Football Leaves No Doubt in 44-14 Win at Thiel

(boxscore) / (9/11 article feature Widener in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Widener scored the game's final 37 points and ran away from Thiel for a convincing 44-14 victory in Greenville, PA.

Trailing 14-7, Widener (2-0) re-established momentum before the end of the first half. The 11-play, 50-yard drive included a 14-yard pass on fourth and eight from junior Chris Haupt (Bloomsburg, PA) to senior Cedrick Clayton (Cinnaminson, NJ) to the Thiel 13 yard line. Four plays later, Haupt faked a handoff and went around for a two-yard scoring run with 36 seconds left in the half for a 14-14 tie.

The Pride began things in the second half the way they ended the first, with an effective drive. The 64-yard march ended in 3 1/2 minutes with sophomore Terrant Morrison (Smyrna, DE) barreling in on a three-yard touchdown run for a 21-14 Widener lead. The 12-play drive was extended on a fourth-down pass with Haupt hitting sophomore Jermaine Quattlebaum (Upper Marlboro, MD) on a 17-yard toss to the Tomcats 31 yard line.

The margin grew to 28-14 just 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. Junior Dante Pergolese (Havertown, PA) took a pitch from Haupt and sprinted seven yards for the touchdown to complete a brief 42-yard drive.

Haupt was at it again on the next drive, hitting Cedrick Clayton on a 39-yard pass to the Tomcats eight yard line. Two plays later, Haupt rolled out and found junior Dom DePasquale (Williamstown, NJ) on a seven-yard scoring pass with 10:39 to go for a 35-14 Widener lead.

The special teams struck on the next possession when senior Robert Watkins (Douglassville, PA) blocked a punt that punter Jared Soell recovered in the end zone for a safety. That bumped the margin to 37-14 with 9:05 to go.

Haupt got his third touchdown pass of the day on a 15-yard strike to sophomore Anthony Clayton (Cinnaminson, NJ) with 4:56 left for a 44-14 contest.

Senior Matt Breslin (Sugarloaf, PA) ended the scoring with his sixth extra point.

Haupt completed 28-of-51 passes for 294 yards with Anthony Clayton seven receptions for 81 yards. Cedrick Clayton had five catches for 88 yards and Morrison posted 99 yards on nine carries.

Senior Dan Cosenza (Hamilton, NJ), junior Jamal Dorsey (Mount Holly, NJ) and sophomore Dylan Ditmer (Exton, PA) each had five tackles. Cozenza added a fumble recovery and Dorsey recorded an interception.

The Pride had a 479-244 advantage in total offense, including 294-179 in rushing yards.

A early battle for field position early swung Widener's way in the second quarter when Morrison broke a tackle and sprinted 62 yards to the Thiel nine yard line. Three plays later, Haupt hooked up with junior Steve Marrero (Reading, PA) on an eight-yard touchdown pass with 9:11 left in the half for a 7-0 Widener lead.

Thiel went to the bag of tricks on the next drive. Soell, who doubles as the Tomcats' quarterback and punter, ran a fourth-down fake with a completion to tight end Kyle Turkalj at Widener's 33 yard line. On the next play, Soell hit Nathan Blazevich on a touchdown pass with 5:30 remaining in the half for a 7-7 tie.

The Tomcats (0-2) turned to the defense on the next drive. Rob Edwards intercepted a pass from Haupt over the middle and went 44 yards for the touchdown with 4:12 to go in the half and a 14-7 Thiel margin.

Widener on Saturday hosts Lycoming to open Middle Atlantic Conference play, starting at 1:00 pm.

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