BOX SCORE

WAYNE, N.J. – Junior tailback Dawys German (North Arlington, N.J./North Arlington) rushed for a career-high 133 yards, but it wasn't enough for William Paterson (1-1, 0-1 NJAC) to overcome The College of New Jersey (1-0, 1-0 NJAC) as the Lions earned a 24-6 victory in the Pioneers' home opener Sept. 10 at Wightman Stadium.

Senior defensive lineman Damian DiIorio (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional), senior linebacker Jim Hamill (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) and junior bandit Stephen Bovo, Jr. (Dunellen, N.J./Dunellen) each made 10 tackles to lead the WP defense. Junior wide receiver Chris Manfredo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) caught five passes for 69 yards and the Pioneers' lone touchdown.

TCNJ had two touchdowns called back due to holding calls, the first one coming on the opening drive of the game. After the Lions received the kickoff and used a 25-yard return and a five-yard WP penalty to start the game in Pioneer territory, quarterback James Donoghue covered the 46 yards to the goal line but saw his score negated. The Lions did eventually come away with points, as Tyler Olsson split the uprights from 40 yards away to make it a 3-0 game 1:52 into the contest.

The two teams traded punts until 45 seconds into the second quarter when Nicholas Tyson finished off an 11-play, 70-yard drive with his two-yard touchdown. Olsson's extra point handed TCNJ a 10-0 advantage.

Sean Clark intercepted Pioneer backup quarterback Connor O'Leary (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) on the next offensive snap, but an Olsson miss from 34 yards out kept the Lions from converting the turnover into points. Olsson's miss from 45 yards as time expired sent the two teams into the locker rooms with TCNJ maintaining a 10-0 lead.

A pass that wide receiver Julian Frazier (Plainfield, N.J./North Plainfield) couldn't control ended up in the hands of the Lions' Greg Burns near midfield, and his 23-yard return gave TCNJ possession at the Pioneers' 17-yard line. Junior William Friedrich finished off the short drive with a one-yard burst over left tackle, and an Olsson PAT made it a 17-0 game with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

TCNJ marched 68 yards down the field in six plays, the last a 33-yard completion from Donoghue to Matthew Rosati, for a 24-0 edge less than five minutes into the fourth. William Paterson got on the scoreboard when O'Leary threaded the needle between two defenders to Manfredo, who turned upfield and sprinted for a 42-yard touchdown with 6:06 to play.

O'Leary, filling in for injured starter Ryan Gresik (Newton, N.J./Newton), was 11-for-36 for 122 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. German carried 22 times for his 133 yards.

Hamill had five solo stops among his 10 tackles, including 0.5 sack. DiIorio contributed 1.0 sack, while Bovo pitched in 0.5 sack and two solo tackles among his 10 stops. William Paterson's kickoff return game was strong, as freshman Isaac Jlaka (Philipsburg, N.J./Philipsburg) had a 30-yarder, sophomore Stanley Howard (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) returned a kick 25 yards and freshman Dwaine Dabney, Jr. (Summit, N.J./Summit) registered a 27-yard return.

Donoghue was 12-for-20 for 120 yards and a score under center, and rushed 15 times for a team-leading 70 yards. Christopher Meliado caught four passes for 66 yards.

Sophomore linebacker Nick Bricker led the TCNJ defense with seven tackles (three solo), two pass breakups and an interception. Senior linebacker Michael Lambert posted six stops (four solo, 2.0 TFL), and Burns added six tackles to his interception and two pass breakups.

William Paterson will enjoy a week off before celebrating Homecoming Saturday, Sept. 24, hosting Brockport at 1:00 p.m.