MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham football team (3-7, 2-6 MAC) dropped their final regular season contest of their 2015 campaign 48-25 to the Stevenson University Mustangs (8-2, 7-2 MAC) on Saturday afternoon at Robert T. Shields Field.
Senior quarterback Tyler Maurer ended his career in a Devils' uniform by moving up to fourth on the all-time passing yards list in program history. Maurer completed 30 of his 57 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns.
After forcing two consecutive three-and-outs, the Mustangs went down the field and put three points in the scoring column on a successful Tim Sternfeld field goal.
The Mustangs regained possession of the ball with five minutes left in the opening stanza and freshman quarterback Brad Harmon found the speedy Cortez Allen on the left side of the field in the end zone for a 25-yard score.
The Devils were forced to punt the ball back to Stevenson on their next drive. The Mustangs started at their own 20-yard line and efficiently drove down the field. However, the Devils regained possession after the Mustangs failed to convert a fourth and 14 from the FDU-Florham 25-yard line.
FDU-Florham opened up their drive on their own two-yard line. Maurer consistently found his open receivers for solid gains and he went on to cap off the long drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Adams to cut the deficit to three.
The Mustangs came onto the field to open up the second half with just a three-point lead. However, after both of their starting running backs left the game due to injury, Devonte Williams came into the game and ran like the wind. Williams pieced together an astonishing performance, rushing for 248 yards in the third quarter alone. He finished the game with a school-record 298 yards on the ground.
His first big gain came on the second play of the Mustangs' opening drive when he took off for a 52-yard touchdown run. After the Stevenson defense forced a three-and-out, the Mustangs got the ball back and fed it immediately to Williams. The junior took the ball and ran it for 48-yards on the first play of the drive for another score.
Once the Mustangs regained possession of the ball, Harmon dropped back to pass on a second down and four. As he looked to his left, he fired the ball but it was picked off by Wakimba Davenport and returned 38-yards into the red zone. The Devils capitalized off of the costly Mustangs' turnover with a Javon Hicks eight-yard touchdown reception.
The Mustangs were holding on to an 11-point lead with 10 minutes left to play in the quarter and the ball on their own 40-yard line. After two William's rushes went for a total of 43 yards, they found themselves near the end zone. Harmon connected with a receiver which put the Mustangs in prime real estate and Williams got the ball and carried it up the middle for his third score of the quarter.
Stevenson added a field goal score at the end of the quarter to make it a 34-13 game. The Devils were forced to punt the ball back to the Mustangs and Stevenson turned to backup running back Naquan Watkins, who used his speed to fly down the field for a 43-yard touchdown run.
Once the Devils regained possession, Maurer went back to work and drove the Devils down the field from their own 30-yard line. He connected with standout sophomore wide out Malik Pressley three times before finding him in the end zone for a nine-yard score. This touchdown marked the 18th on the season for the sophomore receiver.
The Mustangs responded with another rushing touchdown by Watkins before the Devils got the ball back with just over two minutes left to play. Senior tailback Anthony Ognibene stood in the wildcat formation to open the drive and he accelerated through the line and up the field for a 24-yard gain. After two Pressley catches, the Devils were in scoring territory. Maurer dropped back to pass and found senior wide out Ted Cebulski on the right side of the field in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.
Stevenson set their program record for most total yards and most rushing yards in the contest as they outgained the Devils 460-75 on the ground.
On the defensive side of the ball for the Devils, John Edwards led the team with 10 tackles, while also racking up two sacks. Senior linebacker Nick Galletta also tallied 10 tackles on the afternoon while Davenport and Stephen Bick totaled eight.
