Box Score 

WILKES-BARRE, PA. – William Paterson (1-1, 0-1 NJAC) used a well-rounded effort to earn its first victory of the year, a 20-6 win at King's (1-2) Sept. 19.

The Pioneers tallied 357 yards of total offense (134 rushing, 223 passing) while holding the Monarchs' offense to just 160 total yards (79 rushing, 81 passing). William Paterson dominated in time of possession (40:13), and completed as many passes (22) as King's attempted during the contest.

Senior quarterback Matt Marshall (Burlington, N.J./Burlington City) completed 22 of 31 passes for 223 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Senior wide receiver Joel Rivera (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) caught eight passes for 112 yards and a score, while sophomore Marcus McKinney (Paterson, N.J./John F. Kennedy) gained 115 yards on a school single-game record 35 carries and crossed the goal line once. Junior Jim Hamill (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) had a team-best eight tackles to lead a WP defense that had an interception and recovered a pair of fumbles.

William Paterson pushed across the contest's first score on the sixth possession of the contest. Starting on their own 34 following a King's punt, the Pioneers were ignited by a 33-yard completion from Marshall to Rivera to the Monarchs' 22. Seven plays later, the duo hooked up again for a three-yard scoring toss to give William Paterson the first points of the game on the final play of the first quarter. Freshman Ryan Brzycki (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte) made good on the point after as the Pioneers took a 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, the Pioneers forced another Monarch punt and took over at their own 45-yard line. A 15-yard run by McKinney and a 25-yard pass from Marshall to tight end Chris Schule (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) moved the ball to the King's 13. Two plays later, the Monarchs were flagged for pass interference, giving William Paterson a first-and-goal at the two. McKinney eventually scored form one yard out and Brzycki added the extra point as the Pioneers' lead grew to 14-0 with 10:18 remaining in the first half.

King's responded on the ensuing possession with a 65-yard drive, ignited by a 22-yard run by Phillip Shaw and a nine-yard scramble by Cory Lavin to the Pioneers' 21. After a 10-yard defensive holding penalty on William Paterson gave the Monarchs a first-and-goal from the nine-yard line, Lavin later found Mike Verbitski in the left corner of the end zone to get the Monarchs on the board. However, King's failed to convert on the extra point as Andrew DeRito's attempt sailed wide left, and the Monarchs trailed 14-6 with 5:42 to play in the second quarter.

The Pioneers had good field possession on the ensuing kickoff when the Monarchs' squib-kick was returned nine yards to the Pioneer 44-yard line. William Paterson used 14 plays to reach the King's 15 with 0:03 on the clock. From there, Brzycki converted a 32-yard field goal and the Pioneers took a 17-6 lead into the halftime break.

William Paterson received the second-half kickoff and assumed possession at its own 42 following a 22-yard return by freshman Dan DeCicco (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills). A 20-yard pass from Marshall to Rivera and a 13-yard Marshall hookup to Kyle Hart (Lambertville, N.J./South Hunterdon) advanced the ball inside the Monarchs' 20-yard line. Brzycki made good on a 30-yard field goal to push the score to 20-6 with 10:17 remaining in the third quarter. 

From there the William Paterson defense would continue its strong play. On King's next possession, the Monarchs went four-and-out and were forced to punt. Two possessions later King's defense came up big, recovering a fumble at midfield that began a drive that reached the Pioneer 34. However, on a fourth-and-eight play, excellent secondary coverage forced Lavin out of the pocket and the Monarch signal-caller was stopped four yards shy of the first down.

In the fourth quarter, King's was forced to punt on its first possession, and their next possession ended on a fourth-and-five play when Lavin was again forced to scramble out of the pocket and was pushed out of bounds for a one-yard loss.

King's would get the ball one last time following a Pioneer punt that gave the Monarchs possession at their own 20-yard line. After a 25-yard pass from Lavin to Rob Lane, the Monarchs suffered two straight incomplete passes. On third-down, Lavin's pass to Verbitski was deflected and batted around in the air until Pioneer defensive back Doug Dudek (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) intercepted the ball lying on his back at the William Paterson 20. With only 1:50 left in the contest, the Pioneers used three plays to run out the clock.

Schule caught three passes for 48 yards for William Paterson, and sophomore Corey Paladino (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) carried nine times for 20 yards. Senior Chris Thomas (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) added three tackles to a fumble forced and three punt returns that averaged 20.0 yards. Brzycki was again perfect in his kicking duties, making 32- and 30-yard field goals, two PATs and averaging 52.0 yards per kickoff. Juniors Bret Cadena (Madison, N.J./Madison) and Leer Biddle (Sicklerville, N.J./Lenape) each contributed a fumble recovery to the defensive effort.

For King's, Lavin completed 8-of-22 passes for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception while rushing for 29 yards on eight carries. Lane caught three passes for 44 yards, while Verbitski also caught three balls for 25 yards and one score. King's, playing without injured starting tailback Claude O'Connor, was led on the ground by Shaw who tallied 52 yards on 13 carries.

William Paterson will celebrate “Take a Kid to the Game Day” on Saturday, Sept. 26, when the Pioneers host Rowan at 1:00 p.m. Kids 12 and under will be admitted for free to the game.