By Jake Leamer ’20, Staff Writer
After heading into the locker room at half time with a 24-7 lead, it seemed as though LVC would run away with the score once play resumed. However, the second half proved otherwise and left the large homecoming crowd biting their nails until the final horn.
On Saturday, the Dutchmen hosted the Devils of Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham. The highly anticipated matchup between LVC and FDU-Florham served as one of many athletic events played during LVC’s homecoming weekend, drawing a massive crowd of supporters. After seeing its lead cut down to just one point in the final minutes of the game, LVC’s defense stepped up when it mattered most, helping the Dutchmen defeat the Devils by a score of 31-30.
The Dutchmen took a 24-7 lead with them at half time against an FDU-Florham team that had little to no answer on offense or defense. LVC started its scoring in the first quarter after Hunter Wilson turned on the jets and ripped off a long, 73-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive, putting the Dutchmen up 7-0 after a Nick Bentz extra point.
LVC broke the game wide open in the second quarter, all starting with a quarterback sneak from Kody Kegarise at the one-yard line that resulted in a touchdown. Exactly seven minutes later, Nick Bentz drilled a 49-yard field goal that looked like it would have been good from 65-yards out. Less than two minutes following the Bentz field goal, LVC’s Chance Atkins intercepted a pass from FDU quarterback Anthony Caserta for an easy, 48-yard pick-six that put the Dutchmen up 24-0. The Dutchmen were pouring it on and FDU did not have an answer until FDU running back Robert Blakely threw a two-yard touchdown pass on a third and goal to Benjamin Calderon just before half time.
In the second half, FDU began chipping away at LVC’s three-score lead, starting with a 25-yard field goal from kicker Nick Maciejewski. LVC, however, was quick to answer with a six-yard touchdown run from Hunter Wilson. Following a Nick Bentz extra point, the Dutchmen led 31-10. Next, in what may have been a sign of things to come, FDU scored a touchdown on an 84-yard flea-flicker pass from Anthony Caserta to Connor Perez at the end of the third quarter, making the score 31-17 Dutchmen.
With 7:39 left in the fourth quarter, FDU’s Damarquis Price caught a 23-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 31-24. In its next possession following the FDU score, LVC was forced to punt the football back to FDU with little time left on the clock. After five straight FDU first downs, the Devils were able to bring the score to 31-30 after an Alnazir Blackman touchdown run from the one-yard line.
Instead of attempting an extra point to tie the game and possibly force overtime, the Devils opted to try for a two-point conversion and potentially win the football game. LVC’s defense was up to the challenge, however, providing outstanding coverage in its secondary and forcing an incomplete pass. The Dutchmen were able to hold on to their 31-30 lead for the rest of the game, earning them their second win of the season on homecoming.
This Saturday, LVC will face Widener University in Chester, PA at 1 PM.
Photo provided by Jake Leamer ’20