Montclair, NJ (10/6/07) – Senior running back RYAN MCCOACH (Rockaway, NJ / Morris Hills) rushed for 114 yards and touchdowns while junior wide receiver A.J. LETIZIA (Dumont, NJ/ Dumont) hauled in two TD passes as Montclair State, ranked No. 22 in the D3Football.com Poll, bounced back from its first loss with a 41-22 victory over Buffalo State in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.

Senior quarterback MICHAEL JUMP (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns as the Red Hawks rebounded from a 19-9 loss at TCNJ last week to improve to 4-1 overall, 1-1 in the NJAC. Montclair also upped its mark in the series between the teams to 5-2.

Junior wide receiver Greg Meyer ( Lancaster, NY / Lancaster) had nine receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals, who fell to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the conference.

The Bengals took the early lead as a recovered fumble by Luke Ingram ( Levittown, NY/ MacArthur) at the MSU 25 led to a 27-yard field goal by Eric Beyler (( Lockport, NY / Roy-Hart). Montclair State would answer back on its next possession as McCoach converted two third downs as Montclair moved the ball to the Buffalo State 24. MSU then got off the snap just before the first quarter expired and Bliss turned the play into a 24-yard touchdown as the Red Hawks led 7-3 at the end of the first period.

Montclair State would extend its led midway through the second. MIKE AJADI ( Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) sacked Dan Aqiuilo ( Depew, NY / Depew) to force a fumble and ANDREW ACKERMAN ( Bloomfield, NJ / Bloomfield) recovered it to give MSU the ball at the Buffalo State 28. Seven plays later on a third-and-goal, Jump connected with tight end ROB FANTOZZI ( Secaucus, NJ /St. Mary's) on a three-yard score as Montclair moved out to a 14-3 lead with 4:32 left before halftime.

Buffalo State countered 24 seconds later with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Aquilio to Meyer to cutting the lead to four, but Montclair answered right back with a 68-yard drive. Jump hit Letizia for 40 yards on a 3 rd-and-11 down to the Buffalo State 29 and Bliss rushed for 24 yards before McCoach capped off the drive with a five-yard run as Montclair took a 21-10 lead into the half.

In the second half MSU returner MARIO MCLEAN ( Montville, NJ / Montville) took the opening kickoff back 80 yards to the BSC 10 where McCoach would finish the short drive with a nine-yard run as Montclair State led 27-10 with 13:54 to play in the third quarter. A second MSU fumble led to Buffalo State's second TD as Ryan Harold ( Levittown, NY/ Division Avenue) forced a fumble that Doug Tyma ( S. Dayton, NY / Pine Valley) fell on at the MSU 25. Two plays later Aquilio hit Joe Russell ( N. Tonawanda, NY / N. Tonawanda) on a 17-yard touchdown with 11:14 left as MSU held a 27-16 lead.

On the Red Hawks' next possession, MSU face another 3 rd-and-11 when Jump floated a ball to Letizia down the right side line just out of the reach of a Bengal defender. Letizia pulled in the pass and raced the final distance to complete a 76-yard touchdown reception, Montclair's longest of the year.

Buffalo State closed the gap with a monster 17-play, 90-yard drive in the fourth quarter that took 8:10 off the clock and was kept alive by a roughing the passer penalty against MSU. Dan Lopez ( Lancaster, NY / St. Mary's) drove in from a yard out to make the score 34-22 with 9:45 to go. The Bengals then tried an on-side kick that Montclair would recover. After MSU converted two third downs, Jump connected with Letizia for the second time, this one a 22-yard catch as Montclair restored the lead to 41-22 with 5:24 remaining.

Bliss finished with 57 yards on eight carries as the Red Hawks amassed 373 yards, including 168 on the ground. Jump was 11-of-25 through the air, including five catches by Letizia and three to BRANDON FRONJIAN (Palisades Park, NJ / Palisades Park), who had 41 yards. Defensively, MSU blocked four kicks in the game, including two extra points by JEREMY MERCER ( Leonardo, NJ / Middletown South). Ajadi had blocked punt and EMMANUEL IHIM (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) came up with a blocked field goal.Safety DEREK DEPASCALE (Butler, NJ / Butler) had nine tackles while linebacker Russ Comune (Pompton Plains, NJ /Pequannock) had eight stops.

For Buffalo State, Lopez ran 26 times for 75 yards while Aquilio was 22-of-47 for 254 yards. Jarrett Smith ( Lancaster, NY / Lancaster) had five receptions for 42 yards. Peter Nguyen ( Buffalo, NY/ South Park) had nine tackles and two breakup for the Bengals, who had 325 yards of total offense.