Ewing, NJ ….. Ursinus College scored 35 unanswered points in the second half to break open a tight game at the half and spoil the season opener for The College of New Jersey football team on Friday in a 47-7 win for the Bears.
 
TCNJ used a late touchdown in the first half to pull within 12-7, but the Bears scored four touchdowns in the third quarter, three of which came in a span of 2:09, and added another in the fourth to ice the win.
 
The Bears got the early jump on the Lions with a safety, followed by a 19-yard field goal by Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin) that gave the guests a 5-0 lead.
 
Ursinus recorded the first points in the second period when quarterback Kevin Monahan (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown) connected with Darius Jones (Lawnsdale, NJ/Haddon Heights) on a five-yard pass. Boyer added the extra point, pushing it to an 12-0 lead.
 
TCNJ's defense provided the home team with a spark as senior defensive back Matthew Fleck (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton) picked off a Monahan offering in the end zone. That not only ended the drive for the Bears, but gave the Lions a chance to get on the board with 1:50 left in the half.
 
The offense made the most of that interception as they marched 80 yards in nine plays with sophomore quarterback Michael Marchesano (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) engineering that drive. He completed four passes on that drive, the final covering 11 yards to senior co-captain Ryan Baranowsky (Moorestown, NJ/Biishop Eustace) that resulted in a touchdown with nine seconds left in the period. Sophomore Colin Cazzetta (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley) booted the point after pulling TCNJ to within 12-7.
 
The Lion defense came up with another big play before the end of the half when defensive back Christopher Westenhiser (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) intercepted another Bear pass to prevent any further scoring.
 
The Bears made it 19-7 midway through the third with Monahan tossing his second touchdown of the game from five yards.
 
Monahan then took to the ground for the next score, scrambling in from the eight-yard-line.
 
Ursinus then benefitted from two defensive touchdowns, returning interceptions to the end zone on consecutive possessions to increase the lead to 40-7.
 
The final score came in the fourth period when running back Corey Kelly (Conshohocken, PA/Plymouth-Whitemarh) scored from the four.
 
Monahan finished the game going 23-for-33 through the air for 236 yards and a pair of scoring strikes.
 
Leading the Lions on the ground were Victor Scalisi (Freehold, NJ/Colts Neck) with 55 yards and Brad Young (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) scooted for 44.
 
Marchesano threw for 106 yards on 10 completions, with half of them going to Baranowsky for 48 yards.
 
Fleck led TCNJ's defense with 11 tackles and Jeffrey Skomsky (Maple Shade, NJ/Paul VI) compiled nine takedowns.
 
On defense for the Bears, junior Steve Ambs (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) recorded a game-high nine solo tackles and finished with a total of 14.
 
TCNJ takes to the road in the second week of the season for another Friday night contest at FDU-Florham on September 12. That game is at 7 p.m. The Bears will entertain Gettysburg College for their home opener on September 13 at 1 p.m.