Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey football team dropped a 17-0 decision to Rowan University in its season finale in Lions Stadium.
A pair of touchdown passes by
Dante Pinckney led the Prof offense, while the second-ranked defense in the New Jersey Athletic Conference shut down the Lions' offense on a cold, windy night in Ewing, NJ.
The Lions (2-8) came out on the losing end for the first time in close to a month, while Rowan snapped a three-game skid to finish 6-4 overall. They forced four turnovers in the contest, two of which came through the air along with a pair of fumble recoveries.
TCNJ battled, but could find a steady rhythm moving the football. They managed just 11 first downs on a swarming Prof defense that compiled five sacks in the contest. Rowan held the Lions to 193 yards and just one visit to the red zone.
The majority of the game was played in the midfield. The TCNJ defense did a solid job containing the Rowan and permitted just 13 first downs and one trip to the red zone. But Pinckney threw TD passes of 29 and 30 yards to spearhead the victory.
After a scoreless first quarter that saw just a combined 107 total yards in the game, the Profs broke through with 13:06 remaining in the opening half. Following an interception by defensive back
Travelle Curry, Rowan marched 62 yards on six plays in just over three minutes. Pinckney found
Kevin Lenart in the end zone with a 29-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive and give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Later in the period, Rowan capitalized on another TCNJ turnover. Defensive lineman
Nick Fromhold forced a fumble at the end of the play and recovered it in Lions' territory. The Profs chewed up 37 yards on eight plays to set up a 22-yard field goal by
Tyler Knighton.
TCNJ put together a methodical drive midway through the third period. On third-and-two, junior
Chad Scott (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) broke two tackles and raced down the middle of the field for a 39-yard gain. But three plays later, an interception by
Ryan Brenner at the eight-yard line halted the drive as he returned it 29 yards to the Rowan 37.
Late in the third period, Pinckney threw a well-timed pass up the seam to
Jamel Smith for a 30-yard touchdown. That pushed the Prof lead to 17-0 and would be all the scoring in the contest.
Playing in his final home game, senior
Robert Burns (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) piled up a game-high nine tackles to lead the defense. Junior
Troy Domenick (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) finished with seven tackles, while sophomore
Jesse Streb (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), and junior
Shane Kelley (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) registered six takedowns. Kelley also forced a fumble that was recovered by senior
Abdelrahman Ragab (Edison, NJ/Edison).
Scott rushed for 88 yards on 19 carries and quarterback
Trevor Osler (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) completed 16 passes for 109 yards. Senior
Jeff Mattonelli (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert), junior Thomas Koenig (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional), and
Chase Vena (Tabernacle, NJ/Senaca) each had three receptions in the game.
Prior to the game, a pair of senior student coaches joined 13 seniors in a pregame ceremony that honored those players taking the field in Lions Stadium for the final time. The 2016 TCNJ football senior class included:
Sean Carroll, John Magi, #1 Colin Cazzetta, #3 Drew Dickison, #15 Matthew Popek, #17 Jordan Rogers, #20 Jeff Mattonelli, #35 Erik Wehner, #51 Robert Burns, #52 Ben Keating, #56 Dan Naples, #62 Tom Cilla, #74 Hank Harvey, #90 Abdelrahman Ragab, and
#97 Brian Nagy.
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