No. 19 Montclair State Rolls Past Morrisville for Third Straight Win, 42-6

Morrisville, NY (9/25/10) – Junior quarterback Tom Fischer (Livingston, NJ / Livingston) completed 20-of-26 passes for 199 yards and three first-half touchdowns as 19th-ranked Montclair State rolled to its 11th straight NJAC victory with a 42-6 triumph over Morrisville State at Drake Field on Saturday afternoon.

Junior wide receiver Byron Lewin (Carteret, NJ / Carteret) pulled in nine receptions for 86 yards and a score as the Red Hawks are now 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the NJAC with the win. It is the 18th time in program history that MSU had opened the season with three victories.

The Red Hawks jumped out quickly in the game as a fumbled snap on a punt gave Montclair great field position at the Morrisville 19. After a pair runs, Fischer found his brother Vin for a 17-yard strike and a 7-0 MSU 2:33 into the game.

Midway through the quarter the lead was extended thanks in part to a seven-play, 74-yard drive that consumed 4:29 on the clock. A pass interference penalty by Morrisville kept the drive going and the Red hawks would take full advantage as Fischer and Lewin connected from 35-yards out as Montclair State led 14-0.

A fumble by the Red Hawks would help set up the Morrisville score as the Mustangs closed to 14-6 with 26 seconds to play in the first. But Montclair would answer right back on its next possession marching 58 yards in eight plays. Fischer kept the drive alive with a third-down completion to Dan Keegan (Fairfield, NJ / West Essex) and the possession ended in the end zone as Chris D'Andrea (Union, NJ / Union) scampered the final 11 yards for his third touchdown of the year Montclair State led 21-6.

The MSU defense, which allowed just 104 yards of offense in the game, set up the final touchdown of the half for the Red Hawks. Defensive back Chad Faulcon (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) intercepted a pass and returned it two yards to the MSU 48. Following an incompletion, Fischer hooked up with Joe LaSala (Clark, NJ / Colonia) on back-to-back plays, the final one a 37-yard score as Montclair State took a 28-6 lead into the locker room.

Freshmen running backs A.J. Scoppa (New Milford, NJ / New Milford) and Domenick Coiro (Totowa, NJ / Passaic Valley) accounted for the final two MSU touchdowns in the second half on the ground. Scoppa ran for all 43 of his yards on a drive that finished with a two-yard touchdown. Coiro, getting his first career carries, ran in from two yards out to end an 80-yard possession with 4:17 to go in the contest.

D'Andrea finished with 61 yards on 23 carries for MSU, which churned out 143 yards on the ground and 398 yards of offense overall.  LaSala (55 yards) and Bobby Roesing (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus) each had three receptions.
Defensively freshman linebacker Dan Avento (Montvale, NJ / Pascack Hills) led the way with seven tackles while Faulcon added five, all solo stops, in addition to three pass breakups and his interceptions.

The Red Hawks are back in action next Friday evening, October 1 as they head to Union, NJ to face Kean University in a 7:00 pm matchup at Alumni Stadium. It is the first meeting between the teams since MSU's 14-6 win over the Cougars in last year's NJAC Championship Game at Sprague Field.