Morrisville, NY ….. The College of New Jersey football team suffered a 41-13 setback to Morrisville State College in its New Jersey Athletic Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Drake Field.
 
The Lions (1-3, 0-1 NJAC) fell victim to a high-octane offense led by senior quarterback LeMar Johnson. The reigning NJAC Offensive Player of the Year rushed for four touchdowns and threw for another as the Mustangs improved to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in league play.
 
Freshman Khani Glover (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) and sophomore Jeff Mattonelli (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) scored touchdowns for TCNJ as they will look to get back on track next week when they host SUNY Cortland. The Lions will need to tighten up on mistakes as they committed three turnovers and were flagged for 10 penalties for 101 yards.
 
The leading offense in the conference got on the scoreboard with 5:12 remaining in the first quarter. On second and one, Johnson raced 67 yards for his longest touchdown score of the season. The point after failed, but the Mustangs held a 6-0 lead.
 
Near the end of the opening period, Lion sophomore John Magi (Ledgewood, NJ/Roxbury) stripped the ball from receiver Josh Powell following a reception and junior Martin Flatley (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-South) recovered the fumble at the Lions' 20-yard line. On the ensuing drive, sophomore Michael Marchesano (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) hit senior Ryan Baranowsky (Moorestown, NJ/Bishop Eustace) for a 20-yard pass completion to put TCNJ at the Morrisville 35. The drive stalled and junior Evan Costello (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) pinned the Mustangs back at their eight-yard line on the punt.
 
Just over five minutes into the second quarter, Morrisville struck again with another big play. Running back Crisitian Pena hit Powell with a 54-yard touchdown pass to put the host up 13-0 after the extra point.
 
Johnson led the Mustangs on an 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive to cap the scoring before halftime. The big play was a 27-yard pass reception to Anthony Gray on fourth-and-nine from the Lions' 31. On the next snap, Johnson punched it in from four yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the contest.
 
Trailing 27-0 in the third, sophomore Jordan Rogers (Long Branch, NJ/Long Branch) returned the kickoff 34 yards. Junior quarterback Dylan Cottrell (Freehold, NJ/Assumption) hit junior tight end Andrew Lachawiec (Belford, NJ/Middletown North) for a 33-yard pass play before Glover carried for eight yards. He then busted loose for his second rushing score of the season.
 
Morrisville tacked on two more touchdowns off the legs of Johnson to match its conference-leading average of 41 points per game. Johnson finished 19-of-29 for 235 yards passing and gained 115 rushing yards on 14 carries.
 
Late in the fourth quarter, freshman quarterback Trevor Osler (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) led the Lions on an impressive scoring drive that spanned 90 yards on 13 plays. He was a perfect seven-for-seven and hit Mattonelli with a 35-yard scoring strike for his first collegiate touchdown pass.
 
Senior Matthew Fleck (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton) led TCNJ with 13 tackles (seven solo) and a pair of pass break-ups in the game. Junior Zack Vasilenko (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan) added 11 takedowns and linebacker Sean Kley (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) finished with nine tackles.
 
On offense, sophomore Frank Fuccello (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) rushed for 64 yards on 13 carries, while Glover gained 52 yards on the ground. Mattonelli led the receiving corps with five catches for 57 yards, while Conor Mulholland (North Wall, NJ/Wall) and Sam Paladino (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) finished with three receptions.
 
TCNJ and SUNY Cortland will square off for the final time in conference play next Saturday at noon in Lions Stadium. The Red Dragons will move to the Empire 8 next fall.
 
Note: The College of New Jersey and the Lions' football family lost a legendary figure on Friday. Robert Salois was the head football coach at Trenton State College from 1957 – 1972. He was a health and exercise science professor and also served as head baseball and golf coach. But football was his passion and a platform from which he impacted the lives of so many young men. Salois was inducted into the TCNJ Alumni/Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. His last trip to campus was in 2012 when he attended the hall of fame event to see his 1963 team enshrined. Coach Salois will be missed by many.
 
Services will be in Florida. A group of his former players is planning to coordinate a gathering in New Jersey in his honor.