Game Notes (PDF)
The William Paterson football team (2-1, 0-0 NJAC) will begin New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action, hosting SUNY Cortland (2-1, 1-0 NJAC) Saturday, Sept. 29. Kickoff at Wightman Stadium (3,000) will be at 1:00 p.m.
SCOUTING WILLIAM PATERSON
William Paterson is 2-1 this season following a 14-13 loss to visiting FDU-Florham (2-1) Sept. 22.
Senior Dan Lamego (North Arlington, N.J./Queen of Peace) leads the Pioneer offense, completing 39 of 72 passes for 453 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Junior Shaun Puluse (Haledon, N.J./Passaic Tech) has carried 47 times for a team-best 153 yards, and sophomore Joel Rivera (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken), the Sept. 16 ECAC Southeast Region and NJAC Offensive Player of the Week, has caught 10 passes for 148 yards and four touchdowns in two appearances.
Freshman Leer Biddle (Sicklerville, N.J./Lenape), the Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week, leads the Pioneers with 21 tackles (18 solo), adding two interceptions and 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior Brian Burd (Roxbury, N.J./Roxbury) has made 17 tackles (11 solo, 3.5 for loss) and blocked a punt, while sophomore Jared Burke (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J./Egg Harbor Twp.) has 14 tackles (12 solo), a sack and a blocked kick.
Senior Ricky Krautman (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Ramapo) has punted 23 times for 746 yards (32.4 average), landing eight inside the 20-yard line with just two touchbacks. He has also made four of six field-goal attempts and all seven PATs.
The Pioneers returned seven offensive starters and five defensive starters from a 2006 team that posted a 1-9 overall record and a 1-6 mark in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. However, that record was a bit deceiving, as William Paterson had chances to win almost every ballgame. Five of the losing margins were seven or fewer points, and in back-to-back outings, William Paterson was defeated on the final play of the game. A field goal as time expired gave Western Connecticut a 20-17 win in Wayne Oct. 7, and an overtime touchdown lifted The College of New Jersey to a 27-21 victory
Oct. 14.
Injuries also played a major role, particularly under center. Three different Pioneers started at quarterback during the 2006 campaign, and a total of five different players called the signals during the 10-game schedule.
SCOUTING SUNY CORTLAND
The Red Dragons are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in NJAC play this season following a 30-27 come-from-behind victory against Buffalo State (1-2, 0-1 NJAC) Sept. 22.
Junior Ray Miles has taken the majority of snaps for Cortland, completing 43 of 82 passes for 503 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Freshman Andrew Giuliano has rushed 49 times for a team-best 377 yards and three touchdowns, while senior Keith Greene has caught nine passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Matthew Mintz has made his only field-goal attempt and all 14 PATs, and sophomore Kyle Peterson has punted 13 times for an average of 37.8 yards per kick.
Junior Jim Smith has made a team-best 31 tackles (13 solo), including four tackles for loss, and has forced two fumbles. Junior Ban Nagle has made 20 stops and has recovered two fumbles this fall.
MOON APPROACHING CAREER RECEIVING RECORDS
Senior wide receiver Kareen Moon (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) has already left a permanent impression on the WPU career record books. At The College of New Jersey Oct. 14, 2006, he became the program's leader in receiving yards, breaking the previous record of 1,346 (Lance Sisco, 1975-78), and he finished the season with 1,774 yards.
Moon currently has 1,894 yards, 14 career touchdown receptions, just two away from matching the school record of 16 (Lance Sisco, 1975-78), and 132 receptions, six away from taking over the top spot from Bryant Richardson (137,
2000-03).
LAST TIME OUT -- FDU-FLORHAM 14, WP 13
William Paterson (2-1) lost a closely-contested 14-13 decision to FDU-Florham (2-1) in the Pioneers' home opener Sept. 22 at Wightman Stadium.
Neither team could find the end zone during the first quarter, but the Devils did eventually break the scoreless tie 56 seconds into the second frame when Daniel Harrison bounced off the line and sprinted down the left sideline, a 19-yard touchdown for a 7-0 FDU-Florham lead.
On the very next play, William Paterson senior Kareen Moon (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) received the kickoff and weaved his way 82 yards through the coverage, crossing the goal line for his 17th career touchdown (14 receiving, two punt returns, one kickoff return). Senior Ricky Krautman's (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Ramapo) extra point tied the game, 7-7, with 13:43 remaining in the first half.
Five drives later, senior Brian Burd (Roxbury, N.J./Roxbury) blocked a FDU-Florham punt and sophomore Joel Rivera (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) fell on top of it at the FDU-31. That takeaway set up a Krautman 32-yard field goal eight seconds before halftime, giving the Pioneers a 10-7 lead at the break.
Rob Roberts' hit of a scrambling Dan Lamego (North Arlington, N.J./Queen of Peace) forced a William Paterson fumble at the WP 38-yard line, and on their first play of the drive, Devil quarterback Bill Winters found Rob Eck for a 38-yard touchdown completion. The extra point gave FDU-Florham a 14-10 lead with 4:41 to play in the third quarter.
Another Krautman field goal, this one from 37 yards with 13:06 remaining in the game, made it a one-point FDU lead (14-13). William Paterson twice had chances to move the ball into field-goal range, but Lamego's sneak on fourth-and-two at the FDU 46-yard line came up a yard short with 8:28 on the clock, and he was sacked for a seven-yard loss on fourth-and-five from the WP-30 during the game's final 30 seconds.
Lamego completed 16 of 32 passes for 166 yards, throwing one interception. Seniors Ira Guilford (Jersey City, N.J./Hoboken) and Kevin Drakeford (Englewood, N.J./Paramus Catholic) each gained 28 yards on the ground, and senior Mike Vicci (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) caught five passes for a team-best 50 yards.
Burd led the defensive effort with nine total tackles (five solo), including 1.5 for loss, and the blocked punt. Freshman Santino Mangiro (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) and sophomore Saul Garcia (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) each had six stops, while freshman cornerback Leer Biddle (Sicklerville, N.J./Lenape) added an interception to his three tackles.
PIONEERS vs. RED DRAGONS
William Paterson is 1-8 all time against SUNY Cortland. The last time the two teams met was during the 2006 season, a 30-14 victory for the 10th-ranked Red Dragons in Cortland. The Pioneers' lone win in the series came in 2001, a 49-42 shootout on the William Paterson campus.
