FULL GAME NOTES
 
William Paterson (2-3) at Ursinus (3-2)
When: Saturday, October 14th
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: First Ever Meeting
 
 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team hosts William Paterson in their final Centennial Conference- New Jersey Athletic Conference game of the season. This will be the first meeting between the two schools but the third NJAC team that Ursinus will have faced this season.  
 
LAST GAME: The Bears dropped a heartbreaker to Franklin & Marshall after the Diplomats scored with two seconds left. Ursinus responded to an early Diplomats touchdown with a field goal and eventually surged in front 10-6 at the half with a second quarter touchdown. After a scoreless third quarter, the Bears extended their lead to 13-6 following another field goal before the Diplomats tied things up again with a touchdown. Ursinus took the lead back at 16-13 with 1:22 left in regulation but could not fend off a last-minute Diplomat drive. Franklin & Marshall converted on a 4th and 16 and got a passing touchdown in the red zone to win.
 
 
LAST MEETING: This will be the first meeting in series history. The Bears own wins over Kean at home and Rowan on the road in 2023. William Paterson is 1-1 in their contests against Centennial schools after falling to Dickinson before defeating McDaniel.
 
 
RECORD BROKEN: Senior defensive end Ryan Bodolus broke the Ursinus career sacks record on Saturday against Franklin & Marshall. He totaled two sacks in the contest to reach 27.5 for his career to top Frank Hennessey's record of 27 set in 1987. Bodolus has recorded at least one sack in each game this season and continues to lead the Centennial with 6.5 sacks. Bodolus has recorded a sack in eight straight contests dating back to the Gettysburg game back last October and has tallied a sack in 11 of his last 13 contests.  This was also the sixth time in his career that he recorded more than one sack. He now takes dead aim at his career-high for sacks of 10.5 that he has tallied in each of the last two seasons.
 
 
PASS CATCHING THREAT: Junior running back Tony Holden added another receiving touchdown to his name against Franklin & Marshall. He scored the Bears lone touchdown in the game during the second quarter on a 16-yard reception. He previously established a career-high earlier this season against Rowan with 48 receiving yards and has two touchdowns through the air after not having any prior.
 
 
 
YOU FAST THE CARR: Sophomore kicker Jordan Carr was named the Centennial Conference Special Teams player of the week after a strong performance at Franklin & Marshall. Carr made all three field goals attempts along with his lone extra point attempt in the Bears matchup against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. He converted a 42-yarder in the first quarter to establish a new career-high and two of his field goals came from 40+ yards. In his first season as the Bears starting kicker, Carr is currently 6-of-8 on field goal attempts and is 15-of-18 on extra point attempts. Carr was the second Bear this season to earn Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
 
 
LOCKDOWN: Junior defensive back Anthony Esposito paced the Bears defense against the Diplomats with a career-high seven tackles. Esposito has showcased his reliable play in the Bears secondary by adding three pass break-ups to his already team-leading total His seven pass break-ups now tops the Centennial Conference. Esposito tied for the team lead has matched his seven pass break-ups from a year ago which helped him earn All-Centennial honorable mention.
 
 
 
I'LL TAKE THAT: Senior linebacker Julian Jones recorded his first interception in two seasons against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. Jones added four tackles and 0.5 sack in the contest as well. Jones has been a mainstay on the Bears defense for the past three seasons and has 16 tackles (six solo) so far in 2023 with one sack. Jones has started all five games this season. His first interception came against Susquehanna at home in the 2021 season.
 
 
GETTING OFF THE FIELD: The Bears lead the Centennial Conference in third down conversion defense as opponents are just converting 28.2 percent of the time. Ursinus also is currently allowing the fewest first downs per game at 14.2. Ursinus held Franklin & Marshall to go just 5-of-15 (33.3%) on third down conversions last Saturday and held Rowan three weeks ago to go just 1-of-11 (0.9%) on third down.
 
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: The Pioneers have shown promise this season and rank third in the NJAC in scoring offense at 24.2 points per game. Junior quarterback Christopher Leimberg is tied for the conference lead with eight touchdown passes to just two interceptions and has 662 passing yards. Senior Matt Clarke surged to the touchdown reception lead in the conference after grabbing a pair against Salisbury. Clarke ranks seventh in the NJAC and second on the team with 233 receiving yards. Senior Taz Burton leads the team and ranks fourth in the Centennial with 279 receiving yards.
              
On defense, the Pioneers match their scoring offense by allowing 24.3 points per game which is the fourth-fewest in the NJAC. However, William Paterson ranks second fewest in total yards allowed per game with 309.8. They are most stingy on pass defense allowing 153 yards per game through the air which is also the second fewest while leading the league in total sacks with 15. Six of those sacks come from senior defensive end Yubir Rojas-Herrera which leads the NJAC as well. Senior defensive back Devyn Blount paces the NJAC with four interceptions and have run a pair of them back for touchdowns.  Senior RJ Massey, playing opposite of Blount, is right behind with three interceptions.