PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Despite a 142-yard rushing effort from Heisman Trophy candidate Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.), the No. 25-ranked Scarlet Knights suffered a 31-3 loss to No. 6 West Virginia Saturday afternoon at a rain-soaked Rutgers Stadium. WVU running back Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White combined for four scores as the Mountaineers earned the victory before the venue\’s ninth straight sell out crowd and a national television audience.

Rutgers (5-3, 2-2) took the field dressed in all black uniforms looking to capture consecutive wins over ranked opponents for the first time in school history. The poor weather, however, did little to enable the charged environment from which the Scarlet Knights fed in their win over No. 2 South Florida. Rutgers entered the game having scored on 26 of its 27 trips inside the 20, but came away empty on two trips inside the red zone versus the Mountaineers.

\”It\’s very obvious the things we didn\’t do today,\” said Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano. \”We didn\’t tackle well and we didn\’t catch the football. We dropped too many passes to count, and some of them were touchdowns. We dropped three touchdown passes. Are they tough catches, some of them are, but they are catches we need to make. Tackling just wasn\’t Rutgers-like.\”

The Scarlet Knights also committed four turnovers in the contest, while the visitors did not lose a single miscue. West Virginia (7-1, 2-1) scored 14 points off Rutgers turnovers.

\”The positives for the game were that not one player stopped playing their very hardest,\” said Schiano. That\’s how we want to play when things are going against us.\”

Rice made school history on the game\’s first offensive play. A two-yard gain up the middle, the carry provided him 1,001 yards on the year, making the junior the first Scarlet Knight to ever exceed the century mark in three seasons. The rush would also be the first of 16 carries for 63 yards by Rice in the initial stanza.

West Virginia posted the contest\’s first points. Facing a first-and-10 at RU 38, Slaton changed fields on the slick surface and raced right. With the Scarlet Knights attempting to recover from their initial pursuit, he raced into the end zone with the aid of some opportunistic downfield blocking provided by his receivers. The score capped a six play, 63-yard drive and provided the Mountaineers a 7-0 advantage with 4:33 remaining in the opening quarter.

WVU would extend its lead to two touchdowns courtesy of a special teams\’ misfortune that befell the Scarlet Knights. After forcing the Mountaineers backwards after they advanced to the home 32, Rutgers was poised to field a punt. The kick, however, deflected off the back of Ramy Nubani (Upper St. Clair, Pa.), who was running toward his return men to provide blocking on the anticipated return. West Virginia recovered at the RU 31. Five plays later, the visitors held a 14-0 advantage after one yard touchdown run by White.

The reliable leg of Jeremy Ito (Loma Linda, Calif.) enabled the Scarlet Knights to light the scoreboard. Named the Lou Groza Star of the Week for his three field goal performance versus USF, Ito split the uprights from 39 yards with 4:39 remaining in the second quarter. The kick culminated an 11-play, 45-yard drive and marked the 70^th field goal of his career. He became one of just 19 players in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history to record 70 field goals.

A 42-yard field goal by Pat McAfee as the clock expired sent the Scarlet Knights to the locker room at the midpoint facing a 17-3 deficit. The kick concluded an 11-play, 60-yard effort and was the third score for the visitors in five first half possessions.

The rain, which was steady and driving, subsided prior to the start of the second half. Rutgers was in receipt of the half\’s initial possession and drove into the red zone for the first time, to the WVU 14. A holding penalty, however, sent the home squad backward, where it was forced to settle for a 41-yard field goal attempt. The try, however, was wide right.

With the miss, the Mountaineers re-gained possession and drove downfield in purposeful fashion. A one-yard Slaton touchdown run capped a nine play, 75-yard drive that consumed just 3:18 off the clock. The junior\’s second scoring jaunt placed the Scarlet Knights in a deep, 24-3, hole with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter.

West Virginia. closed out the scoring on a seven play, 66-yard drive that was 3:04 in length. Each of the Mountaineers\’ four touchdown drives consumed 3:18 or less of the game clock.

The Scarlet Knights return to the gridiron next Saturday (Nov. 3) evening at Connecticut in a 7:15 p.m. kick-off at Rentschler Field. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.

Source Press release

Photo by Bruce Darrow Gloucester High 2006 Homecoming Dance

Gloucester City High School Cheerleading Squad at the recent Homecoming Football Game between the Lions and Pennsville.

The squad consists of senior Tara Curran, juniors Nicole Hammill, Cecilia Fedore, Brittany Green, Ashley Lisanti and sophomores Kim Bramble, Corey Gaff and Kyrstine Ziegler under the leadership of co-captains Brittany Walters and Amber Hartzel both seniors.

Squad Advisor: Ms. Brandt Lions vs Pennsville Game Photo Gallery

Here we go again.

Another student dies needlessly while away at college.

What is happening?

News outlets are reporting that a Rowan University sophomore, Donald Farrell, 19, died this morning of injuries he suffered during a brief, brutal beating by four unidentified men. Police said when they found the victim he was so badly beaten he was laying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to the hospital but died several hours later.

Earlier in October another New Jersey college student died needlessly. His death was caused by a drug-overdose. Justin Warfield, 18, of Maryland, was a freshman attending Westminster Choir College, a Rider University subsidiary. A friend allegedly administered an injection of heroin into the arm of Warfield. He was found unconscious and rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Warfield\’s death comes seven months after another Rider freshman, Gary DeVercelly Jr., died after drinking at a fraternity party on the school\’s main campus in Lawrenceville.

All three kids were sent off to college by their parents for an education will never make it home again! I am sure this isn\’t the first time that students have died this way. But why didn\’t I notice it before now? Could it be because I am getting older that life seems so precious to me?

I think it is a combination of things.

But I think we can agree it is sad that we all have to live in a world where acts such as these are happening WAY TOO FREQUENTLY!!!

Rider 22^nd in the nation

LAWRENCEVILLE—Nine members of the Rider University softball team were honored for having at least a 3.5 grade point average, it was announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association this past week. \”We constantly stress the importance of a student athlete’s performance in the classroom and that effort shows not only on the softball team but with each team at Rider,\” said head coach Tricia Carroll.

\”We are very proud of the consistent level of academic excellence of the Rider softball program,\” said Director of Athletics Don Harnum. \”It is a tribute to the recruiting efforts of the coaching staff and the many efforts of the student-athletes.\”

As a team, Rider ranked 22^nd in the nation with a 3.354 g.p.a. Last year, over half of the 355 student-athletes at Rider accumulated over a 3.00 g.p.a.

Honored for the 2006-07 academic year were seniors Ashley Boulden (Brooklawn, N.J./Gloucester City High School ) and Desiree Harbaugh (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson), juniors Tiffany Day-Neutill (Agoura Hills, Calif./Oaks Christian), Jessica Holland (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), Aimee Schiller (Moreno Valley, Calif./Moreno Valley) and Mandi Sekly (Canyon Country, Calif./Canyon).

Also honored were sophomores Laci Landrum (Grand Praire, Texas/So. Grand Praire)Seattle, Wash./Mount Rainier) and freshman Megan Kozlowski (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock-North). and Katy Mills (

Boulden had a 3.97 g.p.a., for the year and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education/Psychology with Harbaugh also graduating with an Elementary Education/Psychology and a 3.80 g.p.a.

Day-Neutill is majoring in Biopsychology and had a 3.81 g.p.a., Holland is a Communication major with a g.p.a. of 3.72, Schiller is a Marketing major with a 3.79 g.p.a. and Sekly is an Advertising major with a 3.86 g.p.a in 2006-07.

Landrum is a Management major (3.60 g.p.a.), Mills is a Psychology major (3.69 g.p.a.) and Kozlowski is majoring in Biology with a 3.80 g.p.a.

In the fall of 2006, the softball team finished with the highest team g.p.a. of Rider’s 20 varsity teams, accumulating a 3.44 g.p.a., the third time in the last six semesters that the softball team had the highest team g.p.a.

\”We recruit players who want to be successful,\” Carroll added. \”You have two jobs, academics and athletics and the expectation is that you are going to do both of those things well. The effort that our Academic Support Coordinator Sonya Hurt has done with the team has been phenomenal. The department has made a commitment to academics and it shows.\”

The softball team opens the 2008 season at the Virginia Tech. tournament February 22-24.

-RU-