This past weekend, the Rowan University football team honored its 30 seniors with a pregame ceremony, and what followed was a fast start that catapulted them to a dominant 42-14 victory over the Kean Cougars.

Rowan struck first and quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead that they would never relinquish, scoring on a one-yard run from junior quarterback Joe Riina. Later in the opening frame, a nine-yard run from sophomore running back Tyshawn Bookman gave the Profs a 14-0 lead.

Following Bookman’s touchdown, an untimely fumble by the Cougars on a kickoff return gave the ball back to Rowan once again. The Profs wasted no time taking advantage, as sophomore quarterback Nate Maiers hit senior wide receiver Shane Martin deep for a 41-yard touchdown the very next play.

Less than a minute later, senior defensive back Eric Bryant picked off a pass from Kean’s Rocco Pellegrini that was taken to the house for a 45-yard touchdown, giving the Profs a commanding 28-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. 

Bryant’s interception was his fifth of the season and his third in the past two games. 

“I saw the route and we were in zone, I love to be in zone,” Bryant said. “I saw an opportunity to get a pick, and once I got the pick I knew I was taking it to the crib because this was my last home game so I thought, ‘Why not get a pick six?’”

Head Coach Pat Ruley challenges his team on a weekly basis to start off strong, and they certainly delivered this week.

“I challenge these guys all week to come out and play fast early,” Ruley said. “It really has been about, ‘Can we put them away early?’ And we hit some big plays, had a pick six, forced a turnover on a kickoff, so we jumped on them in a hurry and that kind of put it out of reach.”

Rowan scored again early in the second quarter, when freshman quarterback Matt Welsey hit senior captain John Scibilia for a one-yard score, giving the Profs a 35-0 lead heading into halftime, their biggest advantage in a game at any point throughout the season.

Bryant gave credit to the defensive unit as a whole for creating more turnovers over the past few weeks and taking control of games.

“After the Salisbury game, it made us a little frustrated,” Bryant said. “We got upset that we had a big loss and we had an opportunity to win. We just took it as a defense like, ‘We can still beat every team in the conference going on out,’ and after that, we just started getting more turnovers.”

Rowan’s last touchdown of the afternoon came courtesy of Shane Martin once again, this time corralling a 28-yard touchdown reception from Welsey. The junior finished with a career-high 138 receiving yards and two scores. 

Martin credited his performance to the relationship he’s built with his quarterbacks from the off-season up until now. 

“Little things like where we watch film together, it’s like bonding time,” Martin said. “We can enjoy football in a fun way where we’re just hanging out without the stress of executing or making sure we’re doing our things right in practice. When you go to film, you kind of get a good idea, and again talking to each other between QB and receiver and really getting on the same page.”

Last season, the Profs finished with a less-than-satisfying 1-5 record at home. Determined to make a change, and with a new coach in Ruley adding a newfound optimism to the program, Rowan completely flipped the script this year and finished the season with an undefeated 4-0 record at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium. 

“The crowd was more into it this year. There was a lot of noise on third and longs for when we were on defense. There’s so many people coming out to support this year,” Bryant said. 

Heading into the last game of the season, Ruley credited his seniors for leaving a mark on the program and setting a new standard for the future.

“It’s always tough, I’m coming in as a new person for their last go-round. These guys really trusted me to kind of take the keys and a lot of these guys were pushing the messaging and cultural things that I was looking to establish and these guys were trying to set that standard every single day,” Ruley said. 

The seniors also gave praise to Ruley for entering the program and establishing a new sense of culture. 

“He’s made a major impact on this program and especially the culture,” Martin said. “It was a good culture, but not the culture we have now. Football is a very emotional sport, and the fact that he’s encouraging us going out there and showing and playing with heart, that’s a big thing.”

“He changed a lot,” Bryant said. “The culture, the practices, the team bonding. A lot of people are a lot closer now as a defense and an offense.”

“They’ll always have a special place in my heart career-wise, they’re a great group of guys,” Ruley said.

Rowan will head to Wayne, New Jersey this Saturday, Nov. 16 to face off against the William Paterson Pioneers for their last game of the season.

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