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Profs routed another opponent on a rainy homecoming Saturday as they dropped the hammer on the Buffalo State Bengals 57-7. It was a fitting tribute to coach Richard Wacker. Wacker resurrected the Rowan football program in 1963. The program began in 1947, but was halted after the 1950 season because the school did not have enough men to field a football team due to the Korean War. At halftime the renovated stadium was named Coach Richard Wackar Stadium in coach Wacker’s honor.

Wacker has been a fixture in the Rowan sports community. He is the only coach in NJAC history to win conference titles in four sports: football, golf, basketball and cross-country. He coached Profs football from 1963-1980 before turning the team over to assistant coached Ted Kershner. Kershner coached from 1981-1987 before handing off the team to John Bunting. Bunting guided Rowan to its first playoff appearance before leaving to coach in the NFL in 1993. KC Keeler took over in 1993, guiding the Profs to their first of four national championship game appearances. Current head coach Jay Accorsi followed Keeler in 2002, when Keeler left to become the head coach of the University of Delaware. KC Keeler played for Delaware in the late 1970’s.

The Profs improve to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The Bengals have a 1-6 record with a 1-5 NJAC mark. Rowan outgained Buffalo State, 422-44 in yardage.

Superback Ryan Leafey led the Rowan offense with 62 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Quarterback Frank Wilczynski added 58 yards and one touchdown on seven rushes. He also threw for 119 yards and one touchdown with nine completions in 16 attempts. Wilczynski and Leafey did not play the second half.

Superback Jon Downes compiled 53 yards and two touchdowns on 10 attempts. Quarterback Tim Hagerty and superback Tariq Gaines added one rushing touchdown apiece. Tight end Anthony Barone made three catches for 76 yards and one touchdown.

The defense held Buffalo State to 76 yards passing and -32 yards rushing. Linebacker Andrew Yezzi registered seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, one sack and two forced fumbles. Linebacker Kevin Taylor posted six stops and one tackle for a loss. Defensive end Matt Hoffman had 0.5 sacks and blocked a punt. Defensive end Steve Hague forced a fumble.

Buffalo State enters this week’s game at 1-5 overall and 1-4 in NJAC play. Rowan is streaking the opposite direction, winners of four straight and has outscored its opponents 195-34 during the past three contests. The Profs are 13-1 all-time against the Bengals, including a 20-7 win last year at Coyer Field. Rowan has knocked the Bengals out of the NCAA playoffs five times. Buffalo State’s lone win against the Profs came in 2000 by a 20-17 score.

Montclair State limited Buffalo State to just 93 yards of total offense in a 23-7 victory in an NJAC game at Coyer Field Jeff Bliss paced the Red Hawks offense with 27 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown. Tom Fischer was 20 of 24 for 99 yards and a touchdown and had four interceptions. Kenny Murphy was 8 of 25 for just 53 yards and an interception for Buffalo State. Matt Pacana led the Bengals’ defense with 13 tackles, including four for loss. Eddie Weiser had five tackles and two interceptions. Each team had four turnovers and the two teams combined to commit 19 penalties for 186 yards.

Bengal coach Jerry Boyes returns to the sidelines as the head football coach at Buffalo State for the 2009 season, while maintaining his role as athletics director, a position he has held since 1999. Upon coming to Buffalo State in 1986, Boyes inherited a football program that was entering just his sixth season of varsity competition but transformed the Bengals into
one of the premier Division III football programs in the Northeast. In 15 seasons at the helm of the program, he compiled an 89-62 overall record (.589 winning percentage) and qualified for the NCAA postseason seven seasons.

Buffalo State ranks in the bottom three in most league categories statistically, except pass defense in which they rank third overall.

Rain and possible thunderstorms are expected for homecoming this Saturday at 1:30 PM. This may keep scoring down. The Bengals are giving up over 200 yards on the ground. I expect another 100 yards rushing from quarterback Frank Wilczynski and possibly 100 yards rushing from running back Ryan Leafey. The Profs should be able to pick their spots in the passing game as long as the weather holds. If special teams plays well and the offense protects the ball, the defense may pitch another shutout.