TCNJ runs over William Paterson
The College of New Jersey let it be known right from its first possession that it was the better football team.
The Lions notched their second win in a row with a 24-7 victory over William Patersonon a rainy Homecoming Saturday on the Lions Stadium turf.
TCNJ (2-6, 2-5) took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in 17 plays, using up 10:53 minutes. It was no doubt the most impressive drive of the Lions’ season, which was capped on a 4-yard pass from Dave Jachera to Vinny Guckin and a 7-0 lead.
The Pioneers (0-8, 0-7), who have now lost 28 straight games, tied the game with 10:41 left in the first half when Siraj Abdul-Malik hauled in a 69yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tracy Fudge.
The Lions, who scored in every period, responded and took a 14-7 advantage into the halftime when Mark Pacini rushed for four yards to the endzone.
After stopping Paterson on the first series of the second half, the Lions used 8:20 before settling for a 19-yard Alex DeLeo field goal to give them a 17-7 lead.
The Lions had a season high 25 first downs, were a season-best 11-for-16 on third downs and they were 4-of-6 in the red zone.
The final touchdown came from the legs of Jachera, the freshman quarterback. He put the exclamation point on the win, running 10 yards to paydirt with just 1:43 left in the game.
On homecoming, Jachera conjured up memories of former TCNJ signalcaller Chris James, who back in 2007, 08 and 09 rushed for well over 1,500 yards each year.
Jachera leads the Lions with 469 yards rushing through eight games and against Paterson he set a new career high with 165 yards rushing.
He was also 10-for-16 for 81 yards, a touchdown and interception though the air.
It was also a career-high 94 yards rushing for former Florence High star Mark Pacini.
A couple other former Burlington County high school stars made the TCNJ highlight reel. Jalen Harmon (Northern Burlington) has a pair of interceptions and when all the NJAC games are over on Saturday, the sophomore could be conference leader.
Also on the defense, Jeff Konzelman (Rancocas Valley), Max Busca and Nick Celli each had four tackles.