Mustangs football falls 28-14 on the road at TCNJ

Visiting Morrisville State College football scored twice in the fourth quarter, but fell short as host, The College of New Jersey, collected the 28-14 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victory Saturday afternoon in Ewing, New Jersey.



Morrisville State drops to 0-3 overall, 0-2 in conference action while TCNJ remains undefeated at 3-0, 2-0 in NJAC play.



Playing to a scoreless first quarter, TCNJ was first to put numbers on the scoreboard, with James Donoghue completing a 30 yard run for the score midway through the quarter.



The Mustangs pinned the Lions on their own four yard line following a quick series of downs by Morrisville State, but TCNJ drove the ball 96 yards on 15 plays to take the 14-0 lead into the break.



After a scoreless third quarter, Morrisville State's sophomore quarterback Lemar Johnson (Ossining, NY) capped off an 89 yard drive with a three yard run to bring the Mustangs within striking distance with just over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth.



With 2:36 remaining on the clock, TCNJ's Shawn Brown intercepted Johnson and returned the ball 56 yards to give TCNJ the 14 point cushion, but Morrisville State quickly responded with a 35 yard scoring pass play from Johnson to wide receiver Ricky Demers (Wappinger Falls, NY) with just over a minute to go.



The Mustangs onside kick attempt was recovered by the Lions on the ensuing drive and led to a three play, 38 yard scoring drive by TNCJ for the 28-14 victory.



Johnson completed 16-of-35 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, adding 107 net yards and a score on the ground on 13 carries as Morrisville State had a net 381 yards total offense.



Morrisville State outgained the Lions in the air by 45 yards, with tight end James Schoenig (Brewster, NY) leading the receiving unit with 52-yards on four receptions, while Josh Powell (Yonkers, NY) caught four for 43 yards.



Travis French (Newark Valley, NY) posted nine total tackles, four solo, to lead the defensive unit with Enrique Robinson (St. Paul, MN) adding eight in the efforts.



Joe Falco had 113 net yards on 27 carries and a score for the Lions in the running game, as Donoghue added 66 while completing 15-of-23 passes for 161 yards.



Nick Bricker, Michael Lambert and Greg Burns led TCNJ with nine tackles each. Brown had eight total tackles, an interception, and recovered a fumble for the Lions.



Morrisville State returns to the field Saturday, October 1 at SUNY Cortland for a 7 p.m. kick-off time.