EWING, NJ -- For the second year in a row, Rowan defeated TCNJ on the last play of the game, this time it was Shane Martin's 30-yard touchdown grab as time expired to give the Profs a 9-7 NJAC victory at the Lions on Saturday afternoon.
Starting at their own 20-yard line with 1:37 to play and no timeouts, Rowan quickly moved the ball in nine plays to the TCNJ 30. With eight seconds left, quarterback Nate Maiers threw into the end zone where the ball was deflected not once, but twice and into the hands of Martin to give the Profs the walk off win. Last season, Rowan used a 36-yard field goal as the clock hit zero in the win in Glassboro.
Maiers came on in the first quarter and threw for 163 yards on 16-of-25 passing with the game-winning score. Martin led Rowan with five grabs for 55 yards, both career highs.
Rowan was limited to 71 yards on the ground but it was the defense that came up with big plays throughout to keep the team in the contest. In total, the defense came away with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and two blocked field goals. Both interceptions and one of the blocked field goals came in the fourth quarter alone.
The Profs stymied the Lions on its first drive of the game, as Miles Cook blocked a 26-yard field goal attempt then later a forced fumble from Chris Rodgers turned the ball back to Rowan to help keep things scoreless after the first quarter.
In the second, TCNJ's Trevor Bopp ran in from three yards out at the 9:45 mark, capping a 10-play, 91-yard drive. Late in the frame a high snap on a TCNJ punt from its own 39 gave Rowan the ball deep in home territory but back-to-back sacks, including one on a fourth and long from the TCNJ 26-yard line, turned the ball back to the Lions. The defense would force a three and out and get the ball back with 3:59 in the half.
Maiers drove the offense to the TCNJ 12 where Connor Batten converted on a 30-yard field goal right before the end of the half to cut it to 7-3 at the break.
The defense stalled a long TCNJ drive as a 29-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter was wide right. Later in the stanza, Rodgers recovered his second fumble on the day, this time forced out by Carter Williams to turn the ball back over after the Lions worked it down to the Rowan 12.
Shamar Love picked off Bopp early in the fourth on a 2nd and 10 from the Rowan 26 then later got his hands on a 36-yard field goal try with eight minutes left to keep it a 7-3 contest.
Jason Blanks got in on the interception act, snagging a deflected ball to give the Profs the ball at Lion 21 with 4:59 remaining in the game, but a sack on 3rd and 10 forced the offense to punt.
TCNJ got the ball back with 4:53 to play near midfield and got it to the Prof 38 before punting it back to the visitors.
On the game-winning drive, Maiers completed 7-of-8 passes and added a nine-yard run with no timeouts and the Profs short on time.
Tyshawn Bookman grinded out 54 yards on 17 carries while Kevin Degnan (28 yards) and Marlon Boston (26 yards) each added three receptions.
Defensively, Williams was everywhere, as the freshman totaled nine tackles, four for losses, with a forced fumble and QB hurry. Aeneas Robinson made eight stops. Love, John Perez, and Eric Bryant all had two pass breakups.
Bopp was 16-of-29 for 247 yards before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter. Jayson Schmidt ran for 77 yards on 21 attempts and Thomas Burke had seven catches for 143 yards, both game highs for TCNJ.
Christopher Newport will come to Coach Richard Wackar Stadium next Saturday as the Profs take on the Captains at 2 p.m. in NJAC action on Homecoming Weekend here at Rowan.
Last Second Touchdown Caps Comeback as Rowan Topples TCNJ, 9-7
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231007_3dtb.xml
2023
Rowan
9
TCNJ
7
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowan (2-3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| TCNJ (1-4) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Oct 07, 2023