Upper Montclair (10/19/02) — Sophomore running back JERMARL BUIE (Paterson, NJ) rushed for a pair of touchdowns and freshman quarterback JOHN DIGIROLAMO (Morris Plains, NJ) threw for two scores as Montclair State took a 35-0 halftime lead and routed William Paterson, 35-0, Saturday at Montclair State University's Sprague Field.

With the win, Montclair State (3-3, 2-1 NJAC) won for the eighth consecutive time against William Paterson (1-5, 0-3 NJAC) and upped its edge in the rivalry to 28-2-1, including a 16-0 record at home.
The Pioneers have now lost four straight games and were held to only 41 yards on 49 plays, while Montclair State amassed 360 yards including 310 in the first half.

William Paterson sophomore defensive end Mark Zirkel (Toms River, NJ) forced a fumble that senior strong safety Lamar Askew (Columbus, NJ) scooped up and returned it to the William Paterson 42. On the very next play, sophomore quarterback Pat Obuchowski (Cinnaminson, NJ) was picked off by Red Hawks' defensive back PAT FREELAND (Vernon, NJ/Vernon), who returned the pick 48 yards to paydirt to give his team a 7-0 lead.

Montclair State tacked on a pair of scoring runs by running back Buie that covered 34 and 2 yards, giving the Red Hawks a 21-0 lead after one quarter. DiGirolamo helped stretch that lead to 35-0 at halftime by tossing a 2-yard scoring strike to tight end NICK SERPICO and then hooking up with wideout STEVE ARMSTRONG (Paterson, NJ) on a 48-yard TD toss. DiGirolamo finished the half 13-of-18 for 187 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Going into the locker room, the Red Hawks held a 310-19 edge in yardage and held the Pioneers to those 19 yards on 21 plays.

DiGirolamo completed 13-of-18 passes for 187 yards and one interception and did not play in the second half as did Buie, who had 80 yards before leaving the game at halftime. ERIC MAGRINI (Wayne, NJ) had five catches for 72 yards.

For William Paterson, junior running back Thomas Stovall (Long Branch, NJ) carried 10 times for 29 yards as the Pioneers gained 28 yards on 24 carries. By air, Obuchowski and sophomore Cristobal Rodriguez (Fort Lee, NJ) combined to complete just 4-of-25 passes for 13 yards and three interceptions. Junior receiver Keyth Hardy (Plainfield, NJ) caught two passes for 14 yards.

Defensively, Zirkel finished with 10 tackles (eight solos) and sophomore defensive end Ricky Vesce (Manalapan, NJ) added nine stops (six solos) and a sack.