WAYNE, N.J. – The TCNJ football team gave an old friend a taste of his own medicine on Saturday, riding a dominating defensive performance to a 34-0 NJAC shutout at William Paterson.
Jordan Morrell scored two rushing touchdowns,
Tim Willever nailed a pair of field goals, and the defense dominated from the opening kickoff as the Lions (3-3, 2-1) shut out the Pioneers for the second year in a row.
TCNJ forced three turnovers – plus another three on downs – and held the Pioneers (0-6, 0-3) to just 117 yards of total offense, a masterpiece reminiscent of the performances concocted by former defensive coordinator Edwyn Edwards, now in his first season as head coach at WPU.
WPU went deep on the first play of the day, but
Sam Kuhns was there to undercut the receiver and snag his second interception of the season. The Lions promptly covered 69 yards in just four plays, including a 20-yard reception and 33-yard run by
Michael Strachan, and claimed a quick 7-0 lead on Morrell's 4-yard touchdown run.
TCNJ had far less distance to cover on its next possession. An errant snap on a Pioneer punt attempt set the Lions up on the 5-yard line, and
Kai Smith sprinted into the end zone from a yard out for his first career touchdown and a 14-0 lead just over six minutes into the contest.
WPU drove down to the Lions' 25 on its next trip, but
Brandon Rector stuffed the ball-carrier for no gain on 4
th-and-1 to short-circuit a promising opportunity for points. A TCNJ turnover backed up the defense once again, but the unit stood tall once again to force a fourth down and a misfire on a short field-goal attempt.
Smith came up huge on special teams in the second quarter, blocking a punt to give the Lions the ball at the WPU 1-yard line. Despite going backwards on three rushing plays, the Lions managed to extend their lead to 17-0 on Willever's 22-yard field goal at the 1:58 mark.
Ethan Kalinauskas' tackle for a six-yard loss killed the ensuing Pioneer possession, and TCNJ took over at the plus-30 yard line after a short punt before Willever drilled a career-long 47-yard field goal as the first half expired.
Another special teams mistake doomed WPU early in the third quarter, when
Jayden Carter recovered a muffed punt at the hosts' 5-yard line. Morrell rumbled into the end zone on the next play, giving TCNJ a 27-0 lead with 12:35 left in the frame.
Rector's sack on third down blew up another Pioneer possession, and TCNJ put the game away with a methodical march in which they chewed up over seven minutes of clock on an 11-play, 43-yard drive.
Sam Dech carried the ball five straight plays, including a 4
th-and-2 in which he picked up the first down, and then converted another fourth down inside the red zone before
Walker Bailey hit Strachan for a 9-yard touchdown to make it 34-0 with 12:42 left.
WPU had a chance to get on the board later in the final frame, but
CJ Dingle wrapped up the ball carrier in the backfield on 4
th-and-1 from the TCNJ 34 to force another turnover on downs.
Brody Bock forced a fumble on the last Pioneer drive, with
Nick Riess' recovery sealing the shutout.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ managed just 177 yards of total offense
- The Lions scored on 6-of-7 red-zone trips and went 2-for-2 on fourth down
- TCNJ held WPU to 4-of-14 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth
- The Lions' defense stifled the Pioneers to the tune of 1.5 yards per rush, 2.1 yards per play, and 2.7 yards per pass attempt
STANDOUT LIONS
- Strachan racked up 66 yards (37 rushing, 29 receiving) and a touchdown on six touches
- Morrell rushed nine times for 25 yards and the two scores
- Bailey completed 4-of-5 passes for 43 yards and the touchdown to Strachan
- Willever was 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra point attempts
- Dingle led the Lions with seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss
- Brayden Kelly had five tackles and a pass breakup
- Chimmy Ozokpor matched Dingle with 1.5 tackles for loss
NOTES
- TCNJ has won 11 in a row over the Pioneers
- Strachan notched his first career receiving TD and has found the end zone in consecutive games
- Morrell scored his first touchdowns of the season and upped his career tally to six
- Rector's sack was the first of his career
- Smith secured his first career touchdown and first career blocked kick
- Willever is now 16-for-21 on field goals for his career and has accumulated 131 career points, 13 shy of Dave Johnston's 31-year-old program record of 144
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to 24th-ranked Rowan next Saturday
