WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson football team's (2-4, 0-3 NJAC) comeback bid fell short, 30-24, against visiting Kean (2-4, 2-1 NJAC) Oct. 18.
Freshman quarterback Austin Fellows (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) finished 21-for-39 for 294 yards and three touchdowns, while senior running back Matt Deiana (Somers, N.Y./Somers) carried 14 times for 67 yards. Junior wide receiver Anthony DiMarsico (Stony Point, N.Y./Suffern) caught 10 passes for 150 yards and two scores.
Senior linebacker Ben Allen (Ventnor, N.J./Atlantic City) led the defensive effort with 14 tackles (five solo, 0.5 TFL) and a fumble recovery. Senior defensive back Elijah DeGuzman (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) made eight stops.
Junior running back Darius Kersey (Dover, N.J./Dover) returned the opening kickoff 34 yards to ignite a drive that culminated in a Robert Sinegra (Wharton, N.J./Morris Knolls) 34-yard field goal, handing the Pioneers a 3-0 edge 4:15 into the contest.
A fumbled punt return set the Cougars up inside the WP-30 late in the opening quarter, and senior running back Will Ingram converted the turnover into six points with his four-yard scoring run. Freshman Troy Kettler's extra point made it a 7-3 game 26 seconds into the second quarter.
A missed 51-yard William Paterson field goal on the next possession and a blown coverage led to a 14-3 Kean advantage after junior quarterback Robert Meade III connected with junior wide receiver Qaudir Johnson for a 49-yard score with 5:15 left before halftime.
Kean received the kickoff to start the second half and put together a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by a six-yard pass by Meade to Ingram for a 21-3 margin with 12:46 to play in the third.
A failed WP punt attempt gave the Cougars the ball near midfield, and Kettler tacked on three more Cougar points with his 24-yard field goal (24-3, 6:03).
Kean opened the fourth quarter with a 30-yard TD pass by Meade to sophomore tight end Dominic Trimarco in the back of the end zone, and after the kick attempt was missed, the Cougars were ahead by a 30-3 count with 13:13 remaining.
William Paterson answered three plays later with a 39-yard touchdown toss by Fellows to junior running back Dwaine Dabney, Jr. (Summit, N.J./Summit). Sinegra tacked on the PAT for a 30-10 score with 12:36 on the clock.
The WP defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense made it a two-score game when Fellows and DiMarsico connected for a 38-yard TD (30-17, 8:15).
After another Cougar punt, the Pioneers covered 69 yards, the last 18 on a Fellows-to-DiMarsico touchdown pass, to make it a 30-24 margin with 42.6 seconds remaining. William Paterson attempted the on-side kick, but Kean recovered and was able to run out the remaining time.
Meade was 16-for-28 for 206 yards and three touchdowns for KU. Senior Brandon Robinson carried five times for 76 yards, and Ingram gained 46 yards and scored once on his 18 attempts. Johnson caught three passes for 76 yards and a score.
Senior linebacker Corey Miller paced Kean with 10 tackles (six solo, 2.5 sacks), and three other Cougars each posted seven stops.
William Paterson will travel to Ewing to take on The College of New Jersey Saturday, Oct. 25, at 1:00 p.m.
For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com, http://twitter.com/wpupioneers, http://www.instagram.com/thewpupioneers, http://www.facebook.com/wpupioneers and http://www.youtube.com/thewpupioneers.