On the Saturday of Homecoming Weekend at Townebank Stadium, the Captains defeated Kean University with a score of 34-10. This extended the Captains home winning streak to eight games.
In every game this season, the Captains have successfully managed to make the first touchdown every time. This game continued that trend as the Captains opened the scoring with a 48-yard run by sophomore wide receiver Colin Hart. This was the first of three touchdowns from Hart, the other two were receiving touchdowns thrown to him by senior quarterback Matt Dzierski. Hart went on to record seven receptions for 184 yards with two touchdowns. His 48-yard run gave him a total of 232 total offensive yards. Dzierski’s performance was also a key contributor to the Captains success as he completed 11 of 15 passes to go along with 242 passing yards.
“Matt Dzierski had a really good day today and did a great job leading our offense. It all starts with our offensive line, and they created some great opportunities for us and we took advantage of them. Our defense also showed again just how dominant they can be, so overall this was a pretty complete win,” head coach Paul Crowley said in a press release.
Later in the first quarter, sophomore running back Gunner White completed a ten play, 82 yard drive with a 23-yard rushing touchdown. This score extended the Captains lead 13-0. White went on to rush for 77 yards on 12 carries for the game.
As a result of the Captains first punt of the game, the Kean Cougars started their drive at their own 18-yard line. What looked like a potential touchdown drive was halted by a sack on a 2nd & 3 from sophomore defensive lineman Nathan Coffey. After a short completion on third down, the Cougars had to settle for a field goal which was made by senior Logan Matthews from New Jersey. This reduced the Captains lead to ten, making it a 13-3 score. A kickoff that went out of bounds put the Captains at their own 35-yard line with just over nine minutes left in the half.
After a timeout from Kean, the Captains began their drive. A 27-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver Colin Hart put the Captains in the red zone. The Captains were able to make this count when sophomore wide receiver Trey Hayes caught an 18-yard pass from Matt Dzierski in the end zone that extended the Captains lead to 19-3. After a made extra point by graduate student kicker Ryan Castle, the Captains had a 20-3 lead.
The sole touchdown from Kean occurred near the beginning of the fourth quarter. With the Captains up by 31, the Cougars began an eight play, 70 yard drive that made the score 34-10, and was the final scoring possession by either team. The Captains improved their record to 5-2 for the season and 3-0 atop the NJAC (New Jersey Athletic Conference). Meanwhile, Kean is now 0-7 for the season and 0-4 at home. Despite their impressive campaign thus far, the team is fully aware about their room for improvement.
“We can’t think about anything but the next game on the schedule. Our focus has to remain strong and we have to keep working hard to prepare for every challenge. We’re going to enjoy this win, and then get back to work to get ready for another long trip coming up,” Crowley said in a press release.
Looking ahead, the Captains will face William Paterson University on October 28 in Wayne, New Jersey with the kickoff scheduled for 1:00 PM.
