WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson's (1-1) comeback fell just short, suffering a 29-20 loss against Bridgewater State during the Pioneers' football home opener Sept. 13.
Junior running back Darius Kersey (Dover, N.J./Dover) finished with 121 all-purpose yards to lead the WP offense. Senior linebacker Ben Allen(Ventnor, N.J./Atlantic City) paced the defense with nine tackles (five solo).
A 59-yard interception return by sophomore Jason Montalvo (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) halted the Bears' opening drive and set the Pioneers up inside the BSU 10-yard line. Senior Robert Sinegra (Wharton, N.J./Morris Knolls) converted the turnover into points with an 18-yard field goal, and William Paterson owned the lead 4:50 into the contest.
Bridgewater State answered with a nine-play, 77-yard drive, the last snap a 35-yard touchdown by sophomore Danny Higgins to senior wide receiver Matthew Green. Senior Colin Neri kicked the extra point and the Bears were ahead, 7-3, at the 7:22 mark.
Another big play, this one a Higgins 49-yard keeper, pushed the margin to 14-3 with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter. But, the Pioneers got the score back when junior running back Dwaine Dabney, Jr. (Summit, N.J./Summit) took a delayed handoff and cut back inside, scampering into the end zone from eight yards out to make it a 14-10 game with 5:53 remaining during the opening half.
A 34-yard completion from Higgins to Green on third-and-15 kept the next BSU drive going, and seven plays later freshman quarterback Malik Garrett scored on a 10-yard run. A bad snap on the extra point led to an interception that wasn't returned, but the Bears had a 20-10 lead 1:58 before halftime.
William Paterson received the second-half opening kickoff and covered 61 yards on 10 plays, including a 10-yard rushing touchdown from senior Matt Deiana (Somers, N.Y./Somers). Sinegra's PAT was good, and the Pioneers were within a field goal at 20-17 just 4:11 into the third quarter.
A 30-yard pass play on third-and-eight at midfield led to a Neri 38-yard field goal, making it a 23-17 game with 7:14 on the clock, but Sinegra later answered with a 33-yarder of his own (23-20, 0:40).
Sophomore Kell'E Gallimore (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) blocked Neri's 26-yard field-goal attempt two minutes into the fourth quarter, keeping it a three-point margin, but the Pioneers could not capitalize on the opportunity and were forced to punt the ball back to Bridgewater State. The Bears engineered a 10-play, 85-yard scoring drive, capped by senior Blaise Branch's one-yard touchdown run. Another bad snap kept BSU from kicking the PAT, but the lead had been expanded to two scores at 29-20 midway through the final period.
A sack and fumble with 4:47 to play all but ended WP's comeback hopes.
Freshman quarterback Austin Fellows (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) finished 14-for-31 for 139 yards. Kersey rushed 10 times for 67 yards, and Dabney carried seven times for 55 yards and a touchdown. Deiana gained 50 yards and scored once on 15 attempts.
Kersey led the receiving corps with five catches for 35 yards.
Junior linebackers Dennis Goodman (Somerset, N.J./Bishop Ahr) and Carlo Caponetta (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) each made eight tackles for the WP defense.
Higgins was 13-for-20 for 218 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and Garrett finished 3-for-6 for 86 yards. Branch gained 97 yards and scored a touchdown on 21 carries, and Green caught 10 passes for 172 yards and a score.
Junior linebacker Nicholas Salois recorded a game-best 12 tackles for BSU. Senior defensive back Mathieu Araujo and junior linebacker Stephen Jacobs each collected seven stops.
William Paterson will celebrate Homecoming Saturday, Sept. 20, against Salve Regina at 1:00 p.m.
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WP Football's Comeback Foiled, 29-20
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140913_kmax.xml
2014
Bridgewater State
29
William Paterson
20
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater State (1-1) | 14 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 29 |
| William Paterson (1-1) | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
Sep 13, 2014