Madison, NJ (September 9) – The FDU-Florham football team improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2018 with a 28-21 non-conference victory over William Paterson University this evening on Robert T. Shields Field.
FDU-Florham's defense and special teams came up big when it counted as the Devils blocked a pair of punts and intercepted the ball twice which included a pick by
Connor Perez (Warwick, NY) in the end zone to seal the victory.
Perez led the Devils offensively with six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, while
Michael DeSantis (South River, NJ) caught a 17-yard touchdown pass.
TJ Brown (Staten Island, NY) ended his day under center with 21 completions, 135 passing yards and three total touchdowns (two passing and one rushing).
Ryon Thomas (Mattapoisett, Mass.) accounted for FDU-Florham's other touchdown in the win.
Defensively,
Kenny Hands (Runnemede, NJ) posted six tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry.
Cole Weekley (Franklin, NJ) and
Jahaad Anderson (Elizabeth, NJ) both blocked punts for the Devils, while
Jordan Bennett (Queens, NY) and Perez both registered interceptions in tonight's victory.
With 6:56 left in the first quarter, FDU-Florham took over from the William Paterson 35-yard line following a punt and drove into the endzone for a 7-0 lead. Thomas rushed the ball over the goal line on fourth and goal for the early edge. The Devils converted twice on fourth down on the drive.
On the very next drive, Anderson blocked William Paterson's punt and FDU-Florham took over just 17 yards away from the end zone. On the first play of the drive, Brown found DeSantis for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Midway through the second, William Paterson had 4th and 20 from its own 27-yard line and this time Weekley blocked the punt and gave FDU-Florham possession on the 6-yard line. Four plays later, Brown ran the ball into the end zone on 4th and goal from the one to push FDU's lead to 21-0.
William Paterson scored its first points of the day prior to the break on an 89-yard touchdown reception by Taz Burton. The Pioneers' special teams unit and Tyreek Rollins returned an 80-yard punt into the end zone early in the third quarter to cut their deficit to just one possession, 21-14.
FDU-Florham posted a six minute drive that spanned between the third and fourth quarters and capitalized on an 8-yard touchdown reception by Perez, extending its lead to 28-14. William Paterson took over with 1:12 to play and drove 38-yards in five plays to make it a one possession game once again at 28-21.
After the score, William Paterson recovered an onside kick and took over at its own 46-yard line. The Pioneers got down to the FDU 39-yard line before Simon Condemi launched a pass into the end zone that was picked off by Perez to end the game.
As a team, FDU-Florham went 4-for-5 on fourth down conversions and sacked the William Paterson quarterback five times for a total loss of 55 yards.
FDU-Florham (2-0) will open Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play next week at home against Lebanon Valley College (0-1) on Saturday, September 17 at 12:00 pm on Robert T. Shields Field.
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FDU-Florham is currently running a campaign in honor of former Devils men's basketball head coach, men's golf coach and athletic director Roger Kindel.
All donations will go directly towards funding a complete renovation of the basketball and volleyball court inside the Ferguson Recreation Center with his name dawned on both sides. If you are interested in reading more about the campaign and/or making a donation to the cause, please follow the link here: https://support.fdu.edu/athletics/devils/giving/roger-kindel
