Box Score 

DANBURY, CONN. – William Paterson (5-5, 4-5 NJAC) rolled to a 34-7 victory at Western Connecticut (2-8, 2-7 NJAC) in the football regular-season finale for both schools Nov. 14.

Senior quarterback Matt Marshall (Burlington, N.J./Burlington City) directed a Pioneer offense that tallied 407 yards. He was 18-for-21 for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Classmate Joel Rivera (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) hauled in two of those TD passes, finishing with seven catches for 102 yards. Sophomore Marcus McKinney (Paterson, N.J./John F. Kennedy) gained 118 yards and two scores on 27 carries, while senior wide receiver Bruce Katkowski (Saddle Brook, N.J./Paramus Catholic) caught three passes for 62 yards.

Junior linebacker Jim Hamill (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) paced the Pioneer defense with 10 tackles (five solo, 2.5 TFL) and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Jared Burke (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J./Egg Harbor Twp.) had seven stops (three solo), and sophomore defensive back Doug Dudek (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) had six tackles, a blocked kick and two passes broken up.

The Pioneers finished off their second possession of the game with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to Rivera, and freshman Ryan Brzycki (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) provided the extra point for a 7-0 score with 5:59 left in the opening quarter.

William Paterson stopped the Colonials on fourth-and-five during the next series, getting the ball back on the WestConn-44. McKinney ripped off a 30-yard gain on the next snap, and Marshall followed by connecting with Rivera for 14 yards and the score, making it a 14-0 contest three minutes later.

Hamill forced a fumble by WCSU running back Lionel Assie and the ball was recovered by junior cornerback Chris Thomas (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) to give the Pioneers a drive start in Colonial territory, but a WP fumble on third-and-goal denied William Paterson another score to open the second quarter.

However, the William Paterson defense responded with a three-and-out to end Western Connecticut's next possession, and the Pioneers finished off a seven-play, 47-yard drive with a five-yard pass from Marshall to senior tight end Chris Schule (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford). A bad snap on the PAT kept it a 20-0 score with 5:27 remaining in the first half.

Another three-and-out for WCSU resulted in a Dudek blocked a punt and a Hamill recovery of the loose football. McKinney took the next snap and rumbled 18 yards into the end zone (27-0, 3:47) for his 10th touchdown of the year.

McKinney pushed across the goal line from one yard out, and Brzycki added the extra point for a 34-0 edge with 3:54 left in the third quarter. Junior Bret Cadena (Madison, N.J./Madison) ended the Colonials' next possession with an interception inside the Pioneers' 10-yard line.

The two teams exchanged fourth-quarter punts until Tyler DeRoas scored from two yards out to get Western Connecticut on the scoreboard with six seconds remaining in the contest. 

On the William Paterson single-season charts, Brzycki set a new field-goal percentage record (.750, 6-8), bettering the mark of .727 (8-11) set by Ricky Krautman in 2007.  Brzycki also tied the record of 21 PATs established by Lee Linton (1991).

James Williams was 12-for-22 for 110 yards for WestConn. Assie picked up 32 yards on 11 carries, and caught four passes for 62 yards. Greg Galasso made a game-high 13 tackles (four, 2.0 TFL).