Top 25: Widener downed, Thomas More rolls

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Withler Marcelin ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82-yarder late in the third quarter, as Rowan knocked off No. 12 Widener 24-10 in the season opener for both teams.

Widener took a 10-3 lead at the half, but Marcelin came out and capped off a 77-yard drive to start the third quarter with a Prof TD, then ran it in from 82 yards later in the period. Bobby Barbieri capped the scoring by intercepting Pride quarterback Seth Klein and returning it 22 yards for a score.

The cross-river rivalry is now the only non-conference game for Rowan in the newly enlarged New Jersey Athletic Conference.

The only battle between ranked teams turned out to be not much of a battle at all, as No. 23 Thomas More cruised past No. 19 St. John Fisher 48-0. Tyler Vogelpohl set a single-game school record with 207 yards receiving as the Saints opened the Regis Scafe era by handing the Cardinals their first shutout loss since 2001. Jensen Gebhardt was 18-for-29 passing for 332 yards and four scores, while the Saints defense limited St. John Fisher to 205 yards of total offense.

Wartburg avoided an opening-night upset as Brandon Domeyer capped an 83-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown to get the No. 6 Knights past Augsburg 35-27. The Auggies had three more shots after Domeyer's touchdown run but Ayrton Scott was picked off on all three possessions.

Jake Schaefer stepped in where his predecessor left off as quarterback of John Carroll and went 23-for-36 passing for 271 yards and four touchdowns as the Blue Streaks defeated St. Vincent 26-3. Marshall Howell caught 11 passes for 137 yards and two scores.

No. 10 Wabash finished its two-game sweep of Hampden-Sydney in the series informally known as the "Stag Bowl" (formally known as the Gentlemen's Classic) as the Little Giants defeated the Tigers 35-3. Mason Zurek ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while the Little Giant quarterbacks combined to go 14-for-25 for 154 yards and threw four interceptions, two of them by Sidney Henry. Edgar Moore went 12-for-29 for 73 yards and threw two picks in his first start at quarterback for the Tigers.

Sam Sura rolled up 152 yards on just 18 carries and Nick Martin was an efficient 14-for-18 for 138 yards and a touchdown as No. 9 St. John's cruised past Dubuque 45-9. SJU was just 2-for-12 on third down conversions, but converted five more of them on fourth down.

Taurice Scott got the start at quarterback and led the Purple Raiders in rushing while also throwing three touchdown passes to Roman Namdar as Mount Union defeated Bethany 47-0. Meanwhile, the Mount defense allowed just 69 yards of total offense in the game.