinator Tom Doddy from the sidelines to the booth in order for Doddy to better see the same things Mike Orihel is seeing during the game. Wide receivers coach Doug Volovar has moved from the booth to the sidelines to better assist the younger receivers during the game. The Profs will also be incorporating more shorter drops and quicker passing plays into the game plan. Rob Richardson led the backs with 88 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. John Impagliazzo rushed for 69 yards on 14 attempts. Impagliazzo also caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Davon Edwards carried 13 times for 52 yards and a touchdown. Orihel surpassed Ed Hesson as the all-time passing leader in Rowan football history with 7,038 yards. Hesson passed for 7,035 yards from 1990-1993. Orihel was 11 of 22 for 124 yards and one touchdown. Wideouts Emory Lester and Jim Migliori each caught 3 passes for 44 yards. Joe Rankin came in towards the end of the game and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Eisenhardt with 4:12 remaining in the game and icing the win 35-7. The Rowan defense held Buffalo State to 28-yards rushing and 113 total yards. The Profs had three sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. Linebackers Chris Pinto and Zach Garren each recorded six tackles. Cornerback Jabrill Joseph, tackle Ed Kunder and end Justin Hinds had five stops each. Linebacker Andrew Yezzi recorded two sacks and Hinds had one. Defensive backs Dawaine Whetstone and David Cafasso each had one interception. They remain the number one team in the nation in rushing and total defense. Rowan took their second possession 62 yards on an 11-play drive culminating in an eight-yard touchdown run by Davon Edwards at 8:06 in the first quarter. The extra point failed. In the second quarter the Profs went on a 16-play, 86-yard drive ending in a five-yard Rob Richardson touchdown run. The extra point failed again. The Profs scored one more time before the half when Dawaine Whetstone intercepted a Dan Aquilio pass at the Rowan 29 and returned it 34 yards to the Bengal 37-yard line. Mike Orihel completed a 33-yard pass to Emory Lester to the four-yard line. Daniel Roberts kicked a 22-yard field goal to put Rowan up 15-0. Buffalo State's Jason Brown took the second half kickoff 46-yards to the Rowan 45. The Bengals proceeded on a 16-play drive and after being aided by a bad pass interference call on the Profs, scored their only touchdown. The Profs took the next possession 61-yards for a touchdown. The scoring play was a 3-yard pass from Orihel to Impagliazzo. The extra point was good for a 22-7 lead. Defensive back Dave Cafasso intercepted an Aquilio pass and returned it 11-yards to the Buffalo 9-yard line. Five plays later Orihel ran it in from the one. Once again the extra point was missed, making the score 28-7. Profs host Kean Cougars for Homecoming next Saturday at 2 PM.

 

Rowan Looking To Get On Track By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com In the NJAC, Buffalo State (1-4) is third in total offense while Rowan is a surprising sixth. The Bengals average 118 more yards per game (318.8 vs. 200.2). However the Profs are first in total defense while Buffalo in seventh (134.0 vs. 364.8). Last week, Rowan struggled offensively against TCNJ. The Lions are second in the NJAC total defense. If the Rowan offense is going to get rolling, it should begin in Buffalo on Saturday. The Profs should be able to move the ball. Buffalo State is sixth in the league in pass defense allowing 183.4 yards per game. They’ve allowed nine touchdowns via the pass in five games. The Bengals also have allowed 32.2 points per game and they are last in sacks with seven. Buffalo State seems to have a decent offense, but they are just averaging just 3.5 more points per game (21.0 vs. 17.5) than Rowan. James Perkins and Dan Lopez are the Bengal rushing tandem. They have almost identical stats, each has 53 carries and three touchdowns. Combined they’ve rushed for 477 yards. Junior quarterback Dan Aquilio leads the offense. He has completed 59 of 126 pass attempts and has a 122.5 pass efficiency rating. Aquilio has thrown at least one touchdown in four of the Bengals’ first five games. He is third in the NJAC in passing (203.6) and total offense (202.0) and fifth in pass efficiency. Wide receiver Greg Meyer is Buffalo State’s top receiver. He leads the conference in receiving yards per game (82.8). He has totaled 414 yards and four touchdowns on 17 catches. Meyer made 10 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns in Buffalo State’s 50-30 loss to Kean University. For his effort, he was named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Week. Meyer is joined by wide receivers Jason Brown and Dan McEntire. Brown has 192 yards and one touchdown on 10 grabs, while McEntire has totaled 184 yards on 11 receptions. Tight end Tom Cocker has also contributed 57 yards on six catches. He was named to the All-ACFC first team last year. I don’t expect Aquilio to have as much time to throw on Saturday and I expect the Profs defense to minimize Meyer’s efforts. Rowan has been very good at stopping the run and they lead the league in sacks with 23. Buffalo State should be in a lot of second or third and longs during the game. The Bengals are –5 in turnover margin while the Profs are +9. Rowan is averaging a sub par 200.2 offensive yards per game. Their 44 total first downs are last in the NJAC. Buffalo looks to be cure for what ails the Prof offense. Hopefully, looks aren’t deceiving and Rowan finds their groove.