UNION, N.J. – A pair of special teams touchdowns doomed the TCNJ football team to a 20-7 NJAC setback at Kean on Saturday.
The Lions (3-3, 2-1) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end despite a fierce defensive performance that held the Cougars without an offensive touchdown and limited them to a measly 132 total yards.
Kean (3-3, 3-0) managed to stay perfect in conference play thanks to the heroics of Donte Jamison, who had punt return touchdowns of 63 and 70 yards in the first half, the second of which put the Lions in a 17-0 hole. TCNJ battled back with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Bopp to Lucas Spitzer midway through the third and had chances late to cut it to a one-score deficit, but was turned away each time.
The Cougars took the opening drive 63 yards on the way to a field goal, and Jamison's first punt-return score extended the lead to 10-0 with 10 seconds to play in the first quarter.
A 70-yard Jamison sprint to the end zone made it 17-0 at the 3:36 mark of the second quarter, but TCNJ looked poised to get right back in it with a 64-yard march down to the 11-yard line of Kean. The drive stalled there, though, and the Cougars blocked a short field-goal attempt heading into the break.
TCNJ got on the board on their third possession of the second half, despite losing starting quarterback John Donegan to injury on the drive. Trevor Bopp came in and hit Spitzer in the end zone for an 18-yard strike to make it 17-7 with exactly 7:00 on the clock.
Bopp led the Lions down the field early in the fourth quarter, picking up a fourth down with a 10-yard completion to Max Hayford. A 22-yard hookup between those two set TCNJ up at the 13 before four straight incompletions turned the ball over on downs. The visitors got right back to that point after a short punt and an 11-yard scramble by Bopp, but the quarterback was intercepted in the back of the end zone as the Lions' last real chance went begging.
Bopp threw for 129 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions in his first extended action, also rushing seven times for 43 yards. Donegan was 9-of-18 for 84 yards and a pick along with 20 yards on the ground. Nicholas Chambers rushed for a game-high 60 yards on 21 carries.
Spitzer, the two-time reigning NJAC rookie of the week, added to his tally with career highs in catches (6) and yards (66) in addition to his first career touchdown. Hayford also notched new career bests with four grabs for 82 yards.
Gavin Liepe led a sensational defensive effort with nine tackles, while Nick Celli had 2.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack among his seven total stops. Ryan McGuire totaled 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Lions return to action next Saturday, when they welcome Christopher Newport to Lions Stadium for a 12 p.m. kickoff.
