The decades-long debate of “Taylor Ham or pork roll” has been decided for at least the next year. Pork roll has prevailed for the time being, as Rowan football won an unforgettable double-overtime thriller against the Montclair State Red Hawks 16-10 in the inaugural “Breakfast Bowl.”

The Breakfast Bowl was an idea that came to fruition courtesy of Red Hawks’ Head Coach Mike Palazzo. Palazzo ran the idea by Rowan Head Coach Pat Ruley even before Ruley had officially been named the eighth head coach in Rowan football history. 

“He kind of got that rolling before I got hired, but we’ve known each other for a really long time and even in the interview process he reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, if you end up getting the job, I got this thing that’s kind of in the works. I wanna run it by you, see how we can make it happen,’” Ruley said. 

Both teams partnered with Community FoodBank to fight food insecurity in New Jersey. QR codes allowed fans to donate and vote for whether the breakfast meat should be called pork roll or Taylor Ham, with votes towards pork roll going to Community FoodBank’s Egg Harbor location and Taylor Ham going to their Hillside location. 

Both Rowan and Montclair’s defense ate early on, as neither offense could find a groove in the first half. Rowan was missing their dual-quarterback system, as both Nate Maiers and Matt Welsey were out with injuries, handing the reigns to junior Joe Riina for his first start of the season. Riina finished with 164 passing yards and both a rushing and passing touchdown. 

“It wasn’t pretty, but he did enough to win,” Ruley said. “There were some big moments where he put his shoulder down and got first downs, made some big throws at times. Obviously, we only scored 10 points in regulation, so we didn’t light the world on fire offensively but we did do enough to get the win.”

Nunes Bukula IV also wasn’t available for the contest, which meant sophomore running back Tyshawn Bookman got the start. He was a workhorse, handling 38 total touches on offense and finishing with over 150 yards from scrimmage. 

“It was a big day for me, and I appreciate the coaches and offensive line putting their trust in me, giving me the ball and just making things happen. I was able to do what I had to do and help my team get a victory today,” Bookman said.  

Rowan finally found the end zone during their first drive of the second half, scoring thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by Riina. 

The Profs later had an opportunity to go up double digits in the fourth quarter, but an untimely penalty called back a long touchdown reception by Michael Zarfati and gave Montclair an opportunity to respond, and they did just that by driving down the field and finding the end zone to knot things up at seven with 5:46 left in the final frame.

On Rowan’s ensuing drive, they marched down the field and kicked a go-ahead field goal to take a 10-7 lead with 26 seconds left in regulation, but a good kickoff return set up the Red Hawks nicely to reach Rowan’s 32-yard line. Kicker Greg Casimir took advantage, as he drilled a 49-yard field goal right through the uprights to tie things up and send it to overtime, stunning the Profs and their home fans. 

Even when things get tough, senior linebacker Nick Cerulli believes those moments are where the Profs thrive.

“We pride ourselves on that. Football’s a lot about adversity and we come out each week and we prepare,” Cerulli said. “When it comes to times like this, coach Ruley says it all the time, ‘60 minutes or more.’ You gotta be prepared to play that full game and give it your all.” 

Montclair got the ball to start overtime, but AJ Ryker corralled an interception on the very first play to give the Profs a chance to win the game, but Tommy Laperriere’s 30-yard field goal attempt on the ensuing possession hooked just left and sent the game to a second overtime.

Possession flipped once more, and this time Rowan was successful in hitting pay dirt, with a five-yard touchdown reception by freshman Luke Hoke giving the Profs a 16-10 lead. 

Untimely penalties kept fans on the edge of their seats during the Red Hawks’ last offensive drive, as fourth down stops turned into first downs because of penalties and kept the game going. The Profs finally overcame their mishaps and got a fourth down stop to win the thriller on homecoming weekend. 

This will certainly be a game the coaches, the players, and the community will never forget. 

“It’s things like this that we’ve never had before, so it’s a great boost of confidence to come out and win that,” Cerulli said. “It goes into next year, I think it’s a huge momentum boost going into the future.”

“The twists and turns at the end, the missed field goal, the late flags, it was just a whirlwind of emotions. It ended up being a memorable game for sure,” Ruley said. 

Rowan will remain home at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium next week as the Kean Cougars come to town to face the Profs on Saturday, Nov. 9.

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