Montclair, NJ – Senior quarterback Joe Callahan threw for 447 yards and six touchdown passes as No. 4 Wesley scored on its first four possessions and ran away with a 56-22 victory over Montclair State at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.
Running back Jamar Baynard rushed for 183 yards and two scores as the Wolverines remained undefeated at 8-0 overall while maintaining its first-place lead in the NJAC at 6-0. Wesley also posted its second straight victory in the series against MSU in the first meeting between the schools since the second round of the 2010 NCAA Playoffs.
Senior quarterback Ryan Davies threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns for Montclair State, which dropped its second straight. The Red Hawks are now 3-5 overall, 3-4 in the NJAC following the loss.
Callahan, who became Wesley's career leader in passing yardage, led the Wolverines on a 13-play, 80-yard drive on its first possession with the last nine coming on a pass to Cappadonna Miller with 10:16 left for the 7-0 lead. Banyard rushed for 36 yards on the next possession before Callahan found James Okike from 23 yards out with 6:24 making the score 14-0.
After the Wesley defense forced a three-and-out, accounted for all 57 yards on three completions, the last one a 23-yard strike to Okike as the Wolverines widened the lead to 21-0 with 4:46 to play in the opening period.
Montclair State answered back on its ensuing possession. Davies hit Jonathan Agolia for 15 yards out to the Red Hawk 46. Three plays later, Davies found sophomore Julanee Prince wide open down the seam for a 43-yard score as MSU made it 21-6 with 2:43 to go.
Wesley immediate answered as Bryce Shade pulled in a 59-yard touchdown pass 63 seconds later giving the Wolverines a 28-6 lead after one period.
The Red Hawks countered with their second touchdown drive. Joe Schultz kept the possession going with a 16-yard catch on a 3rd-and-3 with a 15-yard penalty on the play pushing the ball to the Wesley 34. Running back John DiStefano did the rest rushing for 18 yards on the first three plays of the second quarter. He then took a screen pass from Davies and raced down the right sideline, tip-toeing the final few yards for a 16-yard score as MSU drew within 28-13 with 13:08 left before halftime.
Baynard rushed for 42 yards on Wesley's next touch of the ball that ended with a four-yard pass from Callahan to Shade boosting the lead back to 35-13 with 8:34 left. Kicker Ryan DeLeon connected on a 33-yard field goal late in the second as Montclair marched 51 yards on 14 plays taking up 6:59 on the clock. However that left Callahan enough time for one more score. He hit Banyard out of the backfield who completed a 57-yard pass play down to the MSU 5 with 26 seconds remaining. Banyard capped the drive with his second touchdown as Wesley led 42-16 at the break.
Wesley would miss a 28-yard field attempt on the quarter's first possession with Montclair then taking that momentum and turning it into points. The Red Hawks ran 17 plays totaling 80 yards, including three third-down conversions. Agolia picked up eight on a 3rd-and-3 with Schultz making an 11-yard grab on 3rd-and-8 moving the ball out to Wesley 42. Anthony Dorsi hauled in a six-yard reception on another third down conversion to the Wesley 15. The Red Hawks faced a 4th-and-5 from the Wesley 10 but converted on that chance as Davies found Aaron Williams in the end zone with 5:25 left as Montclair cut back the deficit to 42-22.
MSU then got a turnover on the next possession as Bill Shimko stripped the ball away from the receiver with Michael Tenpenny making the recovery giving the Red Hawks the ball at its town 40. However, Montclair failed to gain any momentum from the drive and punted the ball away to Wesley which was back up to its own 10 following a penalty.
But the Wolverines got out from the shadow of its own end zone and more with a 16-play, 90-yard drive. Baynard ran for 53 of those yards including a 14-yard touchdown run with 13:06 showing on the clock in the fourth quarter as Wesley went up 49-22.
Anthony Brinkley intercepted a pass on Montclair's first play on the ensuing possession that set up the final Wesley score. After driving to the MSU 1, Callahan tried to bootleg around to his left. He was nearly dragged down by a defender but managed to spin out and loft a ball to an open Kyle George in the end zone.
Callahan finished 32-of-45 through the air with George pulling in eight receptions for 118 yards. Okike and Kemp had seven catches apiece for 91 and 58 yards, respectively. Bynard, who rushed 28 times, also had five catches for 92 yards with Shade adding in four for 79 yards. The Wolverines, who were 14-of-18 on third down in the game, totaled 684 yards, including 239 on the ground. Samer Manna totaled 10 tackles on defense.
Davies completed 20-of-30 passes with Denzel Nieves running for 78 yards on 17 carries. Schultz was the leading receiver with five receptions for 44 yards. Prince and Williams had four catches each. Tenpenny led all players with 13 tackles while Shimko (two breakups) and Michael Klimek recorded 12 and 10 tackles, respectively.
Montclair State heads out on the road next week as MSU visits Frostburg State on Saturday, November 6 at 1:00 pm in Maryland.