EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ football team treated a hefty Homecoming crowd to a 42-0 shutout of William Paterson on Saturday, scoring a pair of defensive touchdowns in another devastating defensive performance.
 
Wearing throwback Trenton State uniforms, the Lions evoked memories of the 1990 TSC squad that ended the regular season with five consecutive shutouts and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. The blue and gold created three turnovers, scoring touchdowns on two of them, and stymied the Pioneers to the tune of a measly 138 yards of total offense in another home beatdown.
 
TCNJ (4-1, 1-1) is 3-0 at home this season, outscoring its opponents by a staggering 94-3 margin in the friendly confines of Lions Stadium.
 
The Lions took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, using a 39-yard pass down the left sideline from Dean Licari to Max DiPietro to set up a short touchdown run from Joe Visaggio and a quick 7-0 lead.
 
After a three-and-out on defense, TCNJ doubled its lead with an 11-play, 53-yard drive that culminated in a Jordan Morrell touchdown run.
 
That 14-0 advantage stayed through the end of the third quarter, but it took a defensive stand to keep it that way. The Pioneers (2-3, 1-1) chewed up most of the second quarter with a 20-play drive that took them all the way down to the Lions' 9-yard line, but Justin Kurc stepped in front of a post route and preserved the shutout with his fourth interception of the season.
 
Following a scoreless third, Visaggio made it 21-0 with his second TD of the afternoon with 12:58 remaining. The floodgates opened wide from there.
 
Two plays later, Christian Bennett came clean on a blitz and leveled WPU quarterback Nigel Jennings, knocking the ball loose for Chimmy Ozokpor to recover in the end zone for the first of a pair of defensive scores.
 
Jaiden Johnson ran around left end for a 4-yard touchdown with 4:24 to go, and Matt Cassidy put an exclamation point on the rout with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ racked up 226 rushing yards
• The Lions scored touchdowns on all four of their red-zone trips
• WPU managed just seven first downs and 2.8 yards per play on the day

STANDOUT LIONS

• Visaggio carried 13 times for 52 yards and extended his team-leading TD total to six with his second multi-score effort in three games
• Alex Dille had 51 yards on seven rushes
• Johnson scored his first career rushing TD and the second of his career
• Dave Giulian led all players with 11 tackles and added a pass break-up
• Ozokpor had a sack in addition to his fumble recovery for a TD
• Cassidy had the first interception of his career
• Jake Ware averaged over 50 yards on three punts, including a booming 61-yarder that backed the Pioneers back to their own 4-yard line

NOTES

• Kurc's interception was the ninth of his career
• TCNJ has two shutouts in the same season for the first time since 2017
• The Lions have won 10 straight games in the series

UP NEXT

• TCNJ makes the long trip to Vermont to take on Castleton on Saturday, October 18