TCNJ preparing for busy road slate early in season
The College of New Jersey football team shook off a tough start last season to win four of the last five games.
Well, in 2018 the beginning of the season can be just as grueling.
“Two years in a row we go through a nice little gauntlet to start the season,” said TCNJ second-year coach Casey Goff. “But hey, you have to play them so why not early and right in a row and let’s be honest, the schedule doesn’t get much easier after those first five weeks. That’s the beauty of the NJAC. You better be ready to roll every week.”
A lot of wheels will be rolling, too, as TCNJ is on the road for four of its first five games.
The Lions open at FDU-Florham, then host No. 8 Frostburg State and then it’s off to No. 9 Wesley, receiving votes Salisbury and then a trip to old New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Montclair State. The rankings are D3football.com preseason rankings.
“We will be spending a lot of time away from the den this year,” said Goff. “But we are OK with that. I think our kids handle the road well and most of our opponents are relatively close. Every week is already challenging enough, I don’t think having to play on the road presents anything extra. Home or away you have to stay focused on your job.”
Another old NJAC friend, Rowan, comes calling to Lions Stadium once they get home, after a trip to Kean, William Paterson and Christopher Newport stop by Lions Stadium and TCNJ closes the season at Southern Virginia University.
The William Paterson game on Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. will be Homecoming and the next week against Christopher Newport will most likely be Senior Day.
The Pioneers have struggled lately, and they look to Johnson to get things turned around. Johnson was the defensive coordinator at Stevenson for the last five years.
He will be familiar with a few of the NJAC teams as he played his college ball at Salisbury. He was a four-year starter at quarterback.