Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
Montclair, NJ – Senior quarterback Ja'Quill Burch threw for two touchdowns, and running back Makai Mickens ran for two as Montclair State picked up its first victory of the season with a 31-10 victory over WPI at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.
Eric Cowan and Reilly Nelson each hauled in a touchdown as the Red Hawks improved to 1-3 on the year, taking the initial meeting with the Engineers.
Ethan Catania collected seven tackles for WPI, which fell to 1-3 on the season.
Montclair State struck quickly, putting points on the board two plays into the contest. Burch scrambled for 27 yards on the first play and found Nelson down the left side for a 41-yard touchdown 34 seconds in for a 7-0 lead. Burch became the fifth player in program history to surpass the 5,000-yard mark on the play with Nelson making his first career reception and score.
The Red Hawks added to the lead in the second quarter with a massive 16-play, 70-yar drive that chewed up 9:27 on the clock. Montclair converted two third downs on the drive and a fourth-play as Burch rushed to the WPI 33. Abellany Mendez had a 14-yard reception on the ensuing play before Burch found Cowan for a 19-yard score giving Montclair a 14-0 lead with 10:59 remaining before halftime.
The Engineers would cut that in half later in the period. Derrick Doncaster forced a fumble recovered by WPI at the Montclair 27. Quarterback Brendan Olexa ran for 17 yards on the first two plays with Hunter Carey moving the ball down to the MSU 4. Two plays later, Brandon Winn rambled in for the touchdown as WPI drew within 14-7 with 3:58 to go.
Montclair State immediately answered with a 66-yard drive in six plays. Mickens had the big play, a 46-yard run down the left sideline that pushed the ball to the WPI 10. The sophomore ball carrier, scampered 10 yards on the next play with 1:33 left, sending MSU into halftime with a 21-7 lead.
WPI got a 35-yard field goal from Bryce Wade with four minutes to play in the third getting the Engineers back to 21-10 however, the Red Hawks answered right back with a field goal of its own as Andrew Myerson connected from 26 yards out 10 seconds into the fourth for a 24-10 Montclair State lead.
The Red Hawks' last score came on another long drive, this one 8 yards in seven plays. A pass interference penalty on third down kept the drive going and Burch made the penalty hurt more hitting Nelson for another 41-yard gain, this one down to the WPI 5. Mickens ran the next two plays, the last a three-yard touchdown with 6:17 left.
Burch finished 16-of-26 for 201 yards as he increased his career total to 5,181yards. Brennan Ray led the defense with 10 tackles along with a breakup. Mike Ramos (fumble return) recorded nine with Adens Georges
Next up for Montclair State, the start of New Jersey Athletic Conference play. The Red Hawks host 15th-ranked Salisbury University at Sprague Field at 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 2.