Dover, DE – Montclair State football's alternating pattern of wins and losses continued on Saturday but on the downside as the Red Hawks fell back to the .500 mark with a 37-14 loss at Wesley College.

JOHN DISTEFANO rushed for 143 yards and a score, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season as MSU fell to 4-4 on the year, 3-4 in the NJAC. The Red Hawks host Frostburg State next Saturday, November 5 at Sprague Field.

An interception on the sixth play of the game set up the first score for Wesley. Andre Connally picked off the ball at the Wolverine 48 and returned it to the MSU 10. Montclair would hold and Eric Speidel hit from 20 yards out for a 3-0 lead with 10:59 left.

The Red Hawks responded with a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession. DiStefano ripped off a 48-yard run on the first play with JOHN APICELLA hitting JULANEE PRINCE two plays later from 28 yards out giving Montclair a 7-3 lead with 8:55 to go.

A second Speidel field goal, this one from 22 yard cut the lead back to 7-6 late in the fourth however Montclair extended the lead back to eight with help from its special teams in the second quarter. MAURO ALTAMURA blocked a punt that was picked up by JAEDON STEPHENS and brought back to the Wesley 6. After a penalty moved the ball back to the 11, DiStefano ripped off an 11-yard touchdown run putting Montclair up 14-6 with 10:40 left before halftime.

But that would be the last score for the Red Hawks as the Wolverines scored the final 31 points. Nick Falkenberg connected with Bryce Shade on the next touch of the football trimming the lead to 14-13. Wesley took the lead just before the half as Falkenberg hit Xavier Allen from 3 yards out with 24 ticks making the score 20-14.

Defensive lineman NICK VOLPE intercepted a pass at the Wesley 36 midway through the third quarter but that opportunity was squandered as Montclair stalled as the Wolverine 23. It would get worse as Elijah Tinson blocked a 40-yard RYAN DELEON field goal attempt.

Late in the quarter, a short field set up Wesley's next score. Alex Kemp raced in from seven yards out with six seconds left capping a 40-yard drive as the Wolverines took a 27-14 lead into the fourth.

Nick Bruhn pushed the lead to 30-14 with 5:09 to go connecting from 44 yards out. Wesley put the game away as Connally intercepted his second pass of the game and returned it 58 yards for the touchdown with 2:58 left.

DiStefano carried 29 times as he registered the 17^th 1,000-yard rushing season in program history and the first since Chris D'Andrea in 2011 when the latter set the single-season mark of 1,583. DiStefano has rushed for 100 yards in seven of MSU's eight games this season.  Apicella was 10-of-28 for 125 yards with Prince grabbing four for 54 yards.

MICHAEL STRADFORD and JOE FALATO paced the defense with seven tackles apiece and four of Montclair's six sacks in the game as the Red Hawks raised their NJAC-leading total to 28. Stradford had 2.5 while Falato added 1.5 increasing his league-leading total to 8.5. DYLAN ELLIOTT had an interception.