The Rowan University football team got their third win of the season this past Saturday, improving their record to 3-6 on the season.
It was a tight game but the Profs pulled off the win, outscoring Christopher Newport University with a final score of 27-23.
The Profs got off to a rough start in the first half and went down 20-0 to start the game, but quarterback Mike Husni rushed for a touchdown to get them on the board as time expired at the half.
The Profs scored 20 unanswered points in the third quarter to secure the win.
The defense shut out Christopher Newport in the second half, only allowing 75 yards.
Everyone was holding their breath until the last 25 seconds of the game, when Rowan turned the ball over on downs with 1:11 to play and gave the ball back to Christopher Newport with good field position on their own 40-yard line.
Christopher Newport drove the ball all the way down the field to Rowan’s two-yard line.
On first and goal with 17 seconds left, Christopher Newport’s running back Ben James fumbled and linebacker Anthony LaRosa jumped on it to secure the win for Rowan.
Rowan is now 3-3 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and a win over The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Saturday would put them in fourth place. They were projected fifth in the preseason rankings.
“This game is huge,” Head Coach Jay Accorsi said. “Right now we’re 3-3 in the conference and if we win that makes us 4-3. It would put us in fourth place in the conference which is a huge deal.”
After a rusty season for the Profs, this is only the beginning for the young football team.
Husni is only a sophomore and is continually improving. He has had senior receivers Nick Grosso and Elijah Rehm to help him along the way.
“I think it’s been really good for him to be able to go to some really reliable guys,” Accorsi said. “John Maldonado has stepped up quite a bit as a sophomore. Losing Cody Madden was huge. He would’ve been a great option for Husni to flip the ball too. CJ Barrett has come on but not at the level Cody is at.”
Saturday is the last game for the Profs and it is also the last game for the Rowan seniors. The team wants to go out on a high note.
“We want to dominate TCNJ on Sunday,” running back Messiah Divine said. “We want to go off on a high note and we wanna put it all on the line for the seniors on Saturday.”
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