GLASSBORO, NJ -- Rowan scored 14 straight points in the second half to overtake William Paterson, 24-14, in the regular-season finale at Coach Wackar Stadium on Military Appreciation Night and Senior Night. Rowan closes out the year with a 5-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the NJAC, for the second consecutive winning record in conference play.
 
Trailing 14-10, Rowan scored the go-ahead touchdown with just over nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Ernie Troiano took the handoff and threw a 28-yard pass to Jake Schicke. Nunes Bukula IV rushed twice and got it into the end zone on the second attempt, as he scored from four yards out to give the Profs a 17-14 lead.
 
With over two minutes remaining, Rowan stopped any chance that William Paterson had as Eric Bryant intercepted Christopher Leimberg and ran it back 34 yards to the WPU 11-yard line. The Profs handed off to Bukula four times and he sealed the win with a four-yard run at 1:33 to give Rowan a 24-14 lead.
 
Bukula was one of three Rowan running backs to finish with 60 more yards on the night churning out 60 yards on 10 carries. James Fara added 68 yards on 17 rushes and Marlon Boston picked up 62 yards on 10 attempts as the offense put together its third-straight game with 100 or more team rushing yards.
 
Although Rowan scored first, as Nate Maiers completed a six-yard corner route pass in the end zone to Jake Schicke, William Paterson tied it with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter on a three-yard run by Isaac Cherry.
 
The Pioneers went up, 14-7, with 1:13 in the second quarter after a Prof fumble at midfield as Cherry ran it in from seven yards for his second TD.
 
Rowan cut it to 14-10 when Peter Parigi connected on a 20-yard field goal with 5:05 of the third quarter capping a 10-play, 65-yard drive.
 
Bukula's first score came after a short punt that gave the Profs the ball at the WPU 40. On a 2nd and 3, Troiano took the hand off on a jet sweep to the right and pulled up to hit Schicke down to the Pioneer five-yard line.
 
Freshman quarterback Nate Maiers completed 11-of-19 passes for 94 yards with a touchdown and interception. Kevin Degnan was his favorite target, pulling in six catches for 67 yards. Schicke added 36 yards on three receptions.
 
Defensively, the Profs had four sacks on the night, one each from Vincent Guarino, Nick Cerulli, Eric Hill, and Akil Moody. Joe Racobaldo collected a team-high seven tackles while Bryant, Guarino, and Josh Ortiz all made six stops apiece as Rowan did not allow any second-half points.
 
Cherry led the Pioneers with 83 yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Christopher Leimberg threw for 163 yards in 10-of-29 passing. Matt Clarke had eight grabs for a game-high 148 yards for WPU. Samod Wingo (12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for losses) and Jayce Harmon (11 tackles, two passes defended, forced fumble) paced William Paterson defensively.
 
Prior to the game, Rowan honored its seniors for "Senior Night" – Fara, Schicke, Ryan Barts, Pryce Bouchard, Mike Chmura, Miles Cook, Deron Cooney, Anthony DiTorrice, Nick Mellusi, Peter Parigi, JT Plasteras, Trevon Reid, Brandon Saghafi, Steven Simonetti, Brady Smith, Connor Smith and Robert Stashek.