Glassboro, NJ (11/15/03) - Freshman kicker Vin Doffont (North Arlington, NJ/St Mary's Rutherford) nailed a 35 yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to win the game for the Red Hawks who claimed the 2003 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship with a 21-20 victory over Rowan Saturday afternoon.
Doffont registered the game winner with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. The field goal capped a nine play play, 53 yard drive which spanned 4:21.
Montclair State recorded a perfect 5-0 record in the NJAC and now has a 8-1 overall record. This is the 17th conference championship for the Red Hawks and the first since 2000. Montclair will now play the waiting game to see if it receives a Pool B bid when the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament pairings are announced on Sunday.
The Red Hawks now lead the series 24-19, snapping a two game Rowan win streak against MSU.
Rowan's last opportunity of the game started on the MSU 34 yard line with 1:10 remaining. Cornerback Shaun Murray (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) halted the drive with an interception at the 15 yard line with 00:17. Murray also scored on a 39 yard punt return earlier in the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, Pat Thompson put Rowan on the scoreboard with a three yard touchdown run at 4:58.Thompson also had a 40 yard carry in the drive which gave the Profs a first down on the Montclair State two yard line. The drive started after Kelvin Bellamy (Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham) recoverd a MSU fumble. Damian Shaddow (Trenton, NJ/Hamilton N.) kicked the extra point. With 1:12 left in the second stanza,
JOHN DIGIROLAMO (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills) tossed a four yard touchdown pass to
CHRIS BECKER (Lincoln Park, NJ/Boonton). The kick was blocked by Domenic Tomeo. The Profs fumbled on their next drive and cornerback Derrick Morrison (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Reg.) recovered the fumble and had a 24 yard return for a touchdown with 13 seconds left. MSU had the lead at the half, 12-7.
In the third quarter, Shaddow kicked two straight field goals for the Profs. His first was 32 yards at 12:21. The drive started when Tomeo had an interception at the MSU 34 yard line. The second field goal of 36 yards put Rowan back on top, 13-12 at 9:35. The drive started on the Red Hawks' 32 yard line after tackle Robert Godrey (Port Norris, NJ/Millville) recovered a fumble. Rowan ended the quarter with Mike Orihel's four yard touchdown pass to Pat Silva at 2:34.
DiGirolamo completed eight passes in 27 attempts for 82 yards and one touchdown.
JASPER HANKINS (Union, NJ/Union) led all Red Hawk receivers with five catches for 56 yards.
For Rowan, Orihel passed for 169 yards (20-35) and one touchdown. Silva finished the game with eight receptions for 83 yards.
The Red Hawk defense was led by free saftey
TROY BISHOP (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) with 11 total tackles.
RAY MEYER (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights) recorded a sack for a loss of 10 yards. Meyer now leads the team with 9.5 sacks this season.
