GLASSBORO - The Rowan University football team's comeback fell short when Widener scored two touchdowns in the final seven minutes en route to a 38-28 win in the season opener for both teams before a crowd of 5,411 at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium.

Down 24-7 early in the third quarter, the Profs (0-1) stormed back on consecutive touchdown passes by Mike Husni, first a 67-yarder to Nick Grosso, and then an 11-yard pass to John Maldonado to pull the Profs within 24-21. 

Widener (1-0) put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter as James Gillespie caught a seven-yard pass from Sean McGaughey at 7:07 and on a defensive score as Mike Maddaluna picked up a Rowan fumble at the goal line. 
 
What Happened: 
First Quarter
- Widener scores first as Sean McGaughey tosses a 6-yard touchdown pass to James Gillespie  

Second Quarter
- Widener goes up 14-0 on an 11-play, 96-yard drive, ending in a 12-yard touchdown run by Chris Randle 
- Rowan gets on the board as QB Mike Husni scores on a five-yard run
- Gillespie teams up with McGaughey again on a 25-yard pass play for Widener 

Third Quarter
- Nick Grosso takes in a 67-yard TD pass from Husni to pull Rowan within 10 points
- Husni finds Maldonado in the end zone from 11 yards as the Profs cut the deficit to 24-21 

Fourth Quarter
- Widener's McGaughey and Gillespie team up again from 7 yards out at 7:07
- Mario Scotese records a sack and Mike Maddaluna picks up the fumble at the goal line and scores to solidify Widener's lead, 38-21, with 3:45 to play
- Rowan's Mike Reed catches a 54-yard touchdown pass from Husni

Profs by the Numbers
- Rowan had 380 yards of total offense; Widener totaled 370
- Mike Husni was 18-for-29 with 280 yards passing and three touchdowns- 
- Messiah Divine ran 23 times for 80 yards
- Nick Grosso caught four passes for 136 yards and one touchdown 

Rowan Coach Jay Accorsi: 
"I don't know why we came out so flat. It was a great crowd, with great energy, a lot of people here and a lot of excitement. But I just thought we were really flat. Against a. good team you can't do that. Obviously, we fought and came back in the second half. We did a great job putting ourselves in the position to maybe squeeze it out at the end. We fought at the end and didn't give up. It's a lot to learn from. It was a good test for us.:
 
Rowan returns to action on Saturday, September 14 when it hosts nationally-ranked Linfield at 2 p.m. at Wackar Stadium.