CNBNews

Troy, NY (11/17/07) - The College of New Jersey's senior kicker Matt
Dalessio (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) added a 27-yard field goal with 0:13 left
to play to propel the Lions in the NCAA Division III Football Championship
past the host Engineers of Rensselaar 17-14 on Saturday afternoon at '86
Field before a crowd of 419.  With the win, TCNJ improves to 9-2 on the
year, while RPI's season comes to an end at 8-2.

TCNJ will now travel to
Mount Union College (Alliance, OH) for the second round of the tournament
for a noon contest with the Raiders on Saturday, November 24. Mount Union
advanced after posting a 42-18 win over Ithaca also in the first round.

RPI struck first on their possession driving 61 yards to cap a nine-play
drive and held a 7-0 lead after freshman running back Nick Costa (Yonkers,
NY/Iona Prep) at 11:38.

Sophomore quarterback Chris James (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) found
classmate Cameron Richardson (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) from 35
yards out to put the Lions on the scoreboard at 1:24 and a point after by
senior kicker Matt Dalessio (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) tied the score at 7-7.
The score was the sixth of the fall for Richardson.

Sophomore running back Chase Misiura (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) carried the
ball four times on the drive, including a 31-yarder play to put the Lions
on RPI's side of the field.

Costa would add to the Engineers' scoring output on the day adding his
second score on a three-yard rush to cap a 78-yard drive with 5:22 left in
the first half of play.

Dalessio would attempt a 44-yard field goal with 1:08 left before the half
and would miss as the ball fell short and to the right.

Misiura came up with a big play after TCNJ was forced to punt on their
first possession and on a fumble came up with the recovery to start the
Lions' drive on the RPI 19.  The Lions would have to settle for a 31-yard
field goal attempt which was partially blocked by sophomore defensive back
Joe Albano (Dalton, MA) at 11:30 in the third leaving the score at RPI
14-7.

Senior back Andrew Larkin (Hamilton Square, NJ/Notre Dame) picked off
RPI's junior quarterback Jimmy Robertson (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) in the
end zone in the third quarter for his seventh interception of the year and
halted an Engineer drive.

On the next drive TCNJ was able to gain the back when on the punt return
Nick Steffner (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) forced a fumble and Joe Spahn
(Burlington, NJ/Florence) came up with the recovery to start the drive for
TCNJ on the RPI 43 yards line at 13:11 in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately the Lions could not make the most of the opportunity as
James was sacked on third and 23 by junior lineman Nick Casale (Waterford,
NY) and TCNJ was forced to punt. The sack was the third of the day for
Casale.

Robertson would add an 83 yard pass play to senior receiver Brendan
McGowan (Mesa, AZ) in the Engineers' next drive and put RPI deep in the
Lions' territory. Robertson would surpass the 300 plus passing yards on
the game on the play. Despite the great field position for the Engineers,
TCNJ's defense held on and got the ball on downs with no points allowed on
the play.

TCNJ would get into the RPI red zone on a key 22-yard pass to Zach Rinaldi
(Burlington, NJ/Florence) and on the next play Chase Misiura would rush in
from three yards our for his second score of the game and the made point
after by Dalessio tied the score at 14-14 with 3:14 left to play. The
drive was a 12-play, 90 yard drive that brought TCNJ back into the game in
the final minutes of the contest.

 On the kickoff, RPI's Tom Montano would fumble the ball and Michael Yetka
(Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) recovered to give the Lions the ball in RPI
territory (RPI 44 yard line).

Dalessio would attempt a 47-yard field goal with 2:11 left to play and the
ball would fall short of the goal post give the Engineers the ball again
with two minutes remaining in regulation.

Senior defensive lineman Joe King (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston)
would sack Robinson on RPI's first play of the drive for a loss of 15
putting RPI at their own 15 yard line with 1:59 left to play.

RPI forced to punt relinquished the ball after a bad punt with 1:38 left
as TCNJ would start the drive on the RPI 45.
After an offensive holding call on the Lions, James would find Yetka for a
20 pass play and a first down. With a 3-7 play on the line James found
Chris Opdyke (Lambertville, NJ/Hunterdon Central) from 22 yards out to the
far side yard line and gave the Lions a first and goal from the 10 yard
line. The Lions would send in Dalessio to attempt a 27 yard field goal
with 12.8 seconds left and give TCNJ their first lead of the game 17-14
lead.

In the final seconds of the game, senior Dennis Morrone (Medford Lakes,
NJ/Lenape Regional) would intercept Robinson to end the game and propel
TCNJ to the next round.

For the game, James would complete 24-of-46 pass attempts for 238 yards
with a touchdown. RPI's Robertson was 20-34 with two interceptions and 324
yards passing on the day, including six passes to McGowan for 155 yards
and four passes to junior Eren Savasli (Brooklyn, NY) for 101 yards.

Misiura had 10 carries for 53 yards, while helping TCNJ to combine for 366
yards of total offense while yielding 321 on the day. The 14 points
allowed by the Lions marked the ninth time in 11 games TCNJ held an
opponent to 15 or fewer points this fall.

On defense, TCNJ's was led by junior Marc Fabiano (Scotch Plains,
NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) as he had five tackles, while Spahn and King
each netted five stops on the day. King added two more sacks to his
growing career resume that now includes 33.5 career sacks for -299 yards.
RPI entered the game having just given away 11 turnovers all season before
TCNJ's unit forced five in the contest en route to the win.

TCNJ is now 4-4 lifetime in the NCAA's since first appearing in 1990.

RPI's senior linebacker Anthony Casale (Troy, NY/Troy) led the Engineer's
with his game-high 18 stops, while Nick Casale added 10 stops.

TCNJ travels to Mount Union College (Alliance, OH) for the second round of
the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships as Mount Union beat Ithaca
College 42-18 in another first round contest on Saturday. Mount Union, the
defending NCAA Division III Champions and winners of nine previous NCAA
titles, brings an 11-0 record into the game, while also riding a 34-game
win streak. Kickoff is set for noon on November 24 at Mount Union Stadium.