WILLIAMS HIGHLIGHTS RECORD-SETTING DAY FOR MUSTANGS
MADISON, N.J. – Junior Devonte Williams rushed for a school-record 298 yards and three touchdowns and Stevenson rolled up 460 yards on the ground as the Mustangs downed FDU-Florham 48-25 in Middle Atlantic Conference football Saturday at Robert T. Shields Field.
With the win, Stevenson (8-2, 7-2 MAC) sets a program record for regular season victories in a season, surpassing last season's 7-3 regular season mark. The Mustangs finish tied with Delaware Valley for the second spot in the conference standings, and have earned a spot in next weekend's MAC-Centennial Conference Bowl Series. Pairings for the bowl games will be announced on Sunday evening.
Williams had six runs 20-yards or more among his 21 carries, and had touchdown runs of 52, 48 and 2 yards while also going for rushes of 51, 38, 27 and 20 yards. His 298 yards shattered the previous record of 251 yards amassed by KK Smith against the Devils in the 2012 season. Stevenson's 460 rushing yards also established a program record, with the old record of 367 being set against FDU Florham in 2013, and is also the 18th-highest single game total in Division III this season.
Naquan Watkins also had 11 carries for 104 yards and a pair of touchdown runs for the Mustangs. Freshman Brad Harmon was 18-28 passing for 193 yards and a touchdown, with Cortez Taylor catching five balls for 64 yards and a score. Tim Sternfeld finished with 12 points kicking, going 6-6 on extra points and 2-3 on field goal attempts. Stevenson's 653 yards of total offense established another single-game program record, outgaining the Devils 653-337.
Razonte Dunn led Stevenson with six tackles, while Austin Tennessee recorded his sixth interception of the season to go along with four tackles. Billy Lewis and Cory Pietrzyk also had four tackles apiece.
Leading 10-7 at halftime, Stevenson needed just three plays in the third quarter to extend the lead to 24-7. After starting the half at the Mustang 44, a four-yard Williams run, followed by his 52-yard run down the left side made it 17-7. FDU Florham went three-and-out, and on the first play of the second drive, Williams ran 48 yards to make it 24-7 51 seconds into the third.
FDU Florham cut the lead to 24-13 at the 10:18 mark of the third after a Devil interception set the hosts up at the Mustang 17 and needed just two plays to score, but the extra point was blocked by Antonio Johnson. Stevenson countered with a five-play, 60-yard drive capped by Williams' third score of the game to make it 31-13 with 8:18 left. A 21-yard field goal from Sternfeld with 6:16 left closed out the third quarter scoring and made it 34-13.
Watkins ran for his first touchdown, a 43-yard run, with 8:56 left to cap a nine-play, 80-yarddrive to make it 41-13. FDU Florham completed a nine-yard touchdown pass to Malik Pressley with 5:03 left that made it 41-19, but Watkins closed out the Mustang scoring with a nine-yard run with 2:13 to go.
Stevenson got on the board with 6:36 left in the first quarter as a 24-yard field goal by Sternfeld capped a seven-play, 49-yard drive and gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead. Following FDU Florham's third straight three-and-out, Stevenson took over at the Devil 36 and needed just four plays to make it 10-0, as Harmon found Taylor for a 25-yard touchdown with 3:34 on the clock.
Taking over at their own 20 moments into the second quarter, the Mustangs were able to work their way down to the FDU 11, with the big play a 15-yard completion to Kiandre Burrell followed by a 15-yard face mask penalty on the hosts. The drive sputtered at the 11 as Stevenson was whistled for offensive pass interference.
Facing fourth-and-24 on the 25 into the wind, Stevenson elected to go for it, and Harmon completed a 23-yard strike to Preston Addo over the middle, giving the Devils the ball on their own 2-yard line. FDU Florham engineered a 98-yard drive capped by an 11-yard pass from Tyler Maurer to Tyler Adams to make it 10-7 with 4:30 left before halftime. Stevenson took a 10-7 lead into halftime.