FULL GAME NOTES
 
Ursinus (2-0) vs Rowan (2-0)
When: Saturday, September 21st
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Series Tied, 1-1
First Meeting: 1999 – Rowan won 55-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 2023 @ Rowan – Ursinus won 44-21
Streak: Ursinus +1
 
 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team will host Rowan this weekend in a Saturday prime time showdown.  
 
LAST MEETING: The Bears used an all-around effort to take down Rowan 44-21 during their first road game of the 2023 season. Ursinus worked their way up to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter before overcoming a Profs touchdown that was set up by a turnover to score in the final minute before half and go up 21-7. The second half was all Bears as they built their lead up to as many as 30 points on two straight occasions at 37-7 and 44-14 as they pulled away for the win.
 
 
SACKS SATURDAY: Junior defensive end Aaron Rios had a career day against Kean on Saturday afternoon.  Rios dominated the Kean offense in the Bears' 31-17 win on Saturday afternoon. Rios registered a career-high 10 tackles (seven solo), 7 tackles for loss, and five sacks. Rios has made the most of his first full time starting season as he has six sacks and has recorded sacks in each of the Bears first two games. He has 13 total tackles (eight solo) and a team-leading 8.5 tackles for loss in two games as he moved to defensive end to start 2024. He was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. regular season finale and ran it back for a touchdown. He was named Centennial Special Teams Player of the Week and earned a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week.
 
 
 
DENNIS DAZZLES: Senior wide receiver Cameron Dennis gave the Bears a huge burst on special teams against Kean on Saturday afternoon. Dennis broke the game open for the Bears in the second quarter with a 69-yard punt return touchdown. It was the first time a Bear had run a punt back for a touchdown since Matt Glowacki did so against Susquehanna in 2014. Overall, Dennis racked up 152 punt return yards on seven attempts and finished with 217 total return yards behind another 65 yards on kickoff returns against Kean. Dennis was named Centennial Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and leads the team with 169 receiving yards.
 
 
CENTURY MARK STREAK: Senior running back Tony Holden crossed 100 rushing yards for the second straight week against Kean on Saturday. Holden rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns, which was also the second straight week he did that. Holden ranks second in the Centennial Conference with 222 rushing yards and is tied for the conference lead with his four rushing touchdowns. He is averaging 5.8 yards per carry so far this season and it was his 10th career 100-yard rushing game.
 
 
 
TACKLE MACHINE: Senior linebacker Marc Clayton was once again all over the field for the Bears against Kean on Saturday. Clayton posted his second straight 10-tackle game (three solo) which tied for the team lead and added 0.5 TFL. Clayton currently ranks second in the Centennial Conference with 20 tackles and is just one behind the leader, Cole Peters of Johns Hopkins. Clayton did not have a double-digit tackle performance in his Ursinus career entering in the 2024 season and now is 2-for-2 in that regard
 
 
FIELD GENERAL: Senior safety Ryan DiVergilis added another interception to his name on Saturday afternoon against Kean. He intercepted Kean early in the second quarter and ran the interception back 55 yards to the Cougar 10-yard line which set up the Bears third touchdown of the game. DiVergilis is one of three players in the Centennial Conference with two interceptions so far this season. He has seven for his career and one more interception will be a career high for a season.
 
 
STUFFING THE RUN: Through two games, the Bears defense is allowing a staggering low 0.5 rushing yards per game. Behind eight sacks on Saturday, Kean had -28 rushing yards which was the second time in two seasons Ursinus has limited a team to under negative rushing yards after holding William Paterson to -36 last season. They lead the Centennial in rushing yards allowed by 90 yards which also included limiting Alvernia to 29 yards as a team. The Bears also rank third in all of NCAA Division III in rushing defense.
 
 
SCOUTING THE PROFS: The Profs have hit the ground running so far under first-year head coach, Pat Ruley, who is familiar with the Ursinus after serving as the defensive coordinator at Susquehanna for the past six seasons. Sophomore running back Nunes Bukula IV had a big day against McDaniel with 162 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. He now ranks fourth in the NJAC in rushing yards. Sophomore Tyshawn Bookman compliments Bukula IV in the backfield and has 100 rushing yards with a touchdown in the first two games. First-year wide receiver Luke Hoke ranks fifth in the NJAC with 119 receiving yards and two games while catching a pair of touchdowns. Rowan has rotated quarterbacks in the first two games featuring first-year Matt Welsey and sophomore Nate Maiers.
              

On defense, senior linebacker Nick Cerulli leads the team with 14 tackles (12 solo) and intercepted a pass on Saturday against McDaniel. Senior defensive lineman Ahmad Gantt took the team lead in sacks with 2.5 against the Green Terror and linebacker Chris Rodgers ranks second on the team with 11 tackles (six solo) and 3.0 TFL. The Profs secondary has been impressive through two games with six different players intercepting a pass. Senior defensive back Eric Bryant has one of those interceptions and received D3football.com Third Team All-Region honors last season.