BOX SCORE 

WAYNE, N.J. – Junior running back Dawys German (North Arlington, N.J./North Arlington) collected 226 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns, and senior bandit Doug Dudek (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) led a balanced defensive effort with 12 tackles and an interception, as William Paterson (2-1, 1-1 NJAC) celebrated Homecoming with a 35-23 victory over Brockport (0-3, 0-2 NJAC) Sept. 24 at Wightman Stadium.

German rushed 19 times for a career-high 157 yards and one touchdown on the ground, and had two touchdowns and 69 yards receiving.  Junior quarterback Ryan Gresik (Newton, N.J./Newton) returned to the starting lineup after missing a game due to injury, completing eight of 13 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns.  Sophomore wide receiver Mick Paye (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) caught three passes for 56 yards and scored his first career touchdown.

Dudek's 12 tackles (2.5 for loss), 0.5 sack, interception and pass breakup paced the Pioneer defense.  Senior linebacker Jim Hamill (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) led all Pioneer defenders with 13 tackles, and classmate Damian DiIorio (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) registered 10 tackles (seven solo) and two pass breakups.  Sophomore defensive back O.C. Hightower (Trenton, N.J./Perklomen) broke up three passes and grabbed an interception in his debut in the starting lineup.  Junior Javon Hodges (Parlin, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) had four tackles and returned an interception 37 yards for a score.

The Pioneers had the first possession of the game and proceeded to march down the field, capping off the drive with a 30-yard touchdown run by German.  Brockport responded with a drive of its own, using its ground attack to move down the field and finally score on a one-yard rush.  Alex Hendrickson capped the 13-play drive when he was able to sneak behind the right tackle and punch it in, knotting the score at 7-7.

A fumble by William Paterson on the ensuing kickoff gave the Golden Eagles the ball back on the WP 47-yard line with 5:26 left in the first quarter of play.  Freshman Tyrone Nichols bounced out to the right side from five yards out and found the end zone, giving the Golden Eagles a 14-7 advantage. 

WP got into Brockport territory on a 38-yard run by freshman running back Daryl Shuler (Peekskill, N.Y./White Plains) on the next possession, putting the Pioneers in position to put more points on the board early into the second quarter.  Gresik completed a short screen pass to the left side to German, who shook off tacklers and tiptoed past the left pylon, scoring from 10 yards out for his second TD of the day and making it a 14-14 draw.  William Paterson's defense forced a three-and-out for the Golden Eagles' offense, but another miscue on special teams gave Brockport the ball back at the Pioneers' 37-yard line.  The WP defense held, and forced the Golden Eagles to punt with 11:48 left in the second quarter.

Pinned deep in their own territory, the Pioneers converted on third down as Gresik completed a 29-yard pass to Paye, bringing William Paterson out to its own 44-yard line.  Stalled by penalties, sophomore punter Cory Mundt (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) was called on and boomed a 52-yard punt that was fumbled by sophomore Jesse Galvin and recovered by Brockport at its own four-yard line.  Attempting to avoid a sack, Brockport's freshman quarterback Dylan Umbra floated a pass right into the arms of the Pioneers' Hightower, giving William Paterson the ball at the Brockport 38-yard line. 

After exchanging punts, the Pioneers found themselves on their own 21-yard line with 1:38 left in the first half.  Senior wide receiver Joe Muraglia, Jr. (Belleville, N.J./Queen of Peace) turned a short completion from Gresik into a 59-yard gain, giving WP a first down at the Golden Eagles' 23-yard line.  After a German six-yard rush, Gresik dropped back to pass and threw a fade to Paye, who pulled down the jump ball at the right pylon with 33 seconds left to give the Pioneers a 21-14 lead going into halftime.

A Brockport punt led off the third quarter, giving the Pioneers a first down at their own 15.  Two rushes by German and a 10-yard completed pass to Joseph Cordato (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) had William Paterson moving the football downfield once again.  Gresik completed a screen pass to German, who evaded a tackle and won the foot race against the defense, covering 59 yards  to add to the William Paterson lead, 28-14.

Brockport responded by taking the ball all the way down to the Pioneer 10-yard line in just five plays during the next drive.  The Pioneer defense allowed the Golden Eagles to advance to the three-yard line, but held and forced Brockport to line up for a field-goal attempt that was pushed through by junior place kicker E.J. Genzano, making the score 28-17 in favor of William Paterson with 4:27 remaining in the third.

A Gresik interception and penalty gave Brockport the ball back at the William Paterson 17-yard line, and forced the defense back onto the field.  Facing third-and-goal at the one-yard line, two consecutive stops by Hamill and nose tackle Webb Geer (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) caused Brockport to turn the ball over on downs with only seconds left in the third quarter.

Brockport regained possession at its own 15 with 12:33 left to play.  On a third-and-one, the Pioneers were called for a roughing the passer penalty, keeping the drive alive for the Golden Eagles.  Driving down the field with a balanced rush and pass attack, Umbra dropped back and was intercepted by Dudek, who read the play and cut off the receiver. 

After starting a drive of their own, the Pioneers were facing a fourth-down situation, sending Mundt and the punting unit on the field for a 52-yard punt that was negated because of a roughing the kicker penalty on Brockport, keeping the drive going for William Paterson and eating important seconds off the clock.

The Pioneers were unable to capitalize on the penalty, but after yet another drive by Brockport, Hodges was able to jump the route of an Umbra pass and take it back 37 yards for the William Paterson score, giving the Pioneers a 35-17 lead to essentially put the game away with 6:11 left.  Brockport tacked on six more points on an Umbra pass to Nichols and a failed two-point conversion, cutting the lead to a 35-23 final score.

Hendrickson led the Golden Eagles with 90 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, and Nichols had a team-high 73 yards receiving and one touchdown.  Umbra was 20-for-34 for 149 yards passing, a touchdown and three interceptions.  Ross Ragonesi led the Brockport defense with 10 tackles (1.5 for loss).

William Paterson will visit Buffalo State Saturday, Oct. 1, at 12:00 p.m.