MADISON, N.J. – Despite scoring 14 unanswered points in the second half, the FDU-Florham football team dropped its home opener to Albright 30-17 Saturday afternoon.
DEVILS HIGHLIGHTS
- Graduate transfer quarterback Nazir Smith threw for 384 yards going 26-for-49 in completions with two touchdowns and a long of 46 yards.
- Na.zeer Whittaker led the backfield with 39 rushing yards in only four attempts and a long of 22 yards.
- Jarelle Taylor was the top receiver for the Devils, bringing in eight receptions for 121 yards and one touchdown.
- Freshman Dylan Roemmele had three receptions and one touchdown.
- Jayden Endaz, Travis Petrone, and Adam Noufal all had nine tackles each on defense.
- Junior captain AJ Kuc had eight tackles, including one for a loss of 10 yards and one interception.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Devils held the Lions to a three-and-out on their first drive and followed up with a drive from their own 31-yard line to the Albright 11 where FDU settled for a 21-yard field goal from George Carr to take a 3-0 lead.
- Albright immediately answered with an 11-play drive capped off by a DeAndre Clemons rushing touchdown and after the PAT, the Lions took a 7-3 edge with 7:07 left in the first quarter.
- The Lions ended the first quarter with two deep balls from Chase Roberts as he connected with Shayde Shultz for a 44-yard catch followed by a 35-yard touchdown pass to Logan Rothberg to extend the Albright lead to 14-3 after the second PAT.
- In the second, FDU held the Lions scoreless until the final 4:30 of the half as Albright scored on back-to-back drives to take a 27-3 lead after one failed two-point conversion attempt.
- The Lions ended the half with a field goal, and the Devils faced a 30-3 deficit headed to the locker room.
- After the break, the Devils offense found new life as a Smith connected with Roemmele for a 15-yard touchdown, cutting the Albright lead to 30-10.
- Immediately following this drive, Albright was held to a quick three-and-out by the FDU defense, led by Kuc, Endaz, JC Henriquez, Aiden Owen, and Travis Petrone.
- The Devils offense capitalized on this momentum and a seven-play drive capped off by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Taylor cut the Albright lead by more than half as FDU only trailed 30-17 with one quarter to play.
- Taylor's TD at the end of the third was the last scoring of Saturday's game as neither team found the endzone or attempted a field goal in the fourth quarter and the Devils fell 30-17.
GAME NOTES
- Kuc's interception was the first of his career.
- Devils defense had two blocked punts on the day
- Kuc became the first FDU defender in the modern online box-score record to record a sack of at least 10 yards and an interception return of at least 15 yards in the same game
- Kuc became the fifth player overall with both a sack and an interception in the same game.
UP NEXT
The Devils return to action on Saturday, Sept. 19 as FDU hosts Widener and will celebrate Homecoming. Kick-off is set for noon.
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