It’s a new era for Rowan football, as head coach Pat Ruley and the Profs won their first game of the season on the road against the Stevenson Mustangs on Thursday, Sep. 5 by a final score of 35-16.

Ruley, a Rowan alumni who played linebacker for the Profs, was announced as their new head coach in June after longtime coach Jay Accorsi announced his retirement after leading the team for 22 seasons. Ruley credited the team’s strong start to the hard work they put in during the offseason and their ability to take things week by week.

“Obviously I just got here, you know I’ve been here for close to a month now as the head coach and really us being able to say, ‘hey, let’s turn the page on last year and focus on day to day and stacking days like we’ve been talking about,’” Ruley said.

The Profs opted for a two quarterback system with sophomore Nate Maiers and freshman Matt Welsey both getting reps on offense. Welsey scored on a 15-yard run to help Rowan strike first late in the first quarter to score his first of four total touchdowns on the day, the rest being through the air.

“It felt amazing. First play was a little shaky, I got the chance on the QB run and I was telling everyone it was like parting the Red Sea, wide open coming back, made one guy miss and I was into the end zone. I saw a camera and I just started screaming at it. I was so excited,” Welsey said.

Defensive end and reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Defensive Rookie of the Year Carter Williams picked up right where he left off last season and helped turn the tide entirely in the Profs’ favor, intercepting a pass off of Stevenson quarterback Landon Winterbottom and taking it to the house for a 26-yard touchdown that put the Profs up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

“I got blocked at first by the tackle, he kind of let me go so at practice we know that’s a screen. Their quarterback was getting tackled by CR [Chris Rodgers], he just threw it side armed and I just put my arm up one-handed, caught it, and ran it back,” Williams said.

It was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball for the Profs, spreading the ball well on offense and keeping Stevenson’s offense off the field for the majority of the game. Stevenson went 0 for 11 on third down conversions and turned the ball over five times, and the Profs offense controlled the game entirely with 39 minutes and 44 seconds of possession time compared to Stevenson’s 20 minutes and 4 seconds. 

“There’s 11 guys on the field, they all gotta work together. O-Line did a heck of a job in pass pro, and if you look at the stats I think we had almost all of the wide receivers over 50 yards and that’s how an offense should be,” Welsey said.

The Profs will continue that week-by-week approach as they return home to face the McDaniel Green Terror at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium this Saturday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. Home games were not easy for the Profs last season, as they struggled to win and only produced a 1-5 record in Glassboro. Coach Ruley and the team understand the importance and the momentum for the rest of the season that will come with a 2-0 start.

“I think for us, looking at how we operate coming back for the home opener, obviously my first game back as head coach, but I told our guys ‘If you can’t get excited for this one, I don’t know what to tell ya,’” Ruley said.

“It means everything,” Wesley said. “Obviously last season we beat McDaniel away but that doesn’t matter now, it’s 1-0 every single week. Obviously, when we’re home we gotta protect it, this is our home we gotta take pride in it.”

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