Montclair, NJ - Sophomore running back Denzel Nieves (South Orange, NJ, Columbia) rushed for 191 yards and accounted for all four touchdowns as Montclair State won its second straight contest with a 27-14 victory over Division II Lincoln University at Sprague Field on Saturday.
Senior defensive back Allen Phillips (Kenilworth, NJ, David Brearley) recorded nine tackles, including 2.5 sacks as the Red Hawks rushed for nearly 300 yards in improving to 2-1 on the season.
Lincoln received the opening kickoff however after three completions Montclair came up with back-to-back sacks by Nick Mangum (Nutley, NJ, Nutley) and Phillips to force a punt. The Red Hawks took possession at their own 30 yardline and proceeded to march 70 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Nieves began the drive with a 14 yard run and Ryan Davies (Lanoka Harbor, NJ, Howell) connected with Malcolm Robinson (Bayonne, NJ, Bayonne) on a 3rd-and-2 for eight yards moving the ball to the Lions' 40. Nieves later added an 11 yard run before capping off the drive with a five-yard carry for the touchdown with 4:59 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Lions answered right back as Douglas Cook hit A.J. Hobbs on a 27-yard completion to open the drive and found Hobbs again for five yards to the MSU 33. After a penalty against Lincoln, Cook found a wide open Kenny Faulcon for a 38-yard touchdown tying the game at 7-7 with 2:51 to go.
Montclair State would regain the lead in the second quarter following a Lincoln punt to its own 42 yard line. Nieves broke through for a 42-yard run in the first play to the Lions' 16. After an incompletion, Nieves burst through on a 16-yard run for a touchdown putting MSU back on top 14-7 with 8:58 left before halftime. Lincoln would knot the game up again later in the period thanks in part to a roughing the punter call against MSU that kept the drive alive. The Lions took advantage as Cook found Faulcon down the right sideline for a 27-yard touchdown with 1:47 remaining.
A short kickoff gave the Red Hawks solide field position at its own 35 with 1:44 to play and Montclair perfectly executed the two-minute drill with a touchdown to take the lead for good. Davies completed a 35-yard pass to Devon Levesque (Hanover, NH, Valley Forge) on 3rd-and-6 for 35 yards down to the Lincoln 6. Nieves had a five-yard run on the next play and after a time out, walked into the end zone for his thrid touchdown of the half as MSU took the 21-14 lead into halftime.
Lincoln had an opportunity to close the gap in the third quarter as it moved the ball 73 yards down the field after being pinned in at their own 12 following a Joe Janovic (Montvale, NJ, St. Joseph's (Montvale)) punt. A 28-yard completion to Akeem Jordan got the Lions out of trouble and a 13-yard throw to Hobb by Lincoln at the MSU 12. An incompletion and mishandled snap moved the ball back to the 17 and linebacker Michael Tenpenny (Iselin, NJ, John F. Kennedy) came up with a tackle on a swing pass on third down forcing Lincoln into a field goal attempt that went wide.
Montclair State turned that momentum into its final score of the game going 80 yards with MSU running game accounting for all of it, including a 32-yard run by Nieves that got the ball to the Lincoln 40. Tariq Turner (Manasquan, NJ, Manasquan) added a 22-yard carry to the 9 before Nieves capped off his day with his fourth touchdown, a 9-yard run with 4:11 remaining.
The Lions mounted one last drive in the fourth quarter looking to close the gap however linebacker Michael Klimek (Cranford, NJ, Cranford) came up with an interception at the MSU 8 to seal the victory for the Red Hawks, their first against a non-Division III team since a 21-7 triumph at I-AA Iona College in 2006 and the first versus a Division II squad since a 23-6 win over East Stroudsburg in 1990.
Turner finished with 91 yards on 12 carries as Montclair State rushed for 282 yards, its best rushing day since September 22, 2012 when it piled up 315 yards in a win at William Paterson. Davies was an efficient 18-of-24 for 142 yards with Levesque pulling in eight receptions for 72 yards. Phillips led the way with nine tackles for the MSU defense while Mangum finished with 1.5 sacks. Tenpenny also had a sack in addition to four tackles.
Montclair State is now off for two weeks as the Red Hawks prepare to open their New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule. MSU will face local rival William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ on Saturday, October 4 at 1:00 pm.
Nieves Runs Montclair State Past Division II Lincoln, 27-14
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140920_330i.xml
2014
Lincoln (Pa.)
14
Montclair State
27
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln (Pa.) (1-2) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Montclair State (2-1) | 7 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
Sep 20, 2014