UNION, N.J. (10/16/10) – Senior running
back Jay Gwaltney posted his second straight
200-yard rushing game and scored four touchdowns to lift the Kean
University football team to a 35-14 win over visiting Western
Connecticut State University in New Jersey Athletic Conference
action on Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars (3-3, 3-3 NJAC) snapped a two-game losing streak, as
they kept the ball on the ground in the blustery conditions,
running the ball 49 times out of the team's 59 offensive
plays.
Gwaltney (pictured right) 
carried the ball 26 times for 209 yards and accounted for more
offense than the entire Colonial team.
The Cougars opened the game with the ball on their own 46-yard
line after the short kickoff and kept the ball on the ground for
all six plays of the opening drive, as Gwaltney sandwiched five
carries for 29 yards around a 26-yard carry by senior fullback
Sean Atkins and capped the six-play drive with the
nine-yard touchdown run for the early 7-0 lead just 3:10 into the
game.
Later in the first quarter, the Colonials (0-6, 0-5 NJAC) tied
the game at 7-7 when senior Bobby Rathbun intercepted the
Thomas D'Ambrisi pass and returned the ball
62 yards for the touchdown with 3:18 left in the first quarter.
After the Cougars again received the short kickoff at their own
45-yard line, Gwaltney ripped off a 46-yard touchdown run through
the WestConn defense on the third play of the drive with less than
two minutes remaining in the first quarter to give the Cougars the
14-7 lead after the extra point attempt.
In the second quarter, the Cougars added a pair of touchdowns to
extend the lead to 27-7 at the break. D'Ambrisi scored
on a 29-yard touchdown run midway through the quarter before Kean
junior safety Jamahl Williams set-up a 12-yard
touchdown run for Gwaltney with his team-leading seventh
interception of the season, returning the ball to the WestConn
27-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the half. A
WestConn penalty on the interception moved the ball into the
redzone for the Cougars, where Gwaltney took the ball on the first
play of the drive for his third touchdown of the game.
Another WestConn turnover helped set the Cougars final touchdown
of the game in the third quarter when Kean junior defensive end
Ray Wegrzynek (pictured left) intercepted the
Colonial pass at the WestConn 16-yard line. On the first play
of the ensuing drive, Gwaltney carried the ball 12 yards down to
the two-yard line, before punching the ball in on the next play for
his fourth score of the game. His four touchdowns are tied
for the second most rushing touchdowns in Kean single game
history.
The Colonials added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, as
sophomore quarterback Ronnie Bilodeau completed the
17-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Justin
Cruickshanks to cap the nine-play, 50-yard drive with less
than a minute remaining in the game.
Kean gained 347 of its 372 yards of the offense on the ground,
with five different players totaling at least 20 yards rushing
apiece.
For WestConn, sophomore running back Tyler DeRosa had
17 carries for 38 yards.
Defensively, junior linebacker Bekim Bujari
made a game-high 11 tackles for Kean and had a pair of fumble
recoveries. Senior Victor D'Arrigo had
five tackles, including one sack for a six-yard loss, while
sophomore Brett Yajcaji (pictured right) added
four tackles, including two sacks for a 21-yard loss and a forced
fumble. Williams totaled five tackles, while his seventh
interception of the season moves him into second place in single
season history.
For WestConn, senior defensive end Matt Pakulski had 10
tackles, including the team's lone sack, and senior Cliff
Rone added nine tackles.
The Cougars remain home next weekend for Homecoming festivities,
hosting William Paterson University at 1 p.m.
