Reading, Pa (October 12)- After resting with the entire Middle Atlantic Conference for a bye week, The FDU-Florham Football team (5-0, 4-0 MAC) traveled to Alvernia (0-5, 0-4 MAC) for their next contest and were able to pull the third quarter comeback out of their pockets, to keep the 5-0 record alive with a 37-26 win over the Golden Wolves.


For the Devils offensive unit, senior quarterback, Ryon Thomas (Mattapoisett, Mass.) was seen with 233 passing yards on 21 of 30 completions. Despite being sacked three times, he still managed to throw three touchdowns through the air and rushed another in with 41 total yards picked up on the ground. Helping in the run game was Kwanir Edwards (Trenton, NJ) who was seen with 80 yards on 20 carries, resulting in one touchdown for himself as well. Multiple Devils were targeted through the air but Anthony Bilotta (Cedar Grove, NJ) accounted for the most efficient receiving game as he accounted for 77 yards on 5 receptions.

Defensively, the Devils saw Aaron Smith (Naugatuck, Conn.) take the charge with six solo tackles and three assists. Otis Harold (Vineland, NJ)  accounted for four tackles and was accounted for his first interception of the year, which was one of two in the game.  

FDU-Florham chose to defer their win of the coin flip to kick away to Alvernia for the first drive of the game. With the ball starting on the ALV30, the Devils knew that a four-and-out stop was needed. They did just so and started their first offensive drive at their own 32-yard line. It did not take long as three first downs were picked up to move the offensive unit to the ALV22. A connection from Thomas to Bilotta allowed FDU to record their first points of the game and the extra point allowed for the first full completed scoring drive.
 
In their next turn back, the Golden Wolves felt the need to even the score on their home field and did so in seven plays for their first receiving touchdown of the game. The extra point was called good, resulting in a 7-7 score with six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Both teams attempted to take the lead before the first 15 minutes of the game expired but were not able to do so as FDU ended the quarter on their own 4-yard line.
 
The hope of starting the second quarter with a few points was very present but was not able to be carried through as the Devils were forced to punt away after being stopped at their own 11-yard line.  With the ball back in the hands of the Alvernia, this was the drive for them to capitalize, but they too were unsuccessful as a 44-yard field goal failed to go through the uprights to help take the slight lead.
 
With ten minutes remaining in the half, FDU-Florham found the offensive spurt they needed to march up the field as Edwards and Obed Fosu (Bronx, NY) along with Alexander Galarza (Holmdel, NJ) completed their mission of moving the chains closing to the Alvernia Redzone. The drive was at a 4th and 6 set of downs at the ALV47 when Thomas found Adrian Reese ( Indianapolis, Ind.) downfield for the 47-yard touchdown, and the extra point was confirmed following, 14-7.
 
With it hit Alvernia that they were losing on their home field to FDU, the Golden Wolves quickly strung a set of effective plays together to even out both sides of the scoreboard. FDU-Florham was given back the ball but was not able to convert on continuous drives as Tristan Newhouse (Severna Park, MD.) was forced to punt away again.
 
Although Alvernia was successful In their next drive, 20-14, the extra point was blocked by Rocco Bonavolonta (Stanhope, NJ) and was able to be returned by Harold for a successful defensive PAT, 20-16. Receiving the ball with minimal time left on the game clock did not allow much offensive movement as multiple passes were thrown incomplete until the halftime final occurred.
 
With the decision to defer kick-off to start the game, FDU was seen receiving the ball to start the second half after an 18-yard return from Damien Riehle (Goshen, NY) allowed the Devils to set up shop at their own 25. Throw many plays, the Devils marched their way up the field onto Alvernia's side and found themselves in the redzone, which ultimately had the drive ending in a 9-yard rush for Thomas to bring the score back in favor of the Devils, 23-20.

With a tight game brewing, Alvernia felt the need to take back the lead which resulted in a 12-yard touchdown pass and confirmed extra point to have the score read 26-23 in favor of Alvernia with 3:35 remaining in the third. The FDU offense took their time and was able to bring themselves to the ALV37 before the third quarter expired on a 2nd and 14 drive. Even with a fresh 15 minutes on the clock, FDU-Florham was stopped by the Alvernia defense, forcing them to punt away.

The game was decided with Alvernia's next drive as they worked their way to their own 26, before Harold found his first interception of the year to help keep the ball within a short scoring range for the Devils' offense. With little work to be done for the offense, Thomas was able to find Galarza for the 12-yard touchdown pass, 30-26.
 
A fire was burning even hotter for FDU-Florham was they were able to force Alvernia to turn over on down as a 21-yard sack by Jakob Salinas (Bristol, Conn.) forced the turnover.
 
With the lead, the ball, and the clock reading 4:44, FDU's offense just needed to move the chains and let the clock bleed out to win the game. After taking the trouble they were given in the first half, FDU continued to up the score as Edwards was seen rushing in the final touchdown of the game, 37-26.
 
Alvernia was given one last chance to close the scoring gap but was denied at mid-field when Anthony Cuzzocrea ( Staten Island, NY) solidified the game with his first interception of the season, 37-26.


FDU-Florham will remain on the road for their next MAC contest, as they will be paying Delaware Valley a visit on Saturday, October 19. Kick-off is currently set for 12:00 pm. 

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