KEAN UPENDS TCNJ IN NJAC FINALE, 37-27
UNION, N.J. (11/10/07) -
Senior quarterback A.J. Roque (Matawan, N.J.)
threw five touchdown passes and became the New Jersey Athletic
Conference all-time passing leader to lead the Kean University
football team to a 37-27 victory over NJAC leader The College of
New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.
The Kean victory (5-5 overall, 3-4 NJAC) hands the Lions their
only conference loss of the season and forces TCNJ into a share of
the NJAC Championship with SUNY Cortland. The Lions (8-2
overall, 6-1 NJAC) earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA
tourney by virtue of the 30-0 TCNJ victory over Cortland earlier
this season.
Kean records back-to-back non-losing seasons for first time
since 1992 through 1994 and for just the second time in program
history.
Roque finished the game with 272 yards giving him a school-record
2,463 yards this season and 8,448 career passing yards to break the
NJAC record of 8,408 yards set by Ed Collins of Montclair State
University from 1999 through 2001.
The Cougars took an early lead on the game's opening possession,
as senior Jon Robinson (Brick, N.J.) capped a nine
play, 72-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal less than three
minutes into the game.
After the two teams exchanged punts, TCNJ took the ball 52 yards
on six plays as sophomore wide receiver Cam Richardson
(Burlington, N.J.) had a five-yard touchdown reception
from sophomore quarterback Christopher James (Brick,
N.J.) with 6:29 left in the opening quarter to take the
7-3 lead.
Kean regained the lead for good on its next possession when Roque
completed the 11-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver
Durell Dukes (Elizabeth, N.J.) with just under
four minutes left in the first quarter. Senior Brian
Williams (Pleasantville, N.J.) set the scoring drive up
with a when he returned the ball 51 yards to the TCNJ 35-yard line.
After TCNJ turned the ball over on downs to open the second
quarter, Kean junior wide receiver James Felton
(Plainfield, N.J.) had a 58-yard touchdown reception from
Roque just four plays later to extend the Cougar lead to
17-7.
Kean added another touchdown later in the half for the 23-7
advantage, when senior defensive end Brian Cilento
(Dunellen, N.J.) intercepted a James pass and returned the
ball 46 yards to the TCNJ 21-yard line to set-up the 17-yard
touchdown pass from Roque to Williams with 5:41 left in the second
quarter.
The Lions looked to shift momentum in their favor just two plays
into the second half, when they cut the deficit to 23-14 on the
49-yard touchdown pass from James to Richardson only 50-seconds
into the third quarter.
Neither team managed to find the end zone for the remainder of
the third quarter, as the two teams combined for three
turnovers. Two of the turnovers were costly to TCNJ, as Kean
senior Ryan Staton (Mays Landing, N.J.) recovered
a fumble forced by senior Clarence Goodman (Old Bridge,
N.J.) at the Kean 14-yard line and rookie Chuck
Core (Mays Landing, N.J.) intercepted the James pass at
the Kean five-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, Roque completed the 34-yard pass to
Williams on the first play of the fourth quarter to cap the
13-play, 95-yard drive that consumed more than seven minutes of
game time spanning the final two quarters for the 30-14 lead.
TCNJ cut the deficit to ten points at 30-20 following a James
20-yard touchdown run before Kean pushed the lead right back to 17
points on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Roque to Dukes with 9:08
remaining in the game for the 37-20 lead. On the play, Roque
also broke the NJAC career passing record and gave the senior his
school record fifth touchdown of the game and 65th
touchdown of his career.
The Lions added one more touchdown in the game when senior
running back Dan Dornacker (Jersey City, N.J.)
punched the ball in from the one-yard line with just under six
minutes remaining to put the final score at 37-27.
Dukes finished with 125 yards and two touchdowns, while his five
receptions give him a school-record 53 catches this season.
On the ground, sophomore running back Jared Chunn (Tinton
Falls, N.J.) had 80 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Defensively, Goodman finished with a game-high 10 tackles,
including seven solo stops, while 
Cilento added three tackles, an interception and his sixth forced
fumble of the season. Coming into today's game, Cilento led
the nation with five forced fumbles in nine games.
Junior outside linebacker Jake Pew (Vernon,
N.J.) had six tackles and one fumble recovery, while Core
had three tackles and a pair of interceptions.
For TCNJ, James completed 12-of-38 passes for 184 yards and two
touchdowns and added 68 yards rushing. On the receiving end,
Richardson had four receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns,
while sophomore Austin Misiura (Holmdel, N.J.) had
four receptions for 65 yards.
Senior defensive back Andrew Larkin (Hamilton Square,
N.J.) had a team-high seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles
for a loss, while senior defensive lineman Joe King
(Mountainside, N.J.) had six tackles, including one and a
half tackles for a loss of six yards. As a team, the Lions
finished with 11 tackles for a loss of 51 yards.
The Lions await the NCAA tournament selections tomorrow
afternoon to find out their next opponent, while the Cougars are
eligible for a possible ECAC bowl bid and await the announcement of
those match-ups on Monday.
