Gameday Week 11/10/2005 - Game #9 WPU

NJAC Title Three-peat as Profs Roll 38-7 By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com Rowan secured its third straight NJAC title and the automatic NCAA playoff bid with a 38-7 victory over William Paterson last Saturday. Granted William Paterson is 1-9, but they significantly upgraded their schedule by adding Hobart, Muhlenberg, and Buffalo State, while dropping Husson, Mount Ida, and Plymouth State. Stick the Pioneers in the Liberty League or the E8 and they are a .500 team. For 1-9 they’re not a bad club. They have injuries and lack depth. I don’t want to temper what I see as the Profs offense starting to click at the right time. Mike Orihel goes 19-32 for 222 yards and a touchdown. Rowan also had 161 yards rushing on 36 attempts for 383 yards of total offense. Better yet, the 19 receptions were spread around to six different receivers for an 11.6 ypc average. Dustin Katcher led the team with 7 grabs for 73 yards, followed Emory Lester who tallied 65 yards and one touchdown on five catches. Jonathan Downes led the superbacks with 38 yards on five carries and three touchdowns. Downes also returned two kickoffs for 53 yards. Davon Edwards and Rob Richardson followed with nine carries for 43 yards and six carries for 41 yards respectively. The offense also turned one of the three defensive turnovers into a touchdown. With 3:57 left in the half Dawaine Whetstone intercepted a pass on the Profs 17-yard line. Rowan proceeded on an 11-play, 83-yard drive culminating in a 10-7 halftime lead. Defensively Rowan put up another good effort forcing three turnovers, returning an one for a touchdown of their own. Linebacker Aaron McCord returned a pick 21 yards for a touchdown with seven minutes remaining in the game. Linebackers Andrew Yezzi and Chris Pinto and defensive tackle Ed Kunder each made eight tackles. Yezzi also had a sack. Ed Kunder and Sal Calaciura each had a sack. Defensive end Keith Heimerl recorded two sacks. Linebacker Aaron McCord had an interception for a touchdown and defensive backs Tim Harrison and Dawaine Whetstone each had one interception. They held the Pioneers to 190 of total offense, with five sacks and three interceptions. Rowan received the forth seed in the Eastern region of the NCAA playoffs and will host fith seed Hobart at noon this coming Saturday.

Season On The Line Against WPU By Tom Wilson JT@rowanfootball.com In 2005 William Paterson beat Rowan 20-19. The Profs went from the number one seed in the NCAA East bracket to fourth. This cost Rowan the opportunity to have home field advantage until the Stagg Bowl. Instead of one home playoff game against Wilkes and three on the road ending with a 19-7 semi-final loss to Mount Union in Alliance, OH, the Profs would have hosted all every game, including Mount Union for the first time in their match-up history. That should be it. I shouldn’t have to write anymore. Are you angry yet? How about lose tonight to the Pioneers in the Boro and Cortland is the NJAC Champions and Rowan is eliminated from the playoffs. Oh and William Paterson got pounded by Monclair 44-9 allowing 513 yards of offense last week. The Pioneers have no reason not to leave everything they have on John Page Field tonight. The weather will be in the low 50’s with little or no wind. So it will be a good night for football. William Paterson is next to last in the league in rushing defense (168.4 ypg), scoring offense (16.9 ppg), total offense (211.1 ypg) and scoring defense (27.4 ppg). The Pioneers are last in passing defense (192.4 ypg), rushing offense (79.1 ypg), and total defense (360.9 ypg). However, they are the least penalized team in the league (33.1 ypg), third in turnover margin (0.67 pg), and first in red-zone offense scoring 84.2% of the time. WPU has ten touchdowns in the red-zone and has converted on 6 of 7 field goal attempts. What this game boils down to is how many easy scoring opportunities is Rowan going to allow? This is a well coached team. The Pioneers may not match up talent wise, but they’ll capitalize on mistakes. With the exception of the Wilkes and Montclair blowout, William Paterson has hung with teams. In fact, they were close to defeating the regionally fifth ranked Hobart team in week three. Hobart had to erase a 21-7 halftime deficit and hold on to win 31-27. Rowan needs to take care business. Eliminate costly mistakes and keep improving on offense. A few upsets on Saturday by Cortland and or RPI should have the Profs looking at a least one playoff home game come this selection Sunday.