Montclair State improved to 1-3 on the season with the win.
Photo courtesy of MSU Sports.
Last Saturday, the Montclair State Red Hawks hosted the William Patterson Pioneers for their annual Homecoming game. It was a brutal, blowout win by Montclair State, as they dominated Willy P, 64-7.
Red Hawk wideout Aaron Williams caught two touchdown passes, as did freshman tailback Willie Barr, but scoring was not limited to Montclair’s offense. Eric Gargiulo tallied a pick six, while Jaquan Spann returned a punt for a touchdown.
William Patterson’s only score of the evening came via a Darius Dabney touchdown reception with five minutes and 27 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter.
Montclair’s special teams made an opening statement as they started their opening drive at the Pioneer’s 44-yard line. The Red Hawks eventually ended their drive with a punt, but it was one that had pinned Willy P back at their own 5-yard line.
A later punt by the Pioneers would give Montclair the ball back at their own 48-yard line, where Montclair State quarterback Ryan Davies connected with Williams with two minutes left in the first quarter, starting the score off at 7-0. Davies would later find Williams once again for a 12-yard touchdown pass, leaving the score at 14-0 with four minutes and 45 seconds left in the half.
Two possessions later, Davies tossed a 21-yard bomb to freshman wideout Julanee Prince who brought the ball down to Patterson’s 20-yard line. At the Willy P 11-yard line, Montclair State faced a fourth-and-one with 35 seconds left in the half, when Denzel Nieves hit an inside zone play for another Red Hawk touchdown. Before the half was over, Gargiulo recorded his first interception for a touchdown, capping the score at 28-0 at halftime.
Montclair State’s defense prospered on Saturday by only allowing Willy P a total of 20 offensive yards in the first half and just 84 in the entire game. The Pioneers possessed only eight first downs in the game, two of which came via penalties, and a third came from a botched fourth-down snap where punter Nick D’Angelis ran for the first down.
The Red Hawks returned from the locker room only to score points in six of their next nine possessions. Returner Willie Spann brought one to the house for 61 yards with eight minutes and 57 seconds left in the third quarter and kicker Frank Schneeberger notched a 26-yard field goal topping off the score at 38-0 for the time being. Barr scored late in the third with 21-yard and three-yard runs, while freshman Akeer Franklin popped off for a 38-yard touchdown run with just over eight minutes left to play in the game.
Davies finished the game 10-14 at 160 yards while Williams caught six passes for 109 yards. Montclair State racked up 373 yards of total offense with 204 on the ground.
The Red Hawks are on the road next Saturday, Oct. 10, to Buena Vista, Va. to face winless Southern Virginia University at 1 p.m.
