Kean Falls to #3 Wesley
DOVER, Del. (11/13/10) – The Kean University football team closed out the 2010 season, falling to #3 Wesley College, 48-10, in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.
Wesley (9-0) was the Cougars fourth ranked opponent of the season, as the Wolverines had 587 yards of total offense in the game.
The Cougars (5-5) closed out their fifth straight season with a non-losing record for the first time in program history, while senior running back Jay Gwaltney broke the single-season records for rushing yards (1,412) and rushing attempts (254), despite seeing limited action in the last two games.
Leading 7-0 after the opening quarter, the Wolverines outscored the Cougars, 24-3, in the second quarter to take a 31-3 lead at halftime.
The Wolverines built a 24-0 lead on touchdown passes of 10, 41 and 32-yards from quarterback Justin Sottilare, before the Cougars were able to get on the board with 3:31 left in the second quarter on a 32-yard field goal by junior Billy Daniels.
Kean took its first possession of the third quarter and scored a touchdown when junior quarterback Thomas D'Ambrisi connected with Gwaltney on the 15-yard touchdown pass to cap the three-play, 23-yard drive that was set up by the Cougar defense. Wesley took the second-half kickoff and moved into Cougar territory, before senior linebacker Victor D'Arrigo forced the fumble and junior safety Jamahl Williams recovered the ball and returned it 41 yards to the Wesley 23-yard line to set-up the Cougars' lone touchdown.
Wesley closed out the scoring with a 27-yard field goal by Dan Tryon and a pair of 77-yard touchdown drives, including a 74-yard touchdown pass from Chris Cummings to DeAndre Fowlkes.
Gwaltney finished with 27 yards on a season-low 12 carries. The game totals were enough for him to establish new single-season marks for total rushing yards and rushing attempts, finishing the season with 1,412 yards on 254 rushing attempts to surpass former New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Jared Chunn, who ran for 1,405 yards on 249 carries in 2008.
Williams finished with a game-high 11 tackles and added his eighth interception of the season, the second most in single-season history. Sophomore Brett Yajcaji added 10 tackles and a pair of pass break-ups.
D'Ambrisi completed 12-of-31 passes for 98 yards, with junior Chris Suozzo making five receptions (39 yards) and Gwaltney adding four catches for 28 yards.
Sottilare threw for 301 yards on 15-of-24 completions, while Cummings added a pair of completions for 82 yards.
