Montclair, NJ (10/13/07) – Sophomore running back JEFF BLISS (New Milford, NJ / New Milford) came off the bench to rush for a career-best 165 yards and a touchdown while starter RYAN MCCOACH (Rockaway, NJ / Morris Hills) ran for 88 yards and two scores as Montclair State, ranked 19th in the latest D3Football.com Top 25 poll, knocked off Kean University with a 27-12 victory on Homecoming at Sprague Field on Saturday evening.

Senior quarterback MICHAEL JUMP (Toms River, NJ / Toms River South) threw for 105 yards and a touchdown as the Red Hawks improved to 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the NJAC with their second straight win. MSU also improved to 28-5 against Kean avenging a 19-13 loss to the Cougars last season in Union.

Senior quarterback A.J. Roque (Matawan, NJ / Matawan) threw for 194 yards and also caught a touchdown as Kean fell to 2-4 overall, 1-3 in the NJAC with their third consecutive defeat.

Kean had the first two real scoring opportunities as the Cougars started their second rive at the MSU 21 but came away empty as MIKE AJADI (Bloomfield, NJ / Bloomfield) blocked a 31-yard field attempt by Jon Robinson (Brick, NJ / Point Pleasant). Kean would get another chance taking over at the MSU 37, but again the Cougars went three plays and out.

Late in the first quarter, Montclair put the first points on the board taking advantage of a short field. Getting the ball at the Kean 27, Jump hit OMAR SEVILLA (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) for 20 yards to the Kean 3 and on the next play, McCoach scampered the final yards to give Montclair a 7-0 lead with 28 seconds left in the first.

MSU would extend its lead early in the second quarter with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took just over five minutes. Jump hit JEREMY MERCER (Leonardo, NJ / Middletown South) on a 27-yard gain to the Kean 45 and Bliss added a 15-yard run to give Montclair a first down at the KU 14. McCoach would run for nine yards to the five and after a no gain, he bulled ahead the last five yards as the Red Hawks built a 14-0 advantage.

Kean would get the score back late in the first half as Roque found Shane Meyer (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan) on a 36-yard play to the MSU 14. Following an incompletion, Roque handed the ball to Durrell Dukes (Elizabeth, NJ / Elizabeth) on an option pass. Duke eluded two tackles and then threw back across the field where Roque made a leaping catch for the touchdown as the Cougars closed the gap to 14-6.

After Montclair State missed a field goal late in the half, Kean had a golden opportunity to tighten the score further. Roque hit Dukes with a 39-yard completion and then found Brian Williams (Pleasantville, NJ / Pleasantville) for 20 yards to the Montclair 11. A Roque to Rick Jaeger (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan) completion with one second left gave Kean the ball at the MSU 1 and the Cougars elected to go for the touchdown. But after calling successive timeouts, the exchange from center was mishandled and MSU took a 14-6 lead into halftime.

Bliss would jump start Montclair State in the second half with a 51-yard kickoff return to the Kean 40. Bliss would rush on each of the next four plays, including a one-yard gain on 4th -and-1 to keep the drive alive. On the very next play, Jump was flushed out of the pocket, but found Sevilla all alone on the right side for a 30-yard touchdown as Montclair increased it lead to 20-6 with 12:37 to go.

The Red Hawks looked to add more on their next possession moving to the Kean 24, but Chris Lauda (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) intercepted a pass and raced 80 yards for the touchdown as the Cougars got back to 20-12. Kean would look to close the gap eve more and attempted a fake punt on fourth-down from its own 44, however the trick play was spoiled as Ajadi deflected the pass attempt away.Montclair would need just two plays to capitalize as Bliss accounted for all 44 yards, including a 30-yard run with 2:23 to play in the third as the Red Hawks led 27-12.

Bliss carried 24 times as Montclair State rolled up 261 of its 366 yards of total offense on the ground. Jump was 6-of-16, including three to Sevilla, who finished with 54 yards. Defensively the Red Hawks held the Cougars to just three yards rushing in the game and 211 overall. Linebacker CORNELL HUNT (North Brunswick, NJ / North Brunswick) led the way with nine tackles while freshman ALAN PEGUERO (Perth Amboy, NJ / Bishop Ahr) had two of the Red Hawks four sacks in the game.

Roque was completed 12-of-34 attempts while Jared Chunn (Tinton Falls, NJ / Monmouth Regional) had 12 rushes for 29 yards. Defensively for Kean freshman Jordan Cagle (Mount Holly, NJ / Rancocas Valley) finished with a game-high 13 tackles. Cagle entered the contest with just one tackle this season.  Lauda had nine stops for the Cougars.

Both teams are back in action next Saturday, October 20 in NJAC contests. Montclair State goes on the road to face Cortland in a 1:00 pm matchup while Kean is back home for its Homecoming against Rowan beginning at 2:00 pm.