WAYNE, N.J. – A Pioneer touchdown during the game's final minute and a Seahawk incompletion in the end zone as time expired allowed William Paterson (2-1) to win a thriller on Homecoming, 36-32, against visiting Salve Regina (1-2) Sept. 20.
Freshman quarterback Austin Fellows (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) led the offense with a 22-for-35 effort for 349 yards and two touchdowns, while senior running back Matt Deiana (Somers, N.Y./Somers) rushed 24 times for 126 yards and two scores. Junior wide receiver Anthony DiMarsico (Stony Point, N.Y./Suffern) had a 10-yard touchdown carry while catching four passes for 126 yards and a TD.
Sophomore cornerback Kell'E Gallimore (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) paced the defense with nine tackles (six solo), two pass breakups and a blocked kick. Junior linebacker Dennis Goodman (Somerset, N.J./Bishop Ahr) made seven stops (three solo, 1.0 TFL) and recovered a fumble, and freshman Matt Caputo (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) added two tackles to his pair of interceptions.
Trailing by three at 32-29 with just 2:11 remaining, Deiana picked up 11 yards on third-and-10, and after a false start penalty, he connected with Fellows for a 13-yard pass play on first-and-15 to get the Pioneers to midfield. Another false start penalty pushed WP back five yards and made it second down and seven at the Pioneer-46. Fellows hit DiMarsico in stride as he streaked across the field, and DiMarsico turned up the left sideline for a 42-yard gain to make it first-and-10 at the SRU-12.
On the next snap, Fellows lobbed it up for junior running back Dwaine Dabney, Jr. (Summit, N.J./Summit), who elevated and snatched the ball out of the air just inside the right pylon for the 12-yard touchdown and a 35-32 lead. Senior Robert Sinegra's (Wharton, N.J./Morris Knolls) PAT was good, pushing the margin to four with 41 seconds to play.
Following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Seahawks drove to the Pioneer 43-yard line, but Gallimore came up with the pass breakup in the end zone as time expired to seal the victory.
Salve Regina took the opening drive of the game 54 yards, capped off by a 28-yard touchdown pass from senior Steve Wilken to classmate Matthew Traynor. Gallimore blocked David Gelormini's extra-point attempt, and the Seahawks owned a 6-0 lead 2:11 into the contest.
The Pioneers took their first lead of the day 11 minutes later when DiMarsico's delayed handoff opened up a hole and he scampered 10 yards into the end zone. Sinegra's PAT made it a 7-6 contest with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.
Wilken found Traynor again, this time for an 18-yard TD at the 9:08 mark of the second quarter. Salve Regina elected to go for two, but holder Mitch Graziano was dropped short of the goal line, leaving it a 12-7 margin.
William Paterson answered with a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was finished by a Deiana one-yard touchdown. Sinegra's kick was good, and the Pioneers jumped back ahead by a 14-12 count with 5:49 on the clock.
Wilken again led the Seahawk offense down the field, carrying one yard for a touchdown and then finding Derrick Sarfo-Darko for the two-point conversion, for a 20-14 SRU advantage with 1:58 remaining in the first half.
William Paterson punted to open the second half, and Caputo ended the Seahawks' next possession with an interception at the Pioneer 23-yard line. Caputo came up with his second pick of the day, this one inside the WP-30, to open the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers converted the turnover into points when Fellows and DiMarsico hooked up for a 33-yard TD, and Sinegra tacked on the extra point to nudge William Paterson ahead by a 21-20 count with 11:07 to play.
Wilken and Traynor connected again, this time for a 28-yard score, and when the two-point attempt failed Salve Regina found itself ahead, 26-21, with 7:49 left.
A leaping 32-yard grab by junior running back Darius Kersey (Dover, N.J./Dover) and a concurrent roughing the passer penalty set the Pioneers up at the SRU-13. Deiana immediately made the defense pay with his touchdown run on the next snap. DiMarsico lined up behind center for the two-point attempt and scrambled to his right, buying time and finding junior wide receiver Nick Burke (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) to make it a 29-26 Pioneer lead with 6:08 on the clock.
Wilke's keeper resulted in a 16-yard touchdown at the 2:19 mark, but Gelormini's PAT kick was no good, and the Seahawks were again in the lead at 32-29 before the Pioneers' game-winning touchdown drive.
Kersey caught five passes for 119 yards for WP, and senior defensive back Elijah DeGuzman (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) and junior linebacker Carlo Caponetta (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) each made seven tackles.
Wilken finished 27-for-45 for 384 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior Dan Buonocore led the Seahawk ground game with 14 carries for 71 yards. Traynor hauled in 10 passes for 195 yards and three scores.
Junior linebacker Danny Ives led the Salve Regina defense with 12 tackles (three solo, 2.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks), and senior linebacker Matt Conroy had 10 stops (three solo).
William Paterson will enjoy a bye week before starting New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play Saturday, Oct. 4, at home against Montclair State at 1:00 p.m.
For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com, http://twitter.com/wpupioneers, http://www.instagram.com/thewpupioneers, http://www.facebook.com/wpupioneers and http://www.youtube.com/thewpupioneers.