Upper Montclair, NJ (09/27/03) - Junior running back EUGENE VICK (Newark, NJ/Hillside) rushed for 150 yards and the Montclair State defense came up with some key plays in the second half as the Red Hawks held off Iona College, 23-21, before a crowd of 1,267 at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.

Quarterback JOHN DIGIROLAMO (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills) threw for a pair of touchdown passes as Montclair (2-1) avenged a 23-19 loss to the Gaels (2-2) last year, and evened the series between the teams at 2-2. Rudy Arcara (Harrison, NY/Harrison) had a pair of touchdowns for Iona, which trailed 23-7 at halftime before mounting the rally that ended three points short.

Trailing by 16 at intermission, Iona quickly cut the lead to nine as they took the second-half kickoff and marched 80 yards in six plays. Quarterback Billy Brieden (Hasbouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights) completed a 57-yard pass to Dennis Calacione (New Milford, NJ/New Milford) to put the ball at the MSU 16 and Brieden capped the drive with a 15-yard scoring strike to Brian Watts (Niskayuna, NY/Colonie Central) with 11:46 to play. Iona then had a chance to pull closer in the period moving to the MSU 5 on its next possession, however, the Red Hawks' RAY MEYER (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights) intercepted Brieden, a former high school teammate, in the end zone to keep the Montclair lead at 23-14.

The Gaels got to 23-21 early in the fourth quarter as Eddie Albert (Paramus, NJ/Paramus Catholic) picked off a pass from DiGirolamo giving Iona the ball at the MSU 38. Brieden hit Watts with a 22-yard pass to the 16, and two plays later, Arcara raced 10 yards for the touchown with 13:07 to play. The score stayed that way the remainder of the game as MSU came up with the defensive plays down the stretch. Linebacker JOHN LENNOX (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) intercepted a pass to thwart one Iona drive and the Red Hawks snuffed out a fake punt on fourth-down with 5:57 to play. Montclair even had a chance to put the game away as Vick ran for 44 yards down to the Iona 6, however, the play was negated by an MSU penalty- one of 11 on the day by the Red Hawks. Iona then had two more possessions, but each time, they failed to convert on fourth down.

Iona grabbed a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter as it moved 80 yards in 12 plays, capped off by one-yard run by Arcara. Brieden connected with Calacione on a 27-yard pass and a pass interference penalty gave the Gaels a first down at the MSU 2. Two plays later, Arcara dove over for the score. Montclair tied the game with 13:06 left in the second quarter as it matched Iona with 10-play, 80-yard march. Vick had a run of 18 yards and DiGirolamo hit JASPER HANKINS (Union, NJ/Union) on a 28-yard completion to the Iona 11 on 3rd-and-7. Three plays later, DiGirolamo found BRIAN REITMEYER (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) from six yards out to tie the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, MSU kicked the ball out of bounds, however, Iona elected to make the Red Hawks re-kick instead of taking the ball at the 35. The move backfired as the Gaels muffed the re-kick and MSU gained possession at the Iona 2. But MSU stalled and settled for a Vinny Doffont (Rutherford, NJ/St. Mary's) 25-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead with 12:23 left before half. The Red Hawks extended the lead to 16-7 on their next possession as Vick ran in from two yards out and the lead grew to 23-7 with 2:42 left as DiGirolamo connected with Hankins in the back of the end zone on a 15-yard pass.

Vick, a transfer from St. Peter's College, carried 29 times as he jump-started the MSU rushing attack, which had amassed just 83 yards in its first two games.
DiGirolamo completed 10-of-24 passed for 128 yards while Hankins had five receptions for 72 yards. Brieden was 16-of-42 for 278 yards, including 126 yards to Calacione, who had five catches in the game. Arcara rushed 22 times for 40 yards as the Gaels were held to 61 yards on the ground.

Defensively, sophomore PAUL GOLDEN (Seaside Park, NJ/Central Regional) had nine tackles for MSU, while cornerback Shaun Murray (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) added eight tackles and three pass breakups. Kurt Vranich (Walpole, MA/Walpole) had 10 tackles for the Gaels with Kevin Fales (Croton, NY/Croton-Harmon) recording 2.5 sacks. Cedric Johnson had two sacks for Iona.