EWING, NJ…Junior tight end Joe Franzone (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) caught only four passes, yet scored three of the first four touchdowns scored by The College of New Jersey and threw a 17-yard TD pass on a reverse, and junior quarterback Bob Schurtz (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) completed 15-of-21 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns as the Lions eased by New Jersey City University, 42-7, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference Homecoming game at Lions Stadium.
TCNJ is 4-2 on the season, and 3-1 in the NJAC, keeping alive hopes for a share of the conference title. The Gothic Knights fall to 0-7, 0-4, and have lost their last 11.
In defeat, rookie quarterback Kasey Nunez (Staten Island, NY/Susan E. Wagner, NY) played his best game yet, tossing one touchdown pass and 155 yards on 15-of-25 passing, despite being sacked six times.
Four of the completions were to freshman receiver Richard Clark III (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott) for 66 yards, including a game-high pass-play of 39 yards. Freshman receiver Christopher Kates (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen) made another four catches for 44 yards, with a long reception of 26 yards, and freshman receiver Alvin Elliott (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) had two grabs for 31 yards. Junior running back Tyshan Jackson (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) had three runs for 20 yards (6.7 yards per carry), while Nunez carried 20 times for 20 net yards (65 gain, 45 loss).
Senior wideout Joe Gargione (Egg Harbor, NJ/Absegami) had a game-high six catches for 79 yards and one score. Senior running back Bryan Gallagher (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) accumulated a game-best 99 yards on only 14 carries, an average of 7.1 per run. Sophomore back Leeaire Brown (Willingboro, NJ/Willingboro) entered as a reserve in the second half, and recorded 13 carries for 51 yards. Senior receiver Matt Dunn (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) made three catches for 42 yards off the bench.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Thomas Williams (Long Branch, NJ/Long Branch) compiled a game-best and career-high 12 tackles (five solo) with one hurry. Sophomore Omar Palmer (Washington, D.C./North Babylon, NY), a converted defensive back, made his first career start for NJCU on defense, and was a natural, posting a game-high six solo tackles and nine total stops with two for losses of five yards. Senior free safety Dashaun Gourdine (Franklin, NJ/Franklin) added nine tackles (three solo). Freshman strong safety Conrad Lane (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) did not start because of injury, but was exceptional off the bench with one interception and two breakups, with seven tackles (five solo). Freshman cornerback Tim Harrison (Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield) had two passes defended.
No TCNJ defender had more than six tackles, but senior defensive lineman Chet King (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) posted the best defensive effort on either roster with 3.5 sacks for 19 yards in losses, two forced fumbles, and six tackles (four solo), with four for losses.
TCNJ jumped ahead with 6:31 of the first quarter when Franzone caught a 12-yard, wide-open pass up the middle from Schurtz to cap the Lions’ first drive of the game. After a NJCU punt, the Lions drove again, and on 2-and-1 from the NJCU 25-yard line, Franzone took a reverse handoff from Schurtz and lofted a 25-yard TD throw to the near flag that Gargione hauled in for a 14-0 lead.
At 9:27 of the second quarter, Franzone grabbed another wide-open pass up the middle, this time a 22-yard touchdown pass from Schurtz that gave TCNJ a 21-0 halftime lead and summed up a six-play, 73-yard drive.
The Lions made it 28-0 on their first possession of the second half when Franzone caught his third score, on a two-yard slant from Schurtz near the goal line.
After a Gothic Knight fumble gave the Lions great field position at the NJCU 28, junior back Jon Hedgepeth (Little Egg Harbor/Holy Spirit) added a three-yard scamper for a 35-0 advantage. Backup quarterback Nick D’Aconti (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) had a quarterback sneak from four-yards at 12:45 of the fourth quarter, highlighting a 17-play, 99-yard drive that put an exclamation point at the end of a 42-0 lead for TCNJ.
For the second straight week, junior linebacker Zyrick Norris (Staten Island, NY/Port Richmond, NY) entered the game as an eligible receiver, and hauled in a four-yard pass from Nunez at 9:24 of the fourth, to coat an eight-play, 80-yard series for the Knights only points.
The Lions amassed 412 yards on 67 plays, while NJCU was limited to 194 yards on 54 plays. Each school committed one turnover.
NJCU will take advantage of a much-needed open date on Saturday, November 2, to rest up and allow a number of injured players to heal, before hosting Montclair State University on Saturday, November 9 in a game that has been rescheduled as NJCU’s 2002 Homecoming game. The October 19 game vs. Kean University was originally tabbed as Homecoming, but the date was changed after the venue was moved because of poor field conditions after a Nor’ Easter soaked Northern New Jersey on October 16.
