(boxscore)
Freshman Al Humes (Ridley Park, PA) was spectacular in his first collegiate start, throwing three touchdown passes for Widener in a 27-7 Middle Atlantic Conference victory over FDU-Florham at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium.
The Pride (4-3, 2-2 MAC) got thing rolling on their third possession, one which junior Andre Payton (Folsom, PA) rushed for 43 yards. He capped the nine-play, 61-yard drive on a two-yard touchdown run and the extra point by freshman Matt Breslin (Sugarloaf, PA) made it 7-0 with 12:38 left in the first half.
Widener got the ball back with 2:15 to go in the half and began what would be the start of three consecutive scoring drives. Humes was 5-of-8 on the march, ending it on a 24-yard touchdown pass to freshman Marcus Payton (Folsom, PA) with 1:00 left for a 14-0 cushion.
The Pride's first possession of the second half needed just five plays. Humes threw a 26-yard pass to junior Tim Shaub (Ewing, NJ) to the 18 yard line and, two plays later, hit Marcus Payton on a 25-yard scoring toss. Breslin's kick with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter made it 21-0.
The home team ended its scoring two minutes into the fourth quarter when Humes found junior Marc Bandola (Clarksburg, NJ) on an 18-yard touchdown pass over the middle, making it 27-0.
FDU-Florham (3-4, 1-3) got on the board when quarterback Bill Winters ran it in from five yards with 9:47 to go. Michael Barnard's extra point accounted for the final score.
Humes was on his game, completing 14-of-19 passes for 239 yards. Bandola had five catches for 88 yards, Marcus Payton notched three receptions for 55 yards and Andre Payton posted 15 carries for 77 yards.
The defense also played a key role, recording six sacks that included two apiece from sophomores Shane Szumski (Moorestown, NJ) and Joe Favinger (Mohnton, PA). Szumski ended with a team-season-high 15 tackles and junior Brian Pastor (Chambersburg, PA) closed with nine.
Widener also extended its streak of not allowing a third-quarter touchdown against a MAC opponent to 11 games. The squad has not surrendered a third-quarter point in 10 of those contests.
Winters completed 22-of-37 passes for 195 yards and also rushed 24 times for 73 yards. Rob Eck had 10 catches for 93 yards and Vinny Russo notched 10 tackles for the Devils.
The Pride ended with a 368-286 edge in total offense, even though they ran 20 fewer plays. The squad also had a 129-91 advantage in rushing yards.
Widener is on the road Saturday at Delaware Valley in the Keystone Cup game, beginning at 1:00 pm.
