GLASSBORO, N.J. – The TCNJ football team put on a stirring second-half rally before succumbing to a heart-breaking ending as host Rowan stole a 23-21 victory with a sequence of improbable plays in the final two minutes of Friday night's NJAC opener.
 
The Lions (1-3, 0-1) had stormed back from a 14-0 halftime hole on the strength of three Trevor Bopp touchdown passes – two of them to T.J. Sheehan and a go-ahead dump-off to Ryan McKinney with 7:55 to go. But Rowan somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, scoring nine points in the final 56 seconds capped by a game-winning 36-yard field goal as time expired.
 
After blocking a short field goal to get the ball back with 2:11 remaining, the Profs pulled within 21-20 on Mike Husni's 5-yard keeper, but the Lions appeared to have clinched a victory when Nick Celli blocked the ensuing extra point. Rowan, however, recovered the onside kick and got into field-goal range as Husni found an open receiver who got out of bounds with one second remaining on a 4^th-and-10 play from the TCNJ 39.
 
After the Lions iced the Profs with a timeout, kicker Jake Hurler sent his 36-yard field goal through the uprights to relegate TCNJ to a stunning defeat.  
 
Bopp was terrific in his first start of the season, completing 30 of 43 passes for a career-high 349 yards – the most by a TCNJ quarterback in 13 years – and the three scores. Sheehan finished with six catches for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Malin Jasinski hauled in a game-high seven receptions for 72 yards.  
 
The field was tilted heavily in the Lions' favor throughout the first quarter, but some ill-timed miscues and a bend-but-don't-break Rowan defense kept the visitors from cashing in.
 
Bopp was dialed in on TCNJ's second possession, completing five consecutive passes – including a beautiful wheel route to Jayson Schmidt for a toe-tapping catch on the right sideline – to set the offense up with first-and-goal. The Lions moved down to the 2-yard line over the next three plays and went for the touchdown, but Bopp was stacked up at the line of scrimmage on a sneak.
 
The defense forced a quick three-and-out, however, and TCNJ got the ball right back in Rowan territory at the 41. Bopp picked up first downs on back-to-back passes, but his next throw was picked off in the back left corner of the end zone, and once again the Lions came up empty.
 
Rowan finally broke the stalemate with 5:06 to play in the second quarter as Husni caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from receiver Eddie Jamison on a "Philly Special" play on third down.
 
The Profs doubled their lead just before halftime, converting a fourth down at TCNJ's 39-yard line before Husni hit Terry Carlstrom for an 18-yard touchdown strike with 25 seconds showing on the first-half timer.
 
Seemingly out of opportunities in the first half, Bopp gave the Lions a chance with consecutive long completions to Schmidt and Jasinski, the latter giving TCNJ a first down at the Rowan 17 and a look at a field goal as time expired. The attempt was blocked, however, sending the Lions into the locker room in a 14-point hole.
 
TCNJ appeared set to go three-and-out on the opening drive of the third, but a strike under pressure from Bopp to Kevin Pennell over the middle on third-and-long turned the tide. Bopp found a rhythm, hitting Jasinski and Sheehan with a series of quick throws before arcing a perfectly thrown fade to Sheehan in the back left corner of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown to get the Lions on the board at the 10:19 mark of the quarter.
 
After Shane Kelly intercepted Husni in TCNJ territory late in the third, Rowan threatened again early in the fourth, taking it down to the TCNJ 25-yard line before Mark Pierro gave the Lions the ball right back with a sack on 4^th-and-14. Two plays later, Bopp hit Thomas Burke on an out route, and a missed tackle by the Profs allowed Burke to rumble all the way to the Rowan 13 for a 52-yard gain. The very next play, Bopp hit Sheehan on a slant for the duo's second scoring connection of the night, and TCNJ pulled even at 14-14 with 11:58 to go.
 
The tide continued to turn on the next possession, when the Profs broke a big run to cross midfield but had a third-and-long pass intercepted by Jack Young, who returned it near midfield. Following a face-mask penalty, the Lions moved the ball inside the Rowan 30, and Bopp connected with Sheehan for a first-down toss to the 18. With Rowan sending an all-out blitz, McKinney leaked into the flat and caught a short pass from Bopp, turning upfield and dashing to pay dirt to give TCNJ its first lead with 7:55 to go and stun the home crowd.
 
Patrick Frawley killed the next Rowan possession with a third-down sack, and TCNJ took over with 5:26 on the clock. Facing third down, Jake McKown sprinted 22 yards on a tunnel screen for a massive conversion, and on 4^th-and-4 from the 28, Bopp went to McKinney again in the flat for a 21-yard gain. After a pair of near completions in the end zone, Wortman came on to put the game to bed but saw his 21-yard field goal blocked for the second time.
 
A 49-yard sprint by James Fara put the Profs in business inside the 10, and Husni took it himself from the 5 to seemingly tie the contest before the insanity ensued.
 
Young notched his second interception of the season, while Kelly's was the first of his career. Sal Tardogno led all players with nine total tackles, including two for loss, and Logan Flaherty had eight stops. Pierro produced 2.5 tackles for loss and Celli, the national leader in the category, had a pair of his own.
 
Bopp's 349 yards were the most by a Lion signal-caller since Chris James threw for 358 against FDU-Florham in 2009.
 
The Lions continue NJAC play next Saturday at home against Montclair State. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. on Military Appreciation Day.