Box Score

TCNJ ADVANCES IN NCAA'S WITH 17-14 WIN OVER RPI ON DALESSIO'S FIELD GOAL

FINAL SCORE: The College of New Jersey 17; Rensselaer 14
Rensselaer (8-2, 6-1 Liberty) vs. The College of New Jersey (9-2, 6-1 NJAC)
November 17, 2007; '86 Field, Troy, NY

Troy, NY (11/17/07) – The College of New Jersey's senior kicker Matt Dalessio (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) added a 27-yard field goal with 0:13 left to play to propel the Lions in the NCAA Division III Football Championship past the host Engineers of Rensselaar 17-14 on Saturday afternoon at '86 Field before a crowd of 419. With the win, TCNJ improves to 9-2 on the year, while RPI's season comes to an end at 8-2. TCNJ will now travel to Mount Union College (Alliance, OH) for the second round of the tournament for a noon contest with the Raiders on Saturday, November 24. Mount Union advanced after posting a 42-18 win over Ithaca also in the first round.

RPI struck first on their possession driving 61 yards to cap a nine-play drive and held a 7-0 lead after freshman running back Nick Costa (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) at 11:38.

Sophomore quarterback Chris James (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) found classmate Cameron Richardson (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) from 35 yards out to put the Lions on the scoreboard at 1:24 and a point after by senior kicker Dalessio tied the score at 7-7. The score was the sixth of the fall for Richardson.

Sophomore running back Chase Misiura (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) carried the ball four times on the drive, including a 31-yarder play to put the Lions on RPI's side of the field.

Costa would add to the Engineers' scoring output on the day adding his second score on a three-yard rush to cap a 78-yard drive with 5:22 left in the first half of play.

Dalessio would attempt a 44-yard field goal with 1:08 left before the half and would miss as the ball fell short and to the right.

Misiura came up with a big play after TCNJ was forced to punt on their first possession and on a fumble came up with the recovery to start the Lions' drive on the RPI 19. The Lions would have to settle for a 31-yard field goal attempt which was partially blocked by sophomore defensive back Joe Albano (Dalton, MA) at 11:30 in the third leaving the score at RPI 14-7.

Senior back Andrew Larkin (Hamilton Square, NJ/Notre Dame) picked off RPI's junior quarterback Jimmy Robertson (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) in the end zone in the third quarter for his seventh interception of the year and halted an Engineer drive.

On the next drive TCNJ was able to gain the back when on the punt return Nick Steffner (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) forced a fumble and Joe Spahn (Burlington, NJ/Florence) came up with the recovery to start the drive for TCNJ on the RPI 43 yards line at 13:11 in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately the Lions could not make the most of the opportunity as James was sacked on third and 23 by junior lineman Nick Casale (Waterford, NY) and TCNJ was forced to punt. The sack was the third of the day for Casale.

Robertson would add an 83 yard pass play to senior receiver Brendan McGowan (Mesa, AZ) in the Engineers' next drive and put RPI deep in the Lions' territory. Robertson would surpass the 300 plus passing yards on the game on the play. Despite the great field position for the Engineers, TCNJ's defense held on and got the ball on downs with no points allowed on the play.

TCNJ would get into the RPI red zone on a key 22-yard pass to Zach Rinaldi (Burlington, NJ/Florence) and on the next play Chase Misiura would rush in from three yards our for his second score of the game and the made point after by Dalessio tied the score at 14-14 with 3:14 left to play. The drive was a 12-play, 90 yard drive that brought TCNJ back into the game in the final minutes of the contest.

On the kickoff, RPI's Tom Montano would fumble the ball and Michael Yetka (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) recovered to give the Lions the ball in RPI territory (RPI 44 yard line).

Dalessio would attempt a 47-yard field goal with 2:11 left to play and the ball would fall short of the goal post give the Engineers the ball again with two minutes remaining in regulation.

Senior defensive lineman Joe King (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) would sack Robinson on RPI's first play of the drive for a loss of 15 putting RPI at their own 15 yard line with 1:59 left to play.

RPI forced to punt relinquished the ball after a bad punt with 1:38 left as TCNJ would start the drive on the RPI 45.

After an offensive holding call on the Lions, James would find Yetka for a 20 pass play and a first down. With a 3-7 play on the line James found Chris Opdyke (Lambertville, NJ/Hunterdon Central) from 22 yards out to the far side yard line and gave the Lions a first and goal from the 10 yard line. The Lions would send in Dalessio to attempt a 27 yard field goal with 12.8 seconds left and give TCNJ their first lead of the game 17-14 lead.

In the final seconds of the game, senior Dennis Morrone (Medford Lakes, NJ/Lenape Regional) would intercept Robinson to end the game and propel TCNJ to the next round.

For the game, James would complete 24-of-46 pass attempts for 238 yards with a touchdown. RPI's Robertson was 20-34 with two interceptions and 324 yards passing on the day, including six passes to McGowan for 155 yards and four passes to junior Eren Savasli (Brooklyn, NY) for 101 yards.

Misiura had 10 carries for 53 yards, while helping TCNJ to combine for 366 yards of total offense while yielding 321 on the day. The 14 points allowed by the Lions marked the ninth time in 11 games TCNJ held an opponent to 15 or fewer points this fall.

On defense, TCNJ's was led by junior Marc Fabiano (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) as he had five tackles, while Spahn and King each netted five stops on the day. King added two more sacks to his growing career resume that now includes 33.5 career sacks for -299 yards. RPI entered the game having just given away 11 turnovers all season before TCNJ's unit forced five in the contest en route to the win.

TCNJ is now 4-4 lifetime in the NCAA's since first appearing in 1990.

RPI's senior linebacker Anthony Casale (Troy, NY/Troy) led the Engineer's with his game-high 18 stops, while Nick Casale added 10 stops.

TCNJ travels to Mount Union College (Alliance, OH) for the second round of the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships as Mount Union beat Ithaca College 42-18 in another first round contest on Saturday. Mount Union, the defending NCAA Division III Champions and winners of nine previous NCAA titles, brings an 11-0 record into the game, while also riding a 34-game win streak. Kickoff is set for noon on November 24 at Mount Union Stadium.