Chunn Carries Kean Past William Paterson, 20-0

Wayne, N.J. (11/7/09) - Senior Jared Chunn (Tinton Falls, N.J.) carried the ball 37 times for a career-high 246 yards and two touchdowns as Kean remained perfect in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play with a 20-0 victory at William Paterson University on Saturday afternoon.

Chunn's 246 yards is a career-best after topping his old mark of 238 set twice a year ago.  The 246 yard performance is fourth all-time on the Kean single-game list.

Today's Kean victory, along with a 14-7 Montclair State win at Rowan, sets up a final clash to decide the NJAC title when the Cougars (8-0 NJAC) visit the Red Hawks (8-0 NJAC) for the regular season finale Saturday, November 14, at 1 p.m.

Neither team could get a substantial offensive series going during the first quarter, as the most serious Kean (8-1, 8-0 NJAC) threat was halted by a Doug Dudek (Rockaway, N.J.) interception at the Pioneer 20-yard line.  However, William Paterson's (4-5, 3-5 NJAC) resulting possession ended at midfield after a short Rivera gain ended with a fumble forced by sophomore Mike Mancini (Lacey Twp., N.J.) and Kean recovery  by Bekim Bujari (Secaucus, N.J.) at midfield.

Kean got on the scoreboard during its first possession of the second period, handing the ball to Chunn on seven of the nine snaps, including the final attempt that he bounced out left and carried across the goal line from four yards out.  Sophomore Billy Daniels (Ridgefield, N.J.) added the extra point for a 7-0 Cougar lead with 6:21 remaining in the first half.

Kean engineered a nine-play, 87-yard drive to end the half, including a 59-yard run by Chunn on second-and-15 to give the Cougars the ball on the William Paterson nine yard line.  Sophomore quarterback Tom D'Ambrisi (Eatontown, N.J.) later found classmate Ricardo Ferguson (Barnegat, N.J.) for a 10-yard touchdown strike, for a 13-0 lead three seconds before halftime.

Late in the third quarter, Kean finished off a short drive with a 19-yard Chunn touchdown and another Daniels PAT, pushing the Cougars ahead by a 20-0 score with 2:09 to play in the period.

D'Ambrisi was 6-for-12 for 42 yards, a touchdown and an interception.  Senior Derric Harris (Freehold, N.J.) led the Kean receivers with three catches for 19 yards.  Junior linebacker Ricardo Esteves (Tinton Falls, N.J.) led the Cougar defense with 12 tackles (six solo, 1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack), while sophomore defensive lineman Ray Wegrzynek (Linden, N.J.) had eight stops (two solo, 3.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks).

Pioneer quarterback Matt Marshall (Burlington, N.J.) was 11-for-25 for 106 yards and an interception.  Joe Muraglia (Belleville, N.J.) caught three passes for 52 yards.  On defense junior linebacker Jim Hamill (Stanhope, N.J.) had a team-high 10 tackles (five solo).