COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A fast start and strong fourth quarter helped Ursinus football overpower William Paterson by a score of 39-15 on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Patterson Field in non-conference action.
 
 
With the win, the Bears improved to 4-2 overall and completed a three-game sweep of New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opponents this season. Meanwhile, the Pioneers fell to 2-4 overall.
 
 
Junior quarterback Jalen Bradford finished the day going 15-of-31 for 214 yards in the not ideal conditions and threw three touchdown passes to one interception. It was the fifth game this season Bradford has tallied at least three touchdowns this season.
 
 
Junior wide receiver Justin Collier paced the Bears receivers for the third straight game with seven catches for 80 yards and his first touchdown of the season. First-year Ryder Zulkowski caught a 43-yard reception for his only catch of the game and sophomore Markel Roberts-Jackson did the same with a 20-yard touchdown reception.
 
 
Junior running back Tony Holden was just shy of the 100-yard mark with 93 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns, the first multi-touchdown game of the season.
 
 
After the Bears went three-and-out to start the game, a high snap on a Pioneers punt sailed into the endzone and gave Ursinus the initial 2-0 lead on a safety at the 12:54-mark of the first quarter. The Bears started their next drive at midfield following the free kick and used their ground game to extend the advantage to 9-0. Ursinus ran the ball six of the seven plays on the drive which ended with Holden's first touchdown of the game from nine yards out. The Bears continued their blazing first quarter when Bradford found Zulkowski over the middle and broke multiple tackles on his way for a touchdown, making it 16-0 with 2:54 left in the first quarter. The play came right after senior Billy Cook ran a successful fake punt on 4th and 9 to keep the drive going. Ursinus seemingly looked poise to pull away early, but the Pioneers blocked a punt on the final play of the first quarter and ran it back 28 yards for a touchdown to make it 16-7.
 
 
Junior cornerback Aaron Anderson intercepted an overthrown Pioneers pass near midfield at the 9:18-mark of the second quarter. However, Ursinus had a fumble with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter to end a promising drive. The unrelenting Bears defense bailed out the offense with constant pressure on the William Paterson offense and forced another punt. Ursinus struck again on 4th down on the ensuing drive as Bradford hit Roberts-Jackson from 20 yards out in the endzone to make it a 23-7 game with 2:43 left in the first half.
 
 
William Paterson got the ball to start the second half and finally got their passing game going as they connected on a 40-yard catch-and-run to make it 23-15 following successful two-point conversion. After a scoreless rest of the third quarter, Bradford completed a pass down to the one-yard line on 4th and 1   to junior Caden Johnson but fumbled the snap on the very next play to give the ball back to the Pioneers. However, the Pioneers running back was stripped on his first carry of the next drive by senior Ryan Bodolus and the Bears recovered. Sophomore kicker Jordan Carr extended the Bears lead to 26-15 with a 26-yard field goal with 11:22 left in regulation. Ursinus cashed in off a short punt on their next drive when Bradford found Collier from five yards out to make it a 32-15 with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter. Things continued to get worse for William Paterson on their ensuing drive after a sack and then fumbled ball by backup quarterback Mele' Stallings that was recovered by Bodolus. Holden put the capper on the Bears day with his second touchdown of the day one play after the fumble recovery.
 
 
Bodolus overpowered the Pioneers with nine tackles (four solo), 5.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, along with a forced and recovered fumble. Senior defensive tackle Michael McCuen was also dominant with nine tackles of his own (four solo) and a sack. Sophomore defensive tackle Sean Spinosa tallied two sacks and seven tackles (two solo) while senior linebacker Brett Gross added six tackles (three solo), 1.0 TFL, and recovered a fumble. Ursinus limited the Pioneers to just 58 yards of total offense after allowing -35 rushing yards behind seven sacks.
 
 
Matt Clarke had four catches for 80 yards and the Pioneers lone offensive touchdown and Samod Wingo blocked the punt that was returned for a touchdown by Robert Hamilton.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Saturday, October 21st as they will travel to face Top 10-ranked Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m.