FDU-Florham Races Past Saint Vincent In James Lynah Bowl
By: Duga Gur
MADISON, N.J. - Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham tallied 31 unanswered points to turn a 13-7 deficit into a 38-19 triumph over Saint Vincent College in the 2021 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) James Lynah Bowl Saturday at Robert T. Shields Field.
With the result in the third ECAC bowl appearance for both teams, FDU-Florham improved to 7-4, while Saint Vincent fell to 5-6. In just his first on-the-field season in charge, Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year Jimmy Robertson directed FDU from being picked to finish last in the MAC preseason poll, to the program’s first-ever bowl victory in its first postseason game since 1999.
FDU quarterback Anthony Caserta threw for three touchdowns, two of them to fellow senior and All-MAC First Team selection Connor Perez, with the latter also adding a rushing score. Caserta, who broke his program’s single-season records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns in the regular-season finale, finished 22-for-34 for 220 yards. Perez caught eight balls for 122 yards to go over 1,000 on the season, and was named the James Lynah Bowl Most Valuable Player.
Both teams came up empty on their first two drives. FDU went three and out for starters, and SVC failed to connect on a fourth-and-eight pass play. The Bearcats had gotten a tough 36-yard grab from Kaelib McElroy of a Brady Walker throw on third and seven into FDU territory.
On the first play of SVC’s third turn with the ball, Walker faked the handoff and went up top, finding Molayo Irefin deep down the center of the field, with the sophomore wide receiver breaking a tackle on his way to a 73-yard touchdown and the game’s first points with 2:52 left in the first quarter. Irefin, just named to the All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Second Team, had missed the Bearcats’ regular-season finale.
The final play of the first period saw Caserta’s pass to the right side deflect up off Perez’s hands, with the wideout still managing to come down with the six-yard catch on fourth and one across midfield to the 44. That drive would end in a game-tying touchdown with 12:09 left in the second, as Nick Santavicca dove up the middle for a yard.
On the ensuing SVC possession, Walker found Phil Harding running free down the left side for a 55-yard go-ahead touchdown, though the two-point try was thwarted by the Devils, leaving it a 13-7 game with 11:10 to go in the half.
Heading toward halftime, freshman Isaiah Massey came up with the huge blocked punt to give FDU the ball at the SVC 13. That came after a combined sack of Walker by Kenny Hands and Marquez Haywood on third down, as Hands added half a sack to his single-season FDU record of 12. Following a timeout, the Devils went for it on fourth and two, and Perez ran it in for a five-yard touchdown, with the extra point giving the home side a narrow 14-13 edge at the 3:39 mark.
On the very next play for SVC, however, Walker faked the handoff and Jeremy Wodarek made the juggling catch with a defender draped all over him for a 53-yard gain to put the guests back in business at the FDU 16. The Bearcats, though, would turn it over on downs.
The Devils then stormed down the field and got a 27-yard touchdown catch in the left corner of the end zone from Caserta to Rory Sullivan. Key actions on the eight-play, 93-yard drive included a tough 31-yard reception by Perez early on, and a 10-yard catch and run by Alnazir Blackman to the SVC 27. At the break, it was 21-13 in favor of FDU.
The Devils’ true freshman do-everything punter/quarterback/special teams standout Ryon Thomas caused Irefin to fumble the second-half kickoff, and teammate Nayson Brown fell on it for the game’s first turnover. A 37-yard field goal by junior Chris DiMedio, an All-MAC Second Team pick, extended the hosts’ lead to 24-13.
Blackman was the workhorse on the next Devil drive after a three-and-out for SVC, as the graduate student carried five straight times for 39 yards. The drive appeared to stall, but on fourth and 14 at the 28, FDU went for it, and Perez came down with Caserta’s jump ball on the left side of the end zone as the hosts took command at 31-13. It was a 16th touchdown grab for Perez on the year, with 15 coming from Caserta.
A Matthew Dougherty interception on the ensuing Saint Vincent possession led to a 32-yard Caserta touchdown pass, again to Perez, with the Warwick, N.Y., native making a one-handed snag at the 1:37 mark.
Any hope of a fourth-quarter comeback by the Bearcats was ended when they came up empty on a 17-play, 66-yard drive that took up just under six minutes, as Haywood got the big stop on fourth and goal from the 3.
An FDU fumble moments later enabled SVC to finally break its scoring drought, with senior Devin Gleason, on for the injured Walker, running in from five yards on the quarterback keeper for the final margin.
Hands, a third All-MAC first-teamer, ultimately added 1.5 sacks to his record total for FDU through a late one on Gleason, two plays before a quarterback hurry on a third-and-long incompletion. The Devils’ stout defense allowed just 10 rushing yards in the game.
Blackman carried 21 times for 96 yards among the Devils’ 169 rushing yards as a team. They were 4-of-6 on fourth down.
For SVC, Walker was 13-of-28 for 301 yards and two touchdowns prior to his exit. Irefin had seven catches for 110 yards and the touchdown.
Saturday marked the third meeting all-time between the programs, with the Devils having won 28-23 in 2010, before the Bearcats took a 55-3 decision in 2011.