EWING, NJ – The College of New Jersey rushed 61 times for 403 yards, led by 126 yards from senior quarterback James Donoghue and 107 yards by senior running back Joe Falco, to beat the College at Florham Devils by a score of 49-21 in non-conference action on Friday evening.

With the loss, the Devils dropped to 0-2 while the Lions improved to 2-0.

After punts by both teams on the first two possessions of the game, TCNJ got the ball on their own 45 yard line and marched down to the FDU 26 where they faced a fourth-and-one that they converted.  Four plays later, Falco ran it in from two yards out to give the Lions a 7-0 lead with 8:02 left in the first quarter.  The Devils responded though, taking the ball from their own 37 yard line down to the TCNJ 10 yard line but the drive stalled and junior kicker Travis Mullen came on for a 27-yard field goal.  The Lions came right up the gut however and blocked the field goal, taking possession on their own 41 yard line.  TCNJ then moved down to the FDU 13 but junior safety Shane Roland forced and recovered a fumble to give the Devils the ball back.

The Devils punted to start the second quarter and the Lions went 45 yards in six plays to take a 14-0 lead with 12:22 left in the half on a two-yard touchdown run by junior running back Nicholas Tyson.  After a three-and-out by FDU, TCNJ capped a 58-yard drive in five plays with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Donoghue to junior wide receiver Brian Mills to take a 21-0 lead with 9:57 left in the second quarter.  Another three-and-out by the Devils led to the Lions getting the ball back on their own 39 yard line.  Three plays later, the Lions moved the ball down to the FDU eight yard line and they then grabbed a 28-0 lead on an eight-yard touchdown scamper from Falco with 7:33 to go in the half.  TCNJ grabbed a 35-0 lead with 2:24 remaining in the half on a two-yard run by freshman running back Brad Young.

FDU began the second half with the ball and had their finest drive of the night to date, moving down to the TCNJ eight yard line before facing a fourth-and-goal.  Senior quarterback Ryan Cushman targeted sophomore wide receiver Anthony Fruncillo in the back of the end zone but it was incomplete as FDU turned the ball over on downs.  The Devils got on the board with 4:01 left in the third quarter when Cushman converted a broken play into a 44-yard touchdown run to make the score 35-7.  The Devils then tried an onsides-kick but the Lions recovered and went down the field to grab a 42-7 lead on an 11-yard touchdown run from Donoghue with 2:14 to go in the third quarter.  FDU came right back to cut it to 42-14 with 0:10 to go in the third on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cushman to junior wide receiver Jon Bennett.

The solid offense for FDU continued into the fourth quarter when Cushman hit Fruncillo for a beautiful 20-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone to bring the Devils to within 42-21 with 12:19 left in the game.  The Lions got that score back on their next possession when junior quarterback William Friedrich ran it in from six yards out to make it 49-21 with 7:45 to play.

FDU was led by Cushman, who went 15-of-26 for 189 yards and two touchdowns through the air while carrying 10 times for 120 yards and a score on the ground.  Fruncillo finished with eight catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.  Roland tallied a game-high 12 tackles to go along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. 

The Devils return to action on Saturday, September 24, 2011, with their home and Middle Atlantic Conference opener against Delaware Valley beginning at 1 pm.