Buena Vista, VA - Junior safety Eric Gargiulo (Cranford, NJ, Cranford) tied an NCAA Division III record with five interceptions as Montclair State won its fourth straight game, knocking off NJAC newcomer Southern Virginia 35-15 at The Field at SVU on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore running back Denzel Nieves (South Orange, NJ, Columbia) rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns as the Red Hawks improved to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in the NJAC in the first meeting between the two schools. Senior running back Tariq Turner (Manasquan, NJ, Manasquan) also ran for a score while quarterback RYAN DAVIES (Lanoka Harbor, NJ, Howell) threw touchdown passes to Aaron Williams (West Orange, NJ, Jonathan Dayton) and Zach Liguori (Toms River, NJ, Toms River South). Senior cornerback C.J. Conway (Folsom, NJ, Hammonton) also had an interception.
Gargiulo, who now has seven picks in the last two weeks, became the 12th player in NCAA Division III history and the first in 12 years to intercept five passes in a game.The junior broke the MSU single-game record of three last accomplished by Sal Fama against Western Connecticut in 2004 and is the first D3 player to post five INT's since James Patrick of Stillman in 2002.
Gargiulo broke up a pass on the first play of the game and two plays later made his first interception at midfield returning it 15 yards to set up Montclair's first touchdown. Nieves ran for 16 yards to the SVU 14 and a pass interference penalty placed the ball at the 9. Nieves raced into the end zone on the next play giving the Red Hawks a 7-0 lead with 11:36 left in the opening quarter.
MSU widened that lead on its next drive. RYAN DAVIES (Lanoka Harbor, NJ, Howell) connected with Devon Levesque (Hanover, NH, Valley Forge) for 17 yards on a 3rd-and-10 moving the ball to the Knights' 31. Nieves carried for 18 yards on the following play and then finished off the drive with his second touchdown, a 13-yard scamper making it 14-0 just past the midpoint of the first period.
Conway ended the next Southern Virginia drive with his second interception of the season and the Red Hawks were able to keep the Knights out of the end zone until the final minute of the half when an MSU turnover gave SVU the ball at the MSU 20. The knights immediately took advantage as Mitch Stevenson hit Chris Harper for a 20-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left. Southern Virginia then converted a two-point conversion trimming the MSU lead to 14-8.
Montclair State got the ensuing kickoff and a penalty by the Knights pushed the ball out to the 40 with 18 seconds to go. The Red Hawks delivered a crushing blow as RYAN DAVIES found Aaron Williams (West Orange, NJ, Jonathan Dayton) along the left sideline for a 60-yard touchdown that gave MSU a 21-8 lead at halftime.
The Red Hawks missed an opportunity to add to the lead early in the third however a Gargiulo interception and 31-yard return put Montclair at the SVU 4 with 8:52 to go in the third. Davies found Liguori out of the backfield for a 7-yard touchdown pass extending the MSU lead to 28-8.
Gargiulo ended each of the next two SVU possessions with picks, his fourth and fifth of the day.
Turner, who finished with 64 yards on 13 carries, provided the final touchdown for Montclair State with a 33-yard run on a 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter.
Davies was 14-of-21 for 116 yards and the scored before giving way to Gabe DiMasi (West Caldwell, NJ, Montclair Kimberly Academy) who was 4-of-5 for 53 yards. Malcolm Robinson (Bayonne, NJ, Bayonne), Williams and Levesque each had three catches as did Pat Caggiano (Cedar Grove, NJ, Cedar Grove). Conway and Bill Shimko (Manahawkin, NJ, Southern Regional) finished with five tackles apiece for MSU, which totaled 337 yards of offense in the game.
Montclair State is back home at Sprague Field next week for the first time in nearly a month as it hosts The College of New Jersey in its annual Homecoming contest at 4:00 pm. It will also be the 85th meeting in the oldest active collegiate football rivalry in New Jersey.
Gargiulo Ties NCAA Record with Five INT's as Montclair St. Downs Southern Virginia, 35-15
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141011_nojk.xml
2014
Montclair State
35
Southern Virginia
15
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montclair State (4-1) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Southern Virginia (0-5) | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 15 |
Oct 11, 2014