Montclair, N.J. (10/13/07) - Sophomore running back Jeff Bliss (New Milford, N.J.) came off the bench to rush for 167 yards and a touchdown while starter Ryan McCoach (Rockaway, N.J.) ran for 88 yards and two scores as Montclair State, ranked 19th in the latest D3Football.com Top 25 poll, defeated Kean University with a 27-12 victory at Sprague Field on Saturday evening. Senior quarterback Michael Jump (Toms River, N.J.) threw for 103 yards and a touchdown as the Red Hawks improved to 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the NJAC with their second straight win.
Senior quarterback A.J. Roque (Matawan, N.J.) threw for 194 yards and also caught a touchdown as Kean fell to 2-4 overall, 1-3 in the NJAC with their third consecutive defeat.
Kean had the first two real scoring opportunities as the Cougars started their second drive at the MSU 21 but came away empty as Mike Ajadi (Bloomfield, N.J.) blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt by Jon Robinson (Brick, N.J.). Kean would get another chance taking over at the MSU 37, but again were halted. Late in the first quarter, Montclair put the first points on the board taking advantage of a short field. Getting the ball at the Kean 27, Jump hit Omar Sevilla (North Bergen, N.J.) for 20 yards to the Kean 3 and on the next play, McCoach scampered the final yards to give Montclair a 7-0 lead with 28 seconds left in the first.
MSU would extend its lead early in the second quarter with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took just over five minutes. McCoach bulled the last five yards of the drive as the Red Hawks built a 14-0 advantage.
Kean would get the score back late in the first half as Roque found Shane Meyer (Hazlet, N.J.) on a 36-yard play to the MSU 14. Following an incompletion, Roque handed the ball to Durrell Dukes (Elizabeth, N.J.) on an option pass. Duke eluded two tackles and then threw back across the field where Roque made a leaping catch for the touchdown as the Cougars closed the gap to 14-6.
After Montclair State missed a field goal late in the half, Kean had a golden opportunity to tighten the score further. Roque hit Dukes with a 39-yard completion and then found Brian Williams (Pleasantville, N.J.) for 20 yards to the Montclair 11. A Roque pass to Rick Jaeger (Hazlet, N.J.) with one second left gave Kean the ball at the MSU 1 and the Cougars elected to go for the touchdown. But after calling successive timeouts, the exchange from center was mishandled and MSU took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Jump found Sevilla on the right side for a 30-yard touchdown as Montclair increased it lead to 20-6 with 12:37 to go.
The Red Hawks looked to add more on their next possession moving to the Kean 24, but Chris Lauda (Staten Island, N.Y.) intercepted a pass and raced 80 yards for the touchdown as the Cougars got back to 20-12. That run puts him at second on the all-time single game listt. Kean would look to close the gap even more and attempted a fake punt on fourth-down from its own 44, however the trick play was spoiled as Ajadi deflected the pass attempt away.
Montclair used just two plays to capitalize as Bliss accounted for all 44 yards, including a 30-yard run with 2:23 to play in the third as the Red Hawks led 27-12.
Roque completed 12-of-34 attempts while Jared Chunn (Tinton Falls, N.J.) had 12 rushes for 29 yards. Defensively for Kean freshman Jordan Cagle (Mount Holly, N.J.) finished with a game-high 13 tackles. Lauda had nine stops for the Cougars.
Kean is back in action on Saturday, October 20th when they celebrate Homecoming against Rowan beginning at 2:00 pm.
