Madison, NJ (September 25) – FDU-Florham quarterback Anthony Caserta (Bronx, NY) threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns, while wide receiver Connor Perez (Warwick, NY) caught five passes four 104 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Devils to a 31-20 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) win over Misericordia University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The first three drives of the game featured touchdowns. Misericordia drove down the field on five plays in 2:58 for the first score of the game as Michael Gawlik ran for a 38-yard touchdown for the early 6-0 lead.

After the missed extra point attempt by the Cougars, FDU immediately answered with a nine play, 65-yard drive that was capped by a 12-yard pass from Caserta to Perez. Chris DiMedio (Cornwall, NY) converted the extra point as FDU took its first lead of the contest, 7-6.
 
Before the clock ran out in the first quarter, David Cromwell gave Misericordia a 14-7 lead with his 1-yard run which ended a six play, 66-yard drive that lasted 2:47.
 
There was only one score in the second quarter and it came with less than a minute to play as Nicolas Santavicca (Yorktown Heights, NY) caught a 10-yard pass from Caserta as the game stood knotted at 14-14 after 30 minutes of play.

Early in the third quarter, Misericordia put together a drive that lasted 2:22 and spanned 72-yards, but the Cougars came up an inch short of a touchdown thanks to the Devils defense. Cromwell ran for 73 yards all the way down to the 1-yard line. On back-to-back plays, the FDU defense stuffed the runner and prevented the ball from crossing the plane. On 3rd and goal, FDU forced a pass by Dallas Engel, but Isaiah Asmani (Norwalk, Conn.) picked off the throw and gave possession back to the Devils.
 
FDU capitalized on the Asmani interception and put together a 5:20 drive which ended in a 25-yard field goal by DiMedio. The Cougars, however, immediately answered as Gawlik gave Misericordia a 20-17 lead on an 18-yard rushing touchdown. 

The Devils offense came alive in the final quarter and outscored the Cougars 14-0 as Caserta found Perez twice in the back of the end zone. The first touchdown of the quarter came on a 26-yard pass following a huge penalty on 3rd and 9. Then, with three minutes left in regulation, Caserta found Perez once again, but this time it was 16 yards as FDU earned its first MAC win of the year, 31-20 over Misericordia. 
 
Santavicca led the Devils on the ground with 63 yards, while Rory Sullivan (Hazlet, NJ) caught eight passes for 110 yards. Defensively, Asmani and Samariy Howard (Robbins, Ga.) both registered interceptions in the win, while Joseph Randazzo (Staten Island, NY) forced a fumble.

The win today was the first for FDU over Misericordia since 2017 and dating back to 2012, the Devils are 5-5 against the Cougars. Jimmy Robertson picked up his first win at home as the head coach of the FDU football program.

Up next, FDU will head to Widener for another MAC contest next Saturday, October 2. Widener currently is in first place in the conference with a 4-0 overall record and a mark of 2-0 in the conference.

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