WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The TCNJ football team opened the 2025 campaign with a 27-24 victory in a pulse-pounding lid-lifter at Lycoming on Saturday.
 
Kyle Vellis' 42-yard touchdown pass to Erik Garv on fourth down with 2:04 to play made Tyler Moody a winner in his head coaching debut and capped a back-and-forth thriller in the first-ever meeting between the programs.
 
Facing 4^th-and-1, Vellis drew the Warriors offside and took a shot to the outside, lofting a high-arcing pass down the right sideline. With a half-step on his man, Garv laid out for a full-extension grab, diving into the end zone with the first touchdown of his career.
 
Needing one more stop to seal it, the Lions' defense made the lead stand up when Justin Kurc intercepted his second pass of the afternoon near midfield.
 
TCNJ dominated statistically, owning sizeable advantages in first downs (23-13), total offense (383-189), and time of possession (38:34-21:26), thanks in large part to a rushing attack that ground up the Warriors for 282 yards on 68 totes. Joe Visaggio racked up 111 yards on 21 carries in his first extended action, with Jordan Morrell (13-65) and Andrew Spano (9-41) providing support from the backfield.
 
Kurc made it 10-0 with a 37-yard pick-six midway through the first quarter, and Bill Westerby (11 tackles, 1 forced fumble) and Dave Giulian (10 tackles, half-sack) manned the middle with huge performances in the linebacking unit. Dylan Patscher finished with six tackles and a blocked field goal.
 
Leading 10-7 early in the second, the Lions were stuffed on fourth down near the goal line. But a silver lining materialized two plays later, when Giulian and Westerby combined to stuff a Lycoming ball-carrier in the end zone for a safety and a 12-7 edge.
 
Albert D'Alessandro III returned the ensuing kickoff to the Warriors' 37, and Visaggio carried five times for 29 yards with a 1-yard plunge extending the advantage to 18-7 at the 6:31 mark of the second quarter.
 
Lycoming capitalized on a short field to trim the margin to 18-14 before Tim Willever ended the half with a 40-yard field goal to make it 21-14.
 
Those were TCNJ's last points until the go-ahead score, and the Warriors appeared poised to steal a victory with a field goal that put the Lions in a 24-21 hole with just over five minutes left before the unlikely deep ball silenced the home faithful.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions had nine different ball-carriers on the afternoon, including receivers Alex Dille (5-24), Jaiden Johnson (1-11), and Ryan Mendes (5-10)
• Vellis finished 4-of-5 for 68 yards and his first career TD
• Garv had 82 of the Lions' 101 receiving yards, a healthy career high; Dille had the other 19 yards on a single reception
• Kurc and his secondary mates made life difficult for Lycoming starting QB Jay Huber, who finished just 10-of-24 for 61 yards and the two interceptions
• Bill Westerby finished with nine tackles

NOTES

• Kurc logged his second career interception return for a touchdown as well as his second multi-INT performance
• Willever posted his second career game with multiple field goals, and the 40-yarder was one yard off his career long
• Jake Ware handled kickoff duties and punted twice in his collegiate debut

UP NEXT

• The Lions host Wilkes in their home opener next Saturday, with kickoff slated for noon