EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ football team hung with No. 25 Muhlenberg early, but the visitors' passing attack proved too much as the Mules left Lions Stadium with a 38-10 victory on a glorious fall Saturday in Ewing.

The newly-ranked Mules improved to 3-0, while TCNJ suffered its first loss and fell to 1-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lions defense got off to a fast start, forcing Joe Repetti into his first interception of the season on the opening drive as Cole Groschel stepped in front of a deep pass
• The Mules had to punt on their second possession, but Trevor Bopp's interception gave the visitors the ball at their own-40, and seven plays later Repetti hooked up with Matt McKenna for a 20-yard touchdown on 3^rd-and-4
• Muhlenberg looked poised to double its advantage in the final minute of the first quarter, but Repetti sailed a pass right into the waiting arms of Jack Young, who snared it at the goal line for the Lions' second pick of the day
• TCNJ was on the move and had crossed midfield, but Bopp was stopped inches short of the sticks on a fourth-down keeper, and the Mules drove 55 yards in 14 plays to take a 14-0 lead on a 3-yard pass from Repetti to McKenna on 4^th-and-2
• Muhlenberg's next drive traversed 86 yards in 11 plays, with James Nye's 12-yard touchdown catch expanding the margin to 21-0 with just 32 ticks showing on the first-half clock
• After notching just three first downs in the entire first half, the Lions picked up that many on the opening possession of the third quarter. TCNJ drove all the way to the Muhlenberg 5 before the march stalled, but Bobby Wortman's 22-yard field goal got the home side on the board with 10:46 to go in the period
• Thanks to some impressive tackling by Groschel, the TCNJ defense managed to keep Muhlenberg out of the end zone on a goal-to-go situation, and the Mules settled for a 24-yard kick to make it 24-3 at the 6:22 mark
• After three-and-out for TCNJ, the Mules got their run game untracked and stretched the lead to 31-3 on a 2-yard plunge by Ian Csicsek
• Groschel snagged his second interception early in the fourth, coming across the field to corral a deep ball from Repetti just outside the end zone
• After going down 38-3, the Lions put together a strong drive, with Bopp registering long completions to Ryan Gill and Matt Harbison before Jayson Schmidt broke out of an arm tackle to punch in a 5-yard rushing touchdown with 8:43 remaining

FOR THE FOES

• Repetti finished 26-of-35 for 336 yards and three touchdowns to go with the three picks
• Muhlenberg compiled 166 rushing yards but was mostly held in check on the ground until the late stages
• Nye and McKenna combined for nine receptions for 97 yards and all three touchdowns through the air

FOR THE LIONS

• Groschel was all over the field, racking up a game-high 14 tackles, intercepting two passes, and forcing a fumble
• Logan Flaherty had 11 tackles, while Dominick Nocero and Tyler Rummell produced eight and seven, respectively
• Bopp was 13-of-31 for 150 yards and three interceptions
• Schmidt recorded 49 rushing yards and the touchdown on 13 totes
• Burke had two receptions (36, 29) in his first action of the season
• Gill led the Lions with three catches totaling 41 yards

NOTES

• Muhlenberg leads the all-time series, 6-0. It was the Mules' first trip to Lions Stadium since 2007

UP NEXT

• The Lions continue their Centennial/NJAC series at Franklin & Marshall on Thursday with a 7 p.m. kickoff