Sun and fun in Virginia
|
|
Since CNU lacks a good tailgating area for visitors, I decided just to grab brunch and drive over to the press lot. Only season ticket holders have parking anywhere near the stadium. The pregame atmosphere for visitors is probably the only downside to attending a game on the Captains’ campus.
Rowan was a good draw as the home stands were virtually full. A few dozen Prof fans and player’s parents made the 300-mile trip. I was also able to meet a few former Captains players who post on the message boards and we had fun exchanging a few verbal jabs. “The game has become a good North vs. South rivalry,” according to the former CNU players.
One funny thing is that for the second straight year the Newport News locals expressed a misconception about New Jersey weather. Although both teams suffered from heat related cramps during the game, a few of the CNU fans I spoke with believe that there is a significant difference in the summer heat and humidity between Virginia and New Jersey. This is certainly not the case as New Jersey has about the same weather in August. In fact when camp started three weeks ago in Glassboro, the heat and humidity equated to about 100 degrees for most of the first week.
Rowan grinds out win
 Christopher Newport intercepted two passes and broke up four others, including this pass to Sakeen Wright. Photo by Tom Wilson for D3football.com |
“We came out to play today and (Christopher Newport) gave us a real tough first half, then everything started to click in the second half. We started to wear them down and things started opening up. Credit the O-line for getting the job done today,“ said Encarnacion
Christopher Newport held a 7-6 halftime lead on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Bryant to wideout Mike O’Brien. Rowan had four botched scoring opportunities, including Ulysses Encarnacion fumbled on the second series of the game near the CNU goal line. Freshman Ryan Kulik missed field goals of 35 and 27 yards in the second quarter, and sophomore Matias Spahn had a 37-yard field goal blocked in the third quarter.
“Two top teams, (both) highly ranked, you would expect this type of tough ballgame. You don’t like to see mistakes, but in the first game there are going to be mistakes on both sides of the ball. It comes down to the team that’s able to come together and put the game away,” said Rowan head coach Jay Accorsi.
 |
"Our guys busted their tails," CNU coach Matt Kelchner said in the Daily Press. "They played hard down after down after down against an outstanding offense. You've got some kids who are Division I players on that team who transferred in, but our defense was ruthless in their effort. I'll tell you what, they're going to be damn good."
St. John Fisher pounds King’s 42-7
St. John Fisher's offense picked up where it left off in the Cardinals' 42-7 win at King's. First-year starter Nick Suchyna completed 18 of 21 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while backups Kevin Eick and Rob Kramer combined to go 3-for-5.
"We're very happy with Nick today," said St. John Fisher coach Paul Vosburgh after the game. "And when Eick got in, he looked good too."
Mark Robinson had 21 carries for 127 yards despite spending the last half of the second quarter and the entire fourth quarter on the sidelines. The Cardinals have new starters at three positions on the offensive line and at tight end.
"When you have as many changes as we did up front, you never know," Vosburgh said. "But it happened last year, and we knew it was going to happen last year.
"There were some question marks. We thought these guys would be good players but you have to get the kids into a varsity game to see."
Lions sunk by turnovers
Muhlenberg turned six College of New Jersey turnovers into 17 points and held the ball for 40 minutes, 41 seconds in defeating the Lions 30-13 in the season opener for both teams.
"I was very surprised," said TCNJ coach Eric Hamilton. "I thought offensively we would be OK. Defense I was worried about with 10 new starters. I really expected more out of us offensively."
Muhlenberg scored four times in seven possessions to open up a 23-6 lead midway through the third quarter and took advantage of two TCNJ fumbles and an interception afterwards to shut the Lions down towards the end of the game.
The Lions ran just 45 plays on offense and finished with 73 yards. Schoonover, who scored the first touchdown on the blocked punt and tackled Sassaman with the ball on a bad-snap punt attempt to set up the second score, ran for just 14 yards on eight carries.
TCNJ quarterback Jeff Struble threw an interception, was sacked five times and fumbled three times.
"We need him to make good decisions with the ball in his hands," said Hamilton. "He was like a split-second behind."
Cortland dumps Brockport 20-10
Junior tailback Matt Rickert rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and the Cortland defense held Brockport without a touchdown until the final minute of the game as the Red Dragons opened the season with a 20-10 road victory over the Golden Eagles. The win is Cortland's first at Brockport since 1995 and its first opening day victory since a win over Brockport in 2002. It was also the Red Dragons’ first victory since 1995 at Brockport’s Bob Boozer field.
It's great to get the first win like this, especially here, where we haven't won in a long time," Rickert said the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
The Red Dragons recorded six sacks and held Brockport to 54 net rushing yards on 31 attempts. Rickert, who rushed for 238 yards all of last season as Cortland's starting fullback, averaged 5.2 yards per carry on his 26 attempts. Of his 136 yards, 120 came in the first half, including both of his scores.
"We have to get ourselves ready to play football," 11th-year Brockport State coach Rocco Salomone told the paper. "Our defense has to start making some plays, and on offense we need to find out who we are."
William Paterson off on right foot
Senior safety Andy Howell broke a potential game-winning touchdown pass with no time remaining as William Paterson’s football team won its first game under new coach Mike Miello, 21-17, over Wilkes on Saturday at Wightman Stadium. It was just the team’s 10th victory in the past 51 games.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am for these players,” said Miello, who was the head coach for his first college game after serving as an assistant the past four year at Division I-A Rutgers. “They left the field today believing in themselves and believing in all the hard work they did in the preseason. Our kids were in position to make a play. Our defense really came up big today.”
Howell finished with 10 tackles and three pass breakups and sophomore wideout Kareen Moon caught a 15-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 47 yards for a score to help the Pioneers post their first season-opening win since a 26-13 decision over Salisbury in 2001 at Wightman Stadium.
Games of the Week
Springfield at Union, 7 p.m., Schenectady, N.Y.: An early-season E8 and Liberty League matchup of teams looking to contend in their respective leagues. Union lost to Springfield 31-13 last year.
William Paterson at Western Connecticut, 1 p.m., Danbury, Conn.: The Pioneers upset the MAC’s middle of the pack team, Wilkes 21-17. Is it too early to measure William Paterson and new head coach Mike Miello against a team in the middle of the NJAC pack? The Pioneers must put pressure on Colonial quarterback Joe DiMeglio in order to have shot.
No. 12 Salisbury at Brockport State, 1 p.m., Brockport, N.Y.: Pollsters took notice after Salisbury dominated Brockport last season 46-21. The Sea Gulls dominated Methodist 48-28 last week. Can the Golden Eagles rebound after losing at home to Cortland?
Notes
Ulysses Encarnacion earns the first NJAC Offensive Player of the Week honor after playing a key role in the Prof's season-opening 21-14 victory at Christopher Newport. In the win, he rushed for 143 yards on 24 carries netting 6.0 yards per carry average. He also notched two touchdown runs of four and nine-yards apiece. His nine-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter proved to be the game-winning score for Rowan.
Salisbury quarterback Dustin Johnson earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after running for 150 yards on 18 carries and scoring one touchdown in the Sea Gulls' 48-28 victory over Methodist College. Johnson also was 7-for-10 passing for 84 yards in the victory. He scored Salisbury's first touchdown on a 51-yard scramble on the first play of a drive. Seven of his running plays and five of his passing plays were for 10 or more yards.
Utica defensive lineman Rich Rivenburg recorded five unassisted tackles and two sacks for a loss of 16 yards in a 28-8 Utica win against Becker. He finished with six tackles and led the Pioneer defense that held Becker scoreless until the final play of the game.
In Rochester's 9-7 loss to Johns Hopkins, defensive lineman Jeff Leslie had a game-high 11 tackles (five primary, six assists). The Yellowjackets held JHU to 22 net yards rushing on 29 carries and just 257 overall. Rochester had three sacks and four other tackles for loss.