Morrisville State men race to 5thplace finish at NEAC Championships
Pictured is Byron Evans (Cazenovia, N.Y.), top finisher for the Mustangs.
By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Marcy, NY – Nov. 2, 2013) The Morrisville State College men competed at the 2013 NEAC Championships Saturday afternoon held on the SUNYIT campus, and finished fifth overall out of 11 teams.
The Mustangs, who have struggled all season with injuries, compiled 162 team points led by freshman runner, Byron Evans (Cazenovia, N.Y.), who turned in a 15th overall place finish with a time of 29:49 in the 8K Championship race.
Steven Cuff (Auburn, N.Y.) was the second Mustang to cross the finish line, placing 31st overall with a time of 31:55, while teammate Mark DiPerna (Remsen, N.Y.) was not too far behind, crossing in 32:35, good enough for 36thoverall.
Byron Norman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Basil McKenzie (Brooklyn, N.Y.) rounded out team scoring with 39th and 41st overall finishes, while Tyler Wellington (Cayuga, N.Y.) was 43rd.
SUNYIT won the race with 27 points, dominating the field with five top 10 finishes, while SUNY Cobleskill was second with 54 points. Penn St.-Abington was third overall with 72, while Penn St.-Berks finished fourth with 98.
Morrisville State record breaking day, but drop NJAC decision to Kean
By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Union, NJ – Nov. 2, 2013) Host Kean University scored 31 straight unanswered points between the second and third quarters, to hand visiting Morrisville State College football a 47-21 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) loss Saturday afternoon in Union, New Jersey.
The loss drops Morrisville State to 3-4 overall, 2-3 in conference play.
Morrisville State was held to just 399 yards total offense on the day, including a season low 107 on the ground since exploding in the rushing game in week two. Cristian Pena (Ridgewood, N.Y.) tallied 69 total yards rushing, bringing his season total to over 1,000 rushing yards, the most the Mustangs have seen from a running back since the 2002 season, and the first to do so as a Division III player.
Quarterback Lemar Johnson (Ossining, N.Y.) went 24-for-43 on the day for 296 yards and three passing scores, adding 42 yards on the ground to his tallies. Seven of Johnson’s completions were to wide receiver Josh Powell (Yonkers, N.Y.) who posted 107 yards and a score in the efforts.
Johnson’s passing yardage boosted him to 2,072 passing yards on the season, becoming the first Mustang to reach the 2K mark, and taking over the top spot on the all-time season passing charts. He also took over number one in the career record books, throwing for 3,416 yards in just three seasons.
Powell, moved up to second in the season all-time record books with his tallies on the day, and became the all-time career leading receiver with 1,261 yards, surpassing Kwazi Leverette’s totals set back in 1999.
Wally Stephens (Kingston, N.Y.) led the Morrisville State defensive efforts with nine total tackles, while Jeremy Stewart (Moravia, N.Y.) and Colton Evans (West Winfield, N.Y.) each added seven.
Morrisville State trailed 10-0 before posting a score before the close of the first quarter to make it a 10-7 game. Johnson connected with Anthony Gray (Smallwood, N.Y.) on a 20-yard pass play to complete the 76-yard drive with two seconds to go in the opening frame.
The Mustangs took a 14-10 lead on a 21-yard pass play to Tyler Dunworth (Poestenkill, N.Y.) early in the second, but Kean rallied for two straight scores, one a 33 yard field goal, to claim the 19-14 lead at half.
In the third, Morrisville State struggled as Kean posted three straight touchdowns, taking the commanding 40-14 lead after three.
Morrisville State was able to put another score up on the board at the 12:10 mark in the fourth, a 24-yard pass play from Johnson to Powell, but Kean sealed the win with their sixth touchdown of the day late in the final stanza.
The Mustangs return to the field Saturday, traveling to Cortland for a 1 p.m. kickoff