By Joey Bachich
Staff Writer
The College lost a hard-fought defensive battle to rival Rowan University on a walk-off touchdown by a score of 9-7. It was close the entire way, but a last-second 30-yard touchdown was enough for Rowan to claim the victory.
The Buildup
The Lions faced off against NJAC rival Rowan in an important game for the Lions as they were trying to climb the standings of the NJAC. Rowan has had the Lions number the past few seasons, with the College losing five in a row with four of those being by one score or less.
Coming into the game, the Lions were 1-3 and coming off three bad losses where the offense looked one dimensional and anemic. Rowan was also having a tough start to the year 1-3, but their issue is not scoring, but defense, letting up almost 37 points a game so far this season.
What Unfolded
The Lions looked good in the first half, but had a special teams fumble in the first quarter with a blocked field goal that would loom large later in the game. The Lions broke a huge play in the second quarter by senior business management major Thomas Burke who had a 73-yard catch that led to a Lions TD.
Besides the big play, the College again had a tough offensive outing in the first half. The Lions defense played unbelievably, keeping the normally high-flying Rowan offense down to only three points at halftime.
The Lions in the third quarter had a great offensive drive that led the team down to the red zone, but yet again special teams woes continued with a missed field goal and again kept Rowan in the game. In the red zone on the next drive, the College decided to not kick the field goal, but instead gave up a strip sack fumble that gave Rowan the ball back and kept the game unnecessarily close.
In the fourth quarter, the College was again driving at the Rowan 26-yard line when senior quarterback and finance major Trevor Bopp threw an interception after a really good drive and stopped the momentum for the College again near the red zone. Later, after taking a penalty for a false start, the College had another field goal missed, but this time due to it being blocked. To add insult to injury, Bopp went down with an apparent leg injury that let senior finance major Stephan Began see some game time. Up 7-3 with a minute to play Rowan drove down the field and with time expiring the Lions defense finally broke and let up a 30 yard touchdown to end the game, allowing Rowan to win 9-7.
What to do now
Special teams, costly penalties and offensive red zone efficiency need major changes in the future for head coach Casey Goff if he wants to have a Lions team go over .500. Since his tenure started in 2017 the team has not won over five games, but they have had more all-NJAC selections every season than the previous.
So if the players are getting better for the Lions, something on the offensive side of the ball has to change. The run and gun offensive set is not working with the College, averaging eight points a game in their last four losses. If an opposing team can stop the inside zone run play, the offense cannot seem to switch gears and change its plans, especially in the red zone.
The next two games against 0-5 Kean University and 2-3 Gettysburg College are crucial for the Lions to salvage the season as they look to try and get to .500 for the first time since 2013.
