Box Score Box Score

FINAL SCORE:;The College of New Jersey 41, Morrisville State 31
Morrisville State College (0-3, 0-3 NJAC) vs. The College of New Jersey (2-1, 2-0 NJAC)
September 27, 2008; Lions' Stadium; Ewing, NJ

Ewing, NJ (9/27/08) – In a game filled with plenty of offense, it was a pair of key defensive plays by The College of New Jersey that lifted the Lions to a 41-31 victory over Morrisville State on Saturday in the first meeting between the two programs. TCNJ now stands at 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, while Morrisville State College drops to 0-3 overall and 0-3 in the league.

TCNJ's Ryan Flannery (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) blocked a potential game-tying field goal midway through the fourth quarter and minutes later the team's defense denied the Mustangs on fourth-and-three in Lion territory to secure the win.

The Lion offense then sealed the win marching the length of the field capped with a 78-yard drive as sophomore running back Michael Yetka (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) rushed in from one-yard out with 43 seconds left to play in the contest.

The Lions got on the board first thanks to an interception deep in Morrisville territory by Justin Beres (Galloway, NJ/Holy Spirit). Four plays later, junior Chase Misiura (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) plunged his way into the end zone from a yard out with 1:24 remaining in the opening period. Junior kicker, Marc Zucconi (Marlton, NJ/Holy Cross) added the point after for a 7-0 advantage.

Both teams had their offenses in high gear in the second as the Mustangs tied the score as Mel Betts (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) cross the goal line on a seven-yard run. The point after by Kyle Ippolito (Williamsville, NY/Clarence) pulled the visitors even.

TCNJ reclaimed the lead less than two minutes later as Yetka ran the ball in from the three. Zucconi again knocked the PAT through for a 14-7 Lion lead.

Morrisville countered with a score on its next drive as senior quarterback Bill Poling (Waretrown, NY/Southern Regional) tossed a short strike to tight end Louis Nauditt (Campbell Hall, NY/Valley Central). That score covered six yards and came on third down. Ippolito pulled the Mustangs even at 14 kicking the conversion.

The Lions took the lead for good later in the half as junior quarterback Chris James (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) hit fired a 27-yard scoring strike to junior Colin Weber (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) from 27 yards out. Zucconi then closed out the scoring kicking the extra point and later booting a 30-yard field goal putting TCNJ in front 24-14 at the half.

Zucconi started the scoring in the second half for the Lions kicking a career-best 37-yard field goal to open the scoring.

The Mustangs used a big play to keep things close as Poling connected with senior Eddie Hull (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) on a play that covered 57 yards. The extra point made it a 27-21 game with 2:39 expired in the new half.

The scoring continued as the Lions marched down the field and James snuck just inside the flag on the far side for another touchdown pushing the lead to 34-21.

After an Ippolito field goal made it 34-24 late in the third, Morrisville creeped even closer as Daryle McClenic (Amityville, NY/Roosevelt) ran the ball in from four yards and the Ippolito PAT made it a 34-31 contest.

In a series of miscues by both teams, the Lions would emerge with the ball last with 4:46 to play and with junior quarterback Bill Picatagi (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) in for the injured James, the Lions capped the scoring with a 9-play drive and took a 10 point lead with less than a minute left to play.

For the game, James was 22-34 with 244 passing yards and one touchdown, marking his fifth career 200+ passing performance. Picatagi was 4-6 with 33 passing yards for the Lions as they racked up 409 yards of total offense.

Junior wide receiver Cameron Richardson (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) added his first 100+ receiving game of the fall and the second of his career as he had eight catches for 104 yards. Junior Jeff deZutter (Bedminster, NJ/Bernards) added 58 yards on six catches, while Yetka added 54 receiving yards on three catches and Weber added 39 yards on three catches with a 27 touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Junior running back Chase Misuira added 88 rushing yards on 11 carries with a long of 55 yards late in the game that set up the Lions' final scoring drive of the game.

For the Mustangs, Poling, who was also injured late in the game, racked up 283 passing yards on a 15-28 effort with two TD strikes. He hit Hull 10 times for 186 yards, while rookie Wendall Williams (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) added 95 yards on four catches with a long of 46 yards.

On defense, the Lions got nine tackles each from junior Paul Mychalczuk (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) and Beres, while Beres racked up a 21-yard interception return. Junior tri-captain Marc Fabiano (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) also added eight stops with a sack for -8 yards. Morrisville's sophomore linebacker EJ Maeweather (Syracuse, NY/Cass Tech) racked up a game-high 11 tackles with forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Freshman Elizear Torres (Bronx, NY/South Bronx) added nine tackles with a pair of breakups in the contest.

TCNJ returns to action on October 3 hosting NJAC opponent Kean University at 7 p.m. in Lions' Stadium, while Morrisville State will host Western Connecticut State University on October 4 at 1 p.m. in another NJAC match-up.