Ewing, NJ ….. Rowan University locked up an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament as the Profs held off The College of New Jersey football team 14-6 on Friday.
 
The Profs (6-1 NJAC, 7-3) pulled into a tie with Morrisville State in the conference standings, but Rowan claimed the NCAA bid thanks to its win over the Mustangs earlier in the season.
 
TCNJ finished the season at 2-8 and 1-6 in the conference.
 
The visitors led 14-0 heading into the final quarter, but the Lions took a chunk out of that lead when freshman quarterback Trevor Osler (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) plunged into the end zone on a sneak from the one-yard line. That was Osler's first career touchdown and came on the third play of the fourth quarter.
 
The Profs prevented TCNJ from getting any closer, allowing the Lions only five plays from scrimmage for the remainder of the game.
 
Prof running back Withler Marcelin (Ocean Twp., NJ/Ocean Twp.) played a big role throughout as he carried the ball 41 times for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
 
The only points in the first half came on a 16-yard run by Marcelin, who took the handoff and burst outside on his way to the far corner of the end zone. Freshman Tyler Knighton (Gibbstown, NJ/Paulsboro) added the point after for a 7-0 lead. That score came with 7:54 left in the opening period.
 
Osler finished with 144 passing yards on 14-of-29, with Ryan Baranowsky (Moorestown, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) hauling in five of those attempts for 45 yards.
 
While Marcelin had a nice ground game, TCNJ's pass defense was solid. The Lions limited the Profs to only 35 passing yards on six completions.
 
Junior linebacker Sean Kley (Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley) led all players with 11 tackles, six of which were solo stops. Juniors Matthew Flatley (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) and Zach Vasilenko (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan) each finished with nine tackles.
 
The game also marked the final home game for 20 seniors. That group was honored in a brief ceremony prior to the start of the contest. Recognized were Baranowsky, Craig Cicardo (Forked River, NJ/ University of Rhode Island), Chris Westenhiser (Randolph, NJ/Randolph), Joseph Urciuoli (Matawan, NJ/Matawan), Johne Ringo (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg), Kevin Brune (Princeton, NJ/Montgomery), Brad Young (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill), Frank Fuccello (Trenton, NJ/Trenton), Matthew Fleck (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton), Thomas Masi (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South), Alexander Deluise (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central), Brandon Harper (Basking Ridge, NJ/Immaculata), Jake Weiss (Flander, NJ/Mount Olive), Abayomi Arowolo (Jersey City, NJ/West Orange), Sean Clarry (Glen Ridge, NJ/Glen Ridge), Ryan Bartel (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern), Alexander Rodrigues (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson), Justin Meyer (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus), Joseph Amodio (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington) and Shaun O'Donnell (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury).