Ewing, NJ ….. The race in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings gained a little clarity on Saturday, unfortunately for The College of New Jersey it was The College at Brockport that improved its positioning, coming away with a 14-3 win over the Lions.
 
The day began with four teams with only one loss in league play and the Golden Eagles remained in the hunt for the league title by moving to 4-1, while TCNJ dropped to 3-2. Overall, the Lions are an even 4-4, while Brockport moved to 5-3. The two other teams with one loss played on Saturday with Rowan University pulling out a 10-9 win over SUNY Cortland.
 
After leading 7-0 at the half, Brockport doubled that lead on its first drive of the new half marching 74 yards capped by a five-yard run by Dan Andrews (Rochester, NY/Franklin). Tyler Perna (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) extended that lead to 14-0 with a successful point after.
 
TCNJ cut into that lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when sophomore Evan Costello (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) knocked through a 25-yard field goal to make it 14-3.
 
After that score, TCNJ had two more drives in the final period looking to close the gap. The first time the Golden Eagles got the ball back on downs stopping the Lions at the 11, while the other came when Brockport's Anthony Bianchi (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) intercepted a pass at his own 36.
 
Brockport accounted for the only points in the opening half as quarterback Wayne Bonsell (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) scored on an 11-yard run. Perna kicked the extra point putting the Golden Eagles out to a 7-0 lead with 7:32 left in the second quarter.
 
Both teams had other chances to score, but missed on field-goal opportunities and Brockport had a long drive in the closing minutes halted when Lion safety Erik Trost (East Windsor, NJ/Notre Dame) intercepted a Bonsell offering at TCNJ's 11.
 
TCNJ's defense once again turned in another steady performance holding Brockport, the NJAC's top-scoring offense at 33.6 points per game, to their lowest output in a month. The Lions entered the game leading the conference in scoring defense, allowing 14.6 points per game.
 
Senior linebacker Nick Bricker (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) reached double figures in tackles for the third straight game, finishing with 13 stops, leaving him just  three shy of reaching 100 in a season for the second time in his career. Sophomore Matthew Fleck (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton) added six solo tackles and eight overall.
 
Andrews finished with 101 yards on the ground for the Golden Eagles on 16 attempts with one touchdown, while Bonsell accounted for 259 yards through the air on 21-of-35 passes.
 
Running back Victor Scalici (Freehold, NJ/Colts Neck) led TCNJ with 53 yards on 12 carries, while Brad Young (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) added 43 yards. Senior Fred Sprengel (Wall, NJ/Wall) caught six passes for 85 yards.
 
Bianchi led all players with 14 tackles and had two pass break-ups to go along with his interception.
 
Prior to their final home game of the season, the Lions honored their seniors with a brief ceremony honoring them for their hard work, dedication, and pride to the program. Playing their final game on the turf at Lions' Stadium were Chris McLaughlin (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East), Ryan Lowe (Howell, NJ/Howell), Vincent Nocera (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville), Matthew Chierici (Towaco, NJ/Montville), Bricker, Sean Clark (May's Landing, NJ/St. Joseph's Hammonton), Joseph Conklin (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert), Trost, Patrick Kimball (Seaville, NJ/Ocean City), Kevin Barry (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), Matt Howard (Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock), Justin Bruso (Verona, NJ/Vernona), Sprengel, Ryan Baranowsky (Moorestown, NJ/Bishop Eustace), and Mike Barber (Hammonton, NJ/Absegami).
 
TCNJ plays the first of its two final road games on Saturday, November 9 heading to William Paterson University for a 1 p.m. start, while the Golden Eagles return home to entertain Montclair State University.