EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ football team gave red-hot Montclair State a serious scare on Halloween, leading by double digits late into the third quarter before the Red Hawks stormed back with 15 unanswered points and held off a late push for a 25-21 victory in an NJAC nail-biter.
Walker Bailey threw a long touchdown pass to
Grant Lorentzen and added a rushing score, the latter of which put the Lions on top, 21-10, after the first drive of the third quarter. MSU, fresh off an upset of nationally ranked Salisbury last weekend, pulled in front with a pair of touchdown runs from standout running back Diante Wilson to stave off the Blue & Gold's upset bid.
After the teams traded punts to start the game, the Red Hawks (6-2, 4-1) capped a 14-play, 78-yard drive with a 32-yard field goal to open the scoring in the final minute of the first quarter.
TCNJ (3-5, 2-3) answered back with an 8-play, 78-yard march of its own featuring a 20-yard run by rookie
Kai Smith before Bailey hit Lorentzen all alone behind the defense for a 29-yard touchdown connection and a 7-3 Lions lead with 11:37 to go before half.
Four plays after
Brayden Kelly intercepted an overthrown pass by Luke Henrich at midfield,
Sam Dech shook off a tackler and rumbled 17 yards to pay dirt to make it 14-3 just shy of the midway point of the stanza.
MSU responded with another long drive, covering 84 yards in 14 plays and 6:30 of game clock before Henrich hooked up with TJ Kachala from 22 yards out to trim the TCNJ advantage to 14-10 just before the break.
TCNJ took the second-half kickoff right down the field, using another deep pass from Bailey to Lorentzen (46 yards) to set up Bailey's 7-yard scoring run on an option keeper, giving the Lions a 21-10 lead.
As it did all afternoon, MSU had a long drive ready in response. The Red Hawks traversed 84 yards on another 14-play march, picking up a fourth down on another pass to Kachala before Wilson powered his way in for a 2-yard touchdown out of the wildcat, and the ensuing two-point conversion try resulted in a successful trick play to cut the margin to 21-18 at the 4:09 mark of the frame.
The Lions went three-and-out, and Wilson gave the Red Hawks the lead for good with a 40-yard touchdown down the left sideline with 13:34 remaining.
Following another TCNJ punt, MSU converted three third downs and a fourth down inside the red zone to get down to the Lions' 16. Back-to-back penalties, however, set the visitors back 25 yards, and the Red Hawks ultimately had to punt it back to the hosts with 1:46 on the clock.
Starting at their own 20, the Lions moved the ball past midfield on a 17-yard completion from Bailey to
Michael Cevetillo, but MSU sealed it with a strip-sack with 21 seconds left.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Both teams threw for exactly 121 yards, but the Red Hawks 264 yards rushing on 56 carries to control the game
- MSU was 7-of-13 on third down and a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth
- The Red Hawks held the ball for just shy of 39 minutes, running 74 plays to the Lions' 46
FOR THE FOES
- Wilson, who ranks in the top-10 in Division III in several categories, piled up 152 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries
- Bernie Tinord was an effective second rusher, picking up 88 yards on 21 totes
- Henrich finished 12-of-18 for 121 yards with a touchdown and an interception
- Kachala had seven catches for 74 yards, both game highs
STANDOUT LIONS
- Dech rushed 13 times for 87 yards and a score
- Lorentzen had three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown
- Bailey went 7-of-13 for a career-high 121 yards and a touchdown
- Gavin Drown racked up a career-high 15 tackles to lead the defense
- Noah Croutch finished with nine stops, including two for loss
- Kelly nabbed his third interception of the season
NOTES
- Dech leads the Lions with seven rushing touchdowns and has scored in all but two games
- Lorentzen has scored four total touchdowns in his last four games
- Drown's 15 tackles are the most by a Lion since Dave Giulian had 21 at Rowan in 2024
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to unbeaten and 10th-ranked Christopher Newport next Saturday
