Anthony Caruso
Staff Writer
The College’s football team is struggling out of the gate this year. The team can’t buy a win, as they are 0-3 to start the season.
The Lions’ latest loss came to the Kean University Cougars, 23-6, on Saturday, Sept 19 at Lions’ Stadium in front of a crowd.
The Cougars have run over their opponents in the past two games. They had 1,133 total offense, including 601 in this game, for the 2-0 team.
While they are on the same page, Lions coach Wayne Dickens has said that the team has made too many mistakes in each loss, especially the past two weekends at home. Now, the team will have a bye week, before returning home on Saturday, Oct. 3.
In the third quarter, the team had the ball for over five minutes. However, they were not able to do much besides just eight yards.
“We find a way to not make plays when we need them,” Dickens said. “We have to get over that hump and it’s not an easy up. Once again, it was us and it wasn’t them. We had opportunities to be productive and we didn’t take advantage of those opportunities.”
The Lions made two mistakes in the red zone that would end up costing them in the long run. Quarterback Michael Marchesano threw two interceptions.
The first interception was in the end zone. Then, he threw his second interception at the one-yard line.
Marchesano and fellow quarterback Trevor Osler had 250 combined passing yards. With 11:19 left in the game, Osler hit senior wide receiver Conor Mulholland for a 63-yard touchdown, before a failed extra point.
The Lions had just 35 yards on the ground. They also had just 285 yards overall.
Kean had 338 yards on the ground, including 148 by Damian Corridor. Tyler Rodriguez threw for 263, and had a touchdown, as he hit Tahj Hammary for a 29-yard reception in the fourth for the 23-0 lead.
Kyree Tyson-Jones scored on a 10-yard rushing touchdown, before Steve Ferlisi made a 24-yard field goal as time expired for halftime for the 10-0 lead.
Corridor then added a one-yard run with 25 seconds left in the third.
“It gets old and it gets hard fighting from behind all the time,” Dickens said.
