Wayne, NJ (10/18/03) - Sophomore quarterback JOHN DIGIROLAMO (Morris Plains, NJ/Parisppany Hills) threw for three touchdown passes, including two to junior STEVE ARMSTRONG (Passaic, NJ/St. Mary's-Rutherford), as Montclair State scored 23 unanswered points and hung on for a 23-13 victory over William Paterson on the Pioneers' Homecoming Day Saturday at Wightman Field.

DiGirolamo finished 21-of-34 for 234 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions while junior EUGENE VICK (Newark, NJ/Hillside) rushed for 108 yards on 25 carries for Montclair State (5-1, 3-0 NJAC), which now owns 10 consecutive victories in the series and improved its edge in the all-time series to 29-2-1. It was the closest contest between the rivals since 1995, a 21-16 MSU victory. William Paterson (1-6, 0-3 NJAC) last beat the Red Hawks, 26-23, in 1993.

Overall, the Red Hawks owned a 338-131 advantage in yards, including a 234-60 edge through the air.

William Paterson took a 7-0 lead 9:40 into the action, scoring its first first-quarter points of the season on a one-yard quarterback sneak by freshman Darrell Russian (Sparta, NJ/Sparta). His run capped a 10-play,, 75-yard drive that covered 5:10. This included a 15-yard run by freshman punter Rob Larsen (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) off a bad snap. Montclair State responded on its next drive as DiGirolamo led a four-play, 52-yard directive capped when he clicked with Armstrong on a 15-yard scoring strike. A botched two-point try helped the Pioneers cling to a 7-6 lead until DiGirolamo drove his team 56 yards on 10 plays to set up a 20-yard field goal by freshman Vince Doffont (North Arlington, NJ/St. Mary's-Rutherford).

In the third quarter, the Red Hawks distanced themselves as DiGirolamo hooked up with Armstrong on a 21-yard touchdown toss and then hit junior BRIAN REITMEYER (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) on a 13-yard strike to make the score 23-7 with 1:17 left in the third quarter. William Paterson made things interesting in the fourth quarter as sophomores Kevin Kohan (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Valley) and Qaadir Majeed (Monroe Township, NJ/Manalapan) each intercepted passes that helped the Pioneers drive inside the MSU 15 twice. However, the Red Hawks held on the first occasion before Russian hit freshman Justin Leslie (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) on a three-yard touchdown toss with 3:03 left. The extra point pulled William Paterson within 23-13, but an onside-kick attempt went out of bounds, enabling the Red Hawks to run the clock out.

JASPER HANKINS (Union, NJ/Union) caught five passes for 31 yards, junior BRIAN LOWENSTEIN (New Milford, NJ/New Milford) hauled in four passes for 68 yards, Armstrong grabbed four balls for 59 yards and Reitmeyer also had four receptions for 54 yards.

Defensively for the Red Hawks, sophomore linebacker MORGAN BURKLOW (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock) led the way with 11 tackles while junior linebacker Corey Baker (Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield) added seven stops. Freshman Thomas Murphy (Suffern, NY/Suffern) led the Pioneers with 39 yards on eight carries and also caught a pass for 16 yards. Russian finished 8-of-25 for 60 yards. Defensively, Kohan ended up with 10 stops and two passes defensed while recording an interception in his fourth consecutive game, while Majeed and junior Mark Zirkel (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) had nine stops.

William Paterson returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 25, when it hosts SUNY Cortland at 1 p.m., while Montclair State hosts Buffalo State on the same date and time.