GAME NOTES (PDF)

William Paterson (1-0, 0-0 NJAC) will open its home slate Saturday, Sept. 10, with a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game against The College of New Jersey (0-0, 0-0 NJAC). Kickoff at Wightman Stadium (1,500) will be at 1:00 p.m. Live statistics will be available at wpupioneers.com, and a live audio broadcast and Web stream will be provided by William Paterson's student radio station, 88.7 FM Brave New Radio.

Scouting the Pioneers
William Paterson is 1-0 overall after a 13-6 non-conference victory at King's (0-1) Sept. 3.

Junior Ryan Gresik (Newton, N.J./Newton) is 5-for-9 for 23 yards under center, while sophomore Connor O'Leary (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) is 4-for-13 for 75 yards.

Junior tailback Dawys German (North Arlington, N.J./North Arlington) has rushed 22 times for 89 yards (4.0 yards/carry) and a touchdown.

Junior tight end Joseph Cordato (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) has caught three passes for 62 yards, and sophomore Ray VanPeenen (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) has three receptions for 22 yards, and has returned four punts for 37 yards (9.3 average).

The Sept. 4 NJAC Defensive Player of the Week as well as the 2008 Defensive NJAC Rookie of the Year and a three-time all-conference honoree, senior bandit Doug Dudek (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) leads WP with 11 tackles (eight solo), including 3.5 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks.

Sophomore nose tackle Webb Geer (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) has seven stops (six solo, 1.0 sack), and senior linebacker Jim Hamill (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional), a member of the 2009 All-NJAC Team Honorable Mention Team, has six tackles (three solo, 3.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks). Junior bandit Stephen Bovo, Jr. (Dunellen, N.J./Dunellen) has six stops (four solo), and senior defensive lineman Damian DiIorio (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) has forced a fumble, returned one of his two recovered fumbles for a touchdown, and has added four tackles (three solo, 2.0 sacks).

William Paterson returned nine offensive starters and six defensive starters from a 2010 team that got off to its best start since 1992, going 4-1 before mounting injuries took their toll for a 4-6 overall record and a 3-6 mark in NJAC play. The Pioneers, who welcomed back four all-conference selections, were predicted to finish seventh in the 2011 NJAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Scouting the Lions
Today marks the season opener for TCNJ, coming off a 5-5 overall record and a 5-4 mark in NJAC play a year ago. Fourteen starters and 45 letterwinners return for the Lions, who were picked to finish fifth in the 2011 NJAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Senior quarterback Jay Donoghue was 51-for-107 for 547 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. Junior Joe Falco paced the ground game with 467 yards and eight touchdowns on 108 attempts (4.3 yards/rush), while classmate William Friedrich caught 22 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns.
Junior linebacker Greg Burns led the Lions with 105 tackles (43 solo) a year ago, adding two blocked kicks, a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception. Senior defensive back Shawn Brown had 66 stops (31 solo) and a team-best four interceptions, and senior linebacker Michael Lambert collected 51 tackles (31 solo, 6.0 TFL) and a pair of interceptions last season.