On Saturday, September 2, the Kean football team hosted their first home game of the season against State University of New York (SUNY) Morrisville at the Kean Alumni Stadium. Before the game, the tailgate started at 11 a.m. in the Hardwood Arena parking lot.
Students checked in with staff and received free Kean T-shirts and towels. Also, students were able to get free food and go to different activities. During the tailgate, which was from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., students were able to take pictures with their friends at a photo station while others were able to get pictures drawn of themselves as they sat in front of an artist. Many students went to the hat station where an artist would spray paint their names on hats that they were able to keep.
As the tailgate went on, the day grew warmer. Students lined up outside of Rita’s Italian Ice food truck and happily received free sweet treats to cool off. Also, students had the opportunity to grab a bite to eat from the Outback Steakhouse food truck. Numerous food trucks and snacks were available to make sure students and other attendees were well-fed before the kickoff.
While enjoying the festivities, attendees enjoyed the tunes played by the DJ as he gave a shout-out to Kean students and alumni from different states and cities. Kean students, alumni, faculty and staff came out to support their football team against SUNY Morrisville, this certainly showcased the strength and support of the Kean community.
Lisbeth Gell, a resident assistant at Kean, explained why it is important for new students to attend the tailgate and the football games at Kean.
“I think it is important because they’re able to meet other peers and network with students as well, there's also a lot of perks from coming out like receiving free things and really like utilizing what we’re being provided,” said Gell. “So, I think it’s really important for students to come out and see what Kean has to offer.”
As the tailgate started to end the Kean football team took the field and started to get ready for their first opponent. The first quarter ended with SUNY Morrisville taking a 7-0 lead over Kean after scoring a touchdown early in the first quarter. That gave SUNY Morrisville energy as they would get a field goal in their first possession of the second quarter. Things cooled down for SUNY Morrisville until the end of the first half when they scored another touchdown extending the lead 17-0.
Kean came out with the ball to start the second half and got a touchdown within the first few minutes of the third quarter cutting the lead 17-7. Going into the fourth quarter SUNY Morrisville took the ball down the field and scored a touchdown extending the lead 24-7. Kean had possession with nearly eight minutes left on the clock, they scored a touchdown to cut the lead 24-14 as that would be the final score of the game.
Although the Kean football team took their first loss of the season, the Kean community can look forward to their comeback against Ursinus College on Sept. 9 in Collegeville, PA.
